The Scary Truth About Oversleeping

While we've known for a little while that a full eight hours of sleep is the sweet spot for optimal health and mental performance, we never considered the notion that overdoing it could actually be dangerous. But researchers are now saying that this could very well be the case.

A new study from the University of Sydney shows that regularly getting more than nine hours of sleep can increase your mortality rate by up to 44%. On the flip side, while we've been told time and again that not getting enough sleep is seriously detrimental, it doesn't even come close to oversleeping: The scientists found that those who got less than seven hours of sleep only increased their mortality rates by 9%.

Researchers on the study said that one of the reasons these numbers are so scarily high is that oftentimes, oversleeping  and extreme fatigue indicate an underlying problem, like an illness or poor sleep quality. If you perpetually have a tough time getting out of bed (and not in the "ugh MONDAY" kind of way), it's probably a good idea to get checked out by a doctor or sleep specialist just to be safe.

But otherwise, up and at 'em! Invest in a white noise machine to ensure better sleep—not to mention a great alarm clock (and an automatic coffeemaker)—and face the day.

What do you think of this study? Scary, huh? Sound off in the comments below!