'How much sleep is too much?': Ask a doctor

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Sleep expert says this activity could help you get better rest at night

Dr. Wendy Troxel, a sleep therapist in Utah, discusses a study that found small bouts of light exercise in the evening can help promote more restful sleep.

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

The answer isn’t so straightforward, Dr. Chris Winter, a Virginia-based neurologist and sleep medicine specialist with Mattress Firm, told Fox News Digital.

"This is to some degree an impossible question to answer," he wrote. 

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As with food and other lifestyle factors, Winter explained that the ideal amount of sleep is a "dynamic range."

Sleep durations exceeding 11 to 12 hours might prompt concern, the expert said. (iStock)

"What is too much food for me might be an amazingly inadequate amount for an Olympic swimmer," he said as an example.

For the average adult, sleep durations exceeding 11 to 12 hours would be considered "too much" and would start "prompting questions about sleep quality and sleep consistency," Winter said.

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While getting too little sleep can cause many negative effects, an excess of slumber can pose risks like sleep inertia, which is the feeling of grogginess that occurs after sleeping in for too long.

The sleep specialist recommended catching up on sleep when there’s been a deficit. (iStock?)

Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, a neuroscientist and sleep specialist at Wesper in New York, warned that oversleeping may be a sign of an underlying health issue.

"Clinical science has shown that people who are chronic oversleepers are at an elevated risk for several chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some neurodegenerative conditions," she told Fox News Digital. 

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"Oversleeping is also associated with cognitive decline and poor mental health."

People also tend to sleep excessively when they have an illness or infection, Rohrscheib noted.

"There is also some evidence that people who are chronically oversleeping for most of their lives are at a higher risk for early death," she added.

People tend to sleep excessively when they have an illness or infection, an expert noted. (iStock)

Getting extra sleep can be beneficial, however, after a period of lost sleep, which Rohrscheib refers to as "rebound sleep."

"Oversleeping after sleep loss is normal," she said. "Your brain will make you sleep more to pay off your sleep debt. Oversleeping is typically only problematic if you are not sleep-deprived."

Winter agreed that catch-up sleep can be beneficial.

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"Studies have shown that if you pay that sleep debt back quickly, it probably keeps the deficit from impacting your health," he said.

"While it should never be Plan A, making up lost sleep via napping or sleeping in, when possible, can be a good fallback plan."

"Oversleeping is typically only problematic if you are not sleep-deprived."

Both sleeping too little and too much are detrimental to your health and well-being, but the experts agreed that it's better to get too much. 

"Science has shown that chronic sleep deprivation is more problematic because sleep accomplishes many essential biological functions that keep the brain and body healthy," Rohrscheib said.

Sleeping too much on a regular basis is more a reflection of "inadequate sleep quality" overall, the sleep doctor said. (iStock)

Striving for consistency in sleep is also important, Winter advised. 

"Sleeping a different seven hours every night is not nearly as healthy as sticking to the same seven hours night after night," he said.

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Rohrscheib recommends that people who regularly oversleep should speak to their doctor for a health assessment to determine whether there is an underlying cause. 

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