What happens when you sleep too much?

Nov 3, 2019, 15:18 IST
Getting quality sleep is one of the most important things one can do for their health, yet somehow one of the most underrated. A good, sound sleep at night can be beneficial in boosting one’s mood, enhance performance and maintain a healthy weight and also regulate your blood sugar levels. It is generally recommended to sleep for 7-8 hours every night to stay healthy and fit, but do you know that sleeping for those extra hours on weekends may have strange implications?

As per a study conducted by the University of Oxford, the deeper and longer you sleep the stranger will be your dreams.



The study The study was conducted on 846 participants, in which the researchers examined the nightmare occurrence and their severity. As per the study, at least one in every 20 people experienced nightmares on a weekly basis while the frequency of nightmares was greater for people suffering from mental issues.

It was also noticed that participants who slept longer every night witnessed 35 percent more nightmares. By longer sleep duration means sleeping for more than nine hours on any given night.


Not only this, people who slept for less than 7 hours per day also at times experienced strange dreams.


Apart from this, while conducting the study, the researchers also studied the effect of alcohol consumption on a person's dream. In the end, it was found that ethanol content in alcohol induces Rapid eye movement due to which there are chances that people who consume alcohol at night before going to bed may not dream at all for the whole night and in case if they do it is quite intense.


The bottom line


So, if you want to avoid bad dreams at night then the sleep timing is 7-9 hours.

Copyright © 2021 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
All rights reserved.