Experts say that a person should sleep seven to nine hours per night in order to fully regain strength to keep the mind alert and the body healthy. The amount of sleep an individual gets has an evident effect on his or her efficiency during the day.
Though everyone knows the right amount of sleep they must have, many people are still not getting enough. Half of the population in the United States are sleeping less than seven hours during the night every week. To compensate, people try to sleep during their free time like napping during the day or sleeping for long hours during weekends.
Many claim it is rewarding and refreshing in a way but this can have an adverse effect on the body. Constantly following the said sleeping pattern will even more harm the body and cause serious health problems.
Oversleeping
A study in the UK shows that people who sleep more than eight hours per night is more prone to stroke. An increase of 46% risk of stroke will be experienced by individuals who sleep a lot. Extended sleep over prolonged periods of time may cause heart problems later in life.
In addition, prolonged hours of sleep may also be a sign of depression, inflammatory conditions and infection. Professor Francesco Cappuccio from the University of Warwick in the UK says that those who find it difficult to get up after long hours of sleep indicates there is something wrong going on. He adds that those who sleep for no reason should contact their doctors.
Napping
Since taking a nap during daytime can improve a person's mood, alertness and performance, the U.S. National Sleep Foundation recommend naps of 20 to 30 minutes in order to avoid sleepiness and disturbance of night sleep.
However, individuals who nap every day even if they get a good sleep at night may be sign of serious health problems especially in areas where 'siesta' is not a custom. This could mean sleep deficiency, sleep apnea or cancer.
Professor Cappuccio and his team studied the daily napping of 16,000 men and women in the UK and found that it can be a sign of respiratory problems.
Long hours of sleep at weekends
People who work almost 24 hours a day during weekdays love sleeping for long hours during weekends. This is usually the way to payback for sleep deprivation.
Charles Czeisler, the Brigham and Women's Hospital chief of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, in Boston does not advice this kind of sleeping pattern since its disrupts the consistency of the body breaking the sleep cycle. The said habit is not healthy and will cause he person to miss the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) which is a vital moment in the sleep cycle.
Missing sleep hours payback
Those who constantly deprive themselves of the right amount of sleep will suffer the consequences. The missing sleep hours will accumulate over time and it cannot be paid all at once. Czeisler says that one to two weeks is needed to compensate for the accumulated sleep loss.
Experts suggest getting the right amount of sleep for a healthier life.
