‘How much sleep is too much?’ Ask the doctor

Sleep is known to have amazing health benefits – but how much shuteye is too much?

The answer is not so straightforward, Dr. Chris Winter, a Virginia-based neurologist and sleep medicine specialist who works with Mattress Firm, told Fox News Digital.

“This is to some extent an impossible question to answer,” he wrote.

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Like diet and other aspects of lifestyle, Winter explained that the right amount of sleep is “a dynamic range.”

“What is too much food for me may be an incredibly insufficient amount for an Olympic swimmer,” he said as an example.

For the average adult, a sleep duration of more than 11 to 12 hours would be considered “too much” and would begin to “raise questions about sleep quality and sleep consistency,” Winter said.

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While too little sleep can cause many negative effects, excessive sleepiness can cause dangers such as sleep inertia, which is the feeling of restlessness that occurs after sleeping for too long.

A sleep specialist recommended that you catch up on sleep deprivation. (Stock)

“For most people, it’s less about ‘sleeping too much’ and more about compensatory sleep,” he said.

In other words, you don’t get enough sleep during the week and you try to ‘make up’ for the lost sleep on the weekend.”

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Oversleeping is often a manifestation of “a quality of sleep deprivation” overall, Winter says.

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However, the expert recommends that you catch up on sleep where it is lacking.

“Research has shown that if you pay off that sleeping debt quickly, it is possible to keep that debt from affecting your life,” he said.

Oversleeping is often a manifestation of “quality sleep deprivation” overall, says the sleep doctor. (Stock)

“Although it shouldn’t be Plan A, making up for lost sleep by napping or napping, if possible, can be a good fallback plan.”

While other studies have suggested negative health consequences of both not getting enough or too much sleep, Winter stressed that it’s better to get too much sleep than not enough.

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“Trying to be consistent in sleep is important, too,” he said.

“Sleeping seven different hours every night is not the same as sticking to the same seven hours a night.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night.