Explanatory Synthesis Notes

For my paper, I will be explaining the health effects of too much sleep.  Most people are aware of the dangers of getting too little sleep, but more unclear are the risks associated with getting too much sleep.  Getting too much sleep has been linked with many health problems including: depression, heart disease, obesity, and even an increased risk of death.  The optimal amount of time to sleep is about 7 hours, and getting a lot more or less sleep can be damaging to one's health.  There are other factors that exacerbate these problems, such as not getting enough exercise and one's eating habits.  Scientists have found a direct link between getting too much sleep and health effects.  Many of the effects are similar to those when people do not get enough sleep, but they are lesser known by the general public and still a bit unclear to scientists.  I would like to share this information as I believe it is something many people do not realize but should have an understanding of.

Source #1
My first source for this paper is an article from the Huffington Post that describes the health effects related to too much sleep.  It lists and describes how the health issues have been correlated with too much sleep.  Some of the effects it lists include: depression, brain impairment, diabetes, heart risks, weight gain, and an increased mortality rate.  I plan to focus on a few of these related issues, going into detail on heart depression, heart disease, and increased mortality rate.  This source will not only help me to explain the connection between the health issue and too much sleep, but will also provide some evidence as it mentions some scientific studies and data.

Source #2
My second source connects too much sleep specifically to an increased mortality rate.  It references several studies that have taken place and analyzes the results of the data.  The link to an increased mortality rate is one of the important points in my paper, so this source will help me provide some statistics to capture the audience's attention.  I think this source will really help me drive home my argument and provide interesting data for my readers.

Source #3
My third source is a YouTube video which explains the risks associated with both not getting enough sleep and getting too much sleep.  This will be helpful to me as I plan to begin my paper by briefly discussing the well known dangers of not getting enough sleep, and then move into the lesser known risks of getting too much sleep.  The video discusses these risks and explains the link that scientists have found between them and too much sleep.