A Sleep Expert Says That Sleeping Too Much is Just As Harmful As Too Little Sleep

Last Updated on 2019-12-29 , 3:24 pm

I think my editor is a joker:

No, not this one

No lah, he’s too rigid to be this kind of joker also

By that I mean I think he’s a practical joker.

So last week, I was asked to write about Singaporeans’ lack of sleep.

And I being the newbie writer in town wrote about the sleep deprivation in my ironically and perpetually sleep-deprived state.

Today though, he beckoned me over and threw me a spiked-curveball:

B: W, today your first article will be “SLEEP TOO MUCH IS JUST AS HARMFUL AS TOO LITTLE SLEEP”

W: But last week I just wrote “NEW SURVEY SHOWS ALMOST HALF OF S’POREANS DON’T SLEEP ENOUGH”

B: Last week Holland Village NTUC still got all their trolley, you know this week they got how many?

W: Eh, all their trolley?

B: No, Zero, Kosing and why you never read our article yesterday?

W: Uhhhhh…it’s a damn app-exclusive –

B: WHAT?!

So imagine the end of these flail plus a curveball (no image lah, its a urban dictionary term)

Sleeping too much is just sleeping too little inversely

Can I just take  a moment to give myself a pat for the creative title above?

The Sleep Doctor Has Spoken

So we all know a lack of sleep is a global and rampant issue.But what about sleeping too much?

Apparently it is, in an article written by Michael J. Breus, PhD, DABSM, aka The Sleep Doctor ™.

Since it’s a rather long article, I’ll just extract the more interesting points for you.

In the article he explains that “Hypersomnia” is the clinical term for excessive sleeping and excessive sleepiness during the day” for which core symptoms include:

He explains that “Sleeping too much is linked with many of the same health risks as sleeping too little, including heart disease, metabolic problems such as diabetes and obesity, and cognitive issues including difficulty with memory. Similar to people who sleep too little, people who sleep too much have higher overall mortality risks.”

Which basically means we are screwed anyhow unless we sleep like a sou-vide steak done to perfect timing, and we all know no one’s perfect except for a divine few in the history of mankind.

He also clarifies that the optimum amount of sleep varies according to different factors:

Individual genetics, age, activity level, health, life circumstance in pointed forms if you are too lazy to read.

In any case, it looks like 6.5 to 9 hours is the optimum number.

Oversleeping and depression

But what’s interesting in the article is that Dr Breus points out the link between oversleeping and depression.

In quoting *ahem* his own other papers and research, Dr Breus shares that a whopping “estimated 40 percent or more of adults under 30 with depression experience hypersomnia.”

Now, we all know that Singaporeans are a highly-stressed bunch vulnerable to depression and mental illnesses because traditional and mainstream media tells us so here and here.

According to The Singapore Mental Health Study conducted in 2016, it was reported that 13.9% or 1 in 7 Singaporean will/have experience a mental disorder in their lifetime – up from 1 in 8 or 12% in a similar 2019 study – this, according to a 11 December 2018 media release by Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

But once again, remember: don’t gong gong etch these info into stone, for everyone’s unique. Take it as a reference instead; like a wise man once said, “You’re special. You don’t need sleep. You just need to close your eyes and relax…and you’ll be fine.”

Okie.