Too Much Sleep Identified as a Health Risk

The Washington Post reported that while getting enough sleep is important, too much sleep is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, depression and obesity.

As quoted in the market news:

So, how much is too much? And if you’re sleep-deprived during the week, does sleeping 10 or 11 hours on Saturday and Sunday to catch up put you in any jeopardy?

Most experts say that a healthy amount of sleep for an adult is a regular seven to nine hours a night. And the operative term here is ‘regular,’ meaning the issue isn’t the college kid who power-sleeps 15 hours on vacation to catch up from too much studying (or partying).

When scientists refer to ‘long sleepers,’ they’re referring to people who consistently sleep nine or more hours a night, says Kristen Knutson, a biomedical anthropologist who focuses on sleep research at the University of Chicago’s Department of Medicine.

Click here to read the full report from The Washington Post.