Too Much Sleep Not a Good Thing

Like most everything else, sleep is best done in moderation.

Spending too many hours in bed each night can cause as many problems as getting too few hours of sack time, according to a University of California, San Diego study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

The study found people who sleep more than eight hours a night (long sleepers) and people who get less than seven hours of slumber both report more sleep complaints than people who get just the right amount of shuteye -- between seven and eight hours per night.

"Although it is unclear why long and short sleepers should have similar types of sleep complaints, these data challenge the assumption that more than seven or eight hours of sleep is associated with increased health and well-being," study co-author Michael A. Grandner says in a prepared statement.

He and colleague Dr. Daniel F. Kripke examined data from about 100 adults interviewed during the National Sleep Foundation's 2001 Sleep in America Poll.

They found that, compared with people who slept seven to eight hours a night, long sleepers reported more problems with falling asleep, waking up during the night, waking up too early, feeling unrefreshed when they wake up and feeling sleepy during the day.

Both long and short sleepers reported more sleep problems than people who got seven to eight hours of sack time each night. Women were more likely to be long sleepers than men.

More information

The National Sleep Foundation offers advice on getting a good night's sleep.