Sylvain Allemand // Credits: AFP 06:00, March 15, 2024

For several years, sleeping well has become a major health issue.

If lack of sleep is a recognized danger, its opposite is much less so.

However, in some cases, it is possible to stay asleep for too long.

But long sleepers rest assured, staying in the arms of Morpheus excessively is rare and is not harmful to your health.

Oversleeping is not for everyone.

On the occasion of International Sleep Day, the French will be made aware of the importance of sleeping well every day.

Currently, specialist doctors in the field are sounding the alarm about the sleep deficit which is poisoning the daily lives of many people.

While it is unfortunately common to not reach the recommended 7 hours, staying too long in dreamland is possible, but very rare. 

“To be considered a long sleeper, you must reach 9 hours of daily sleep, beyond that, you are in excess,” explains to Europe 1, Doctor Marc Rey, president of the National Institute of Sleep and of surveillance.

A very rare case explained by hypersomnia.

This phenomenon results in an excessive need to sleep and significant daytime sleepiness.

“This state is due to pathologies such as sleep apnea. During periods where breathing stops, the body no longer really sleeps, so it needs to recover afterwards,” indicates the specialist. 

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In this configuration, too long nights can cause cardiovascular problems.

Even rarer, 2% of the French population suffers from narcolepsy.

It essentially results in irrepressible bouts of sleep occurring several times a day, even during full activity.

"It is an awakening disorder. The brain no longer secretes a neurotransmitter called hypocretin which manages awakening. The patient's body can no longer know when to wake up and it ends up sleeping too much. 

Depression, unrelated to sleeping too much

Despite this observation, it sometimes happens that people sleep, especially on weekends, for more than 10 hours without suffering from an illness.

"These are cases of false hypersomnia. If you need 9 hours of rest, then it will be difficult for you to achieve them during the week when the sleep time is estimated at 6 hours 45 minutes. Therefore, your needs are not are not fulfilled and you make up for them. In short, you don't sleep too much. 

Depressive disorders are also often unfairly linked to excess sleep.

However, the two are absolutely not related.

“When you're depressed, you want to stay in bed to sleep, but it has nothing to do with sleep, it's just depressive symptoms.”

A person suffering from this pathology, even if they wanted to, will not be able to remain excessively under the influence of the sandman.