Most people suggest that taking a nap or focusing on your sleep quality could help manage stress or face mental health struggles. However, new research suggests that there is such a thing as “Too much sleep”. A recent study from UT Health San Antonio highlights an unexpected risk: longerthe duration may actually worsen cognitive function in people dealing with depression. This challenges the common assumption that more rest is always better and opens up new questions about how sleep and mental health interact. Keep on reading to discover more about it.
What can happen when you sleep “too much”
Researchers analyzed data from 1,853 adults participating in the long-running Framingham Heart Study. Their focus was on sleep patterns and how they correlated with performance on a series of cognitive tests. What they found was surprising: sleeping more than nine hours per night was consistently linked with poorer memory, weaker executive functioning, and reduced spatial awareness.
These declines were most notable in individuals who also reported symptoms of depression. Interestingly, antidepressant use didn’t seem to change the outcome—long sleep still predicted worse mental performance, regardless of treatment. The study suggests that excessive amounts of rest might not be the harmless coping mechanism many believe it to be, especially in the context of mood disorders.
Too Much Sleep and the Cognitive Cost of Depression
The idea that too much sleep could harm brain health shifts the focus toward how what the duration itself could become a modifiable risk factor. While lack of rest is known to impair cognition, this research adds a new layer: oversleeping may be just as concerning, particularly for those managing depression.
The findings imply that optimizing your rest —neither too little nor too much—may be crucial for maintaining cognitive resilience. For clinicians and patients alike, monitoring might need to go beyond checking for insomnia and include awareness of prolonged sleep habits.
As more studies examine how mental health and lifestyle choices overlap, sleep duration is emerging as a more complex piece of the puzzle than previously thought.
Credit:
- Study
- Featured Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
