Eight hours of sleep is considered ideal. And if the night’s rest is longer, you feel all the more exhausted the following day – this view is widespread. FITBOOK asked an expert if that’s really true.
«It’s better not to sleep more than seven or eight hours, otherwise you’ll be really exhausted tomorrow» – everyone has probably said that to themselves at some point when it came to setting the alarm clock. But is it really true that sleeping too long makes you tired? dr Michael Feld, general practitioner and sleep doctor from Frechen has the answer to this question.
Are we really tired because we sleep too long?
«It’s not that we’re tired because we’ve slept too much,» the expert explains, «it’s the other way around: people who have a recovery disorder at night sleep a lot». Those affected can allegedly stay in bed for as many hours as they want – but they are still not really recovered. According to Dr. Field the reason why they feel so weak the following day.
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how much sleep do we need
According to Feld, there are people who need nine to ten hours of sleep a night to stay fit and healthy. However, this is no more than ten percent of the general public. 70 to 80 percent of people need seven to eight hours of sleep – the amount of time that is generally considered ideal. And then there are the «short sleepers» – about ten percent of the population: «Four to six hours a night is enough for them,» the expert tells us.
We catch up on our sleep deficit at the weekend
The sleep doctor admits that practically all of us accumulate a certain amount of sleep deficit during the week. That’s an average of half an hour to an hour per night, which adds up, «so that of course we want and have to sleep in at the weekend.» And it usually works quite well to catch up on sleep at the weekend. Exception: You’ve drunk through the night – even if you’ve slept a long time afterwards, you often still feel tired.
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People with depression and burnout often sleep late and are tired
In the case of depressive and burnout patients, it is actually the case that they sleep very long and are therefore all the more broken the next day. «During the dream sleep phase, certain messenger substances are released that can aggravate depression,» is the summary of the scientific background. That is why the problem is treated, among other things, by sleep deprivation therapy, which has had great success with certain mental disorders.
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Conclusion: Sleeping too long does not usually make you tired
Anyone who, for once, sleeps a little longer than usual has needed the extra hours in case of doubt – and should feel relaxed the following day. However, those who can’t seem to get out of bed and still feel like they’ve been beaten should have themselves examined. Field.