Sleeping For Nine Hours Occasionally. Am I Neurotic? Want Opinion

Posted on Sun, 8 Jul 2012

Question: I am 71 and feel that I am in good health. I am active riding my bike on the beach in Florida for 10 hours/week. I am 6' and weigh 163. I normally sleep 7.5 hours at night but occasionally more than 9. It bothers me to sleep so long and wake up feeling there must be something wrong. Perhaps I am neurotic but would like an opinion.

Answered by Dr. Aparna Kohli (6 hours later)

Hi,
Thanks for writing in.
It is normal to sleep for 7-8 hours a day. Since you lead an active lifestyle, I wouldn't be bothered if I was in your place and was sleeping that much occasionally. With an increase in the age, the body becomes less adept to handling stress (physical or mental) and sleeping is one way of dealing with this. So don't worry and let your body unwind after a hard workout.
However, I would definitely like to know if your blood pressure is normal, whether you have been screened for diabetes, has a colonoscopy been done for you. These are the aspects of health I am most concerned about at your age. If all this has been done and is ok, then congratulations, you have done a wonderful job of keeping yourself fit.
Wishing you the very best.
Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar