Reviewed by Jennifer Martin, PhD
Possibly you’ve seen the headlines about how oversleeping has been linked to a higher danger of illness and dying. Should you’re the sort of one who usually clocks greater than eight hours of slumber, these information tales have in all probability made you surprise, “Why do I sleep a lot? And is it unhealthy for me?”
On this story, sleep consultants enable you to perceive the newest science. You’ll discover out what actually occurs whenever you oversleep, together with the way it impacts your well being.
(Spoiler: Likelihood is, you don’t have anything to fret about.)
How a lot is an excessive amount of sleep?
On common, most individuals want someplace between seven and 9 hours of sleep every night time. However that’s a mean, not a good-health edict.
“As you begin to transfer out in both path, there are individuals who require barely extra and barely much less sleep,” says Chris Winter, MD, sleep specialist, creator of The Sleep Resolution and The Rested Youngster, and co-author of Precision Diet’s Sleep, Stress Administration, and Restoration Teaching Certification.
Above (and under) common sleepers fall into three important classes.
1. Individuals who want fewer than 7 hours of sleep
Known as Pure Quick Sleepers, these genetically-gifted people don’t want as a lot sleep as the typical particular person.
Elevated ranges of a hormone known as orexin permits them to really feel spunky and clear-headed with simply 5 to 6 hours of shuteye.
Right here’s an vital caveat, although. Loads of individuals who get lower than seven hours aren’t Pure Quick Sleepers. Reasonably, they skimp on sleep for different causes, starting from revenge-bedtime procrastination to parenthood to an “all the time on” work ethic.
Should you’re not genetically a Pure Quick Sleeper, skimping on sleep probably means you’ll both…
▶ really feel like rubbish the following day
▶ gained’t really feel like rubbish the following day—however solely since you’re so used to the results of sleep deprivation that you simply’ve not keep in mind what it feels wish to be effectively rested
Along with the above, over time, your danger for coronary heart illness, most cancers, and sort 2 diabetes can go up as effectively.
(Extra about sleep and well being additional down within the story.)
2. Individuals who want greater than 9 hours of sleep
On account of their genetic make-up, Pure Lengthy Sleepers normally want 10, 11, or 12 hours to be able to really feel refreshed. Their genetics additionally trigger them to really feel drained extra shortly than different individuals.
Additionally on this longer-sleeping class: kids, youngsters, and lots of younger adults, all of whom want extra sleep so their our bodies can proceed to develop, says Jennifer Martin, PhD, Professor of Medication on the College of California, Los Angeles and in addition a co-author Precision Diet’s Sleep, Stress Administration, and Restoration Teaching Certification.
Sure prescription medicines may improve sleep time, says Dr. Martin.
“Normally this impact is reversed when the particular person stops the remedy, and in some circumstances, the sleepiness is lowered as soon as the particular person will get used to the remedy,” she says.
3. Individuals who want 13+ hours of sleep
Some individuals sleep 14, 17, 24 or extra hours with little or no interruption, and so they nonetheless wake feeling drained.
“Should you discover you’re one in all these individuals, it is perhaps a sign that there’s something incorrect along with your sleep high quality, not essentially the amount,” Dr. Winter says. For instance, sleep problems like sleep apnea and insomnia can disrupt sleep, inflicting individuals to wake feeling unrefreshed.
A wide range of well being circumstances—together with epilepsy, Parkinson’s illness, and melancholy—may result in hypersomnia, which is the shortcoming to remain awake. Narcolepsy, one other hypersomnia situation, causes individuals to really feel drained on a regular basis, main them to go to sleep at inappropriate and harmful instances, similar to whereas on a date or driving a automobile. These problems require medical therapy.
Should you suspect any of the above is true for you, it’s an important factor to say to your physician.
What occurs whenever you sleep an excessive amount of?
“For the typical particular person, if they’re sleeping, they in all probability should be sleeping,” says Dr. Winter.
That’s as a result of our our bodies all have a sleep set level—known as “homeostasis.” Get too little sleep one night time and your physique will reply by craving extra sleep the following. Alternatively, you might have observed: Should you gather extra sleep than normal by sleeping in on a weekend, you’ll probably end up conscious later that night.
There are, nonetheless, some exceptions. Extra about these under.
(Discover out: Would YOU make an important sleep coach?)
Does oversleeping hurt your well being?
Regardless of all the scary headlines, it’s probably that lengthy sleep itself poses little to no well being issues. That’s as a result of, in individuals who sleep greater than most, it’s typically the results of a power well being downside, not the trigger, finds analysis.1,2
Sometimes, the issue is bi-directional, that means the well being downside disturbs sleep, which worsens the well being downside, which results in worsened sleep, and the cycle continues.
These well being issues embrace:
▶ Sleep problems like sleep apnea (the place respiration repeatedly stops throughout sleep) and narcolepsy (which is characterised by extreme daytime sleepiness and sleep assaults)
▶ Diabetes
▶ Hypothyroidism
▶ Despair
▶ Power fatigue syndrome
▶ Coronary heart illness
For the above circumstances, it’s vital to notice that oversleeping doesn’t trigger them. Reasonably, it’s a symptom of them.
For instance, sleep apnea repeatedly wakes individuals, typically for temporary moments, through the night time, which might result in hypersomnia (extreme sleepiness through the day) in addition to a robust need to remain in mattress longer than eight hours or to take a nap through the afternoon.
“When medical issues disturb sleep, it takes an individual an extended time period to be sufficiently recovered,” says Dr. Martin.
Should you usually get greater than 10 hours, and you’re feeling energetic and clear headed through the day, that’s nice! Take pleasure in your slumber with out worry. You almost certainly don’t have anything to fret about.
Then again, for those who spend your days craving a nap—drained, mind fogged, irritated, and resolution fatigued—there could also be an underlying problem price exploring along with your physician.
(Study extra: Why individuals with insomnia swear by CBT-I.)
4 Sleep Habits That Enhance Sleep High quality
Should you’re all in favour of sleeping extra restfully, think about forming any of the next sleep habits.
Create a sleep oasis. When your sleep atmosphere makes you are feeling secure and comfy, it’s simpler in your mind to loosen up, permitting you to sleep extra deeply.
Block out mild. Your circadian rhythm responds to modifications in mild. For most individuals, the darker the room, the higher they sleep. Should you can’t get your room as darkish as wanted, think about experimenting with a sleep masks that covers your eyes and blocks out mild.
Regulate the temperature. Along with mild, your circadian rhythm additionally responds to modifications in temperature, making you are feeling sleepy as your physique cools down. Taking a sizzling tub or bathe earlier than mattress can trick your physique that it’s time to sleep because it’s cooling down. One other tactic: Set your thermostat so it reduces the ambient temperature by a pair levels at night time.
If sizzling flashes are preserving you awake, think about investing in cooling mattress pads or utilizing a fan. (Learn extra: Menopause and sleep).
Think about sleeping alone. A loud night breathing partner or energetic pet can wake you repeatedly, inflicting you to want extra sleep to really feel rested.
(Learn extra: sleep higher.)
Can sleeping an excessive amount of make you drained?
Ever observed that you simply really feel extra drained whenever you sleep in (say, on the weekends) than you do whenever you rise up early?
There are two probably causes for this phenomenon.
1. Oversleeping is commonly a response to undersleeping
Some individuals sleep 10+ hours on the weekends as a result of they’re sleeping six or fewer hours through the week.
“One cause individuals really feel drained after sleeping so much is that they nonetheless haven’t paid again their sleep money owed from prior nights,” says Dr. Martin. “If you’re very sleep disadvantaged, it takes a number of days to get again on monitor and ‘catch up.’”
2. Sleeping in can disrupt sleep-wake signaling.
Should you normally wake at 6 am, sleeping in on the weekends will disrupt your mind’s potential to launch the neurochemicals wanted for that refreshed, ready-to-slay-the-world feeling.
“It’s actually extra about sleep timing than sleep quantity,” explains Dr. Winter. “The mind’s timing cues are being disrupted.”
Amongst these timing cues:
✅ Overhead and out of doors mild that units your mind’s circadian clock
✅ The blaring noise of your alarm clock that triggers the discharge of cortisol and different alertness chemical compounds
✅ Conversations with housemates that nudge you to “get up! assume!”
✅ Caffeine
✅ Breakfast
✅ That feeling of being rushed as you race out the door
Whenever you often oversleep, you deprive your mind of some or all of these cues. A few of the wakeup alerts may not happen in any respect. Others, like overhead lighting and caffeine, happen hours later than your mind is used to getting them.
Finish consequence: you are feeling drained.
How are you going to inform for those who’re sleeping an excessive amount of?
Dr. Winter suggests you think about this query:
In the course of the day, for those who sit right down to learn a ebook or watch a present, do you are feeling a robust urge to nod off?
If the reply is sure, it’s a sign that you simply’re not getting sufficient restorative sleep at night time, which can be an indication of a sleep problem or sleep high quality problem, he says.
Then again, for those who’re clocking plenty of bedtime hours and really feel energized through the day, 10+ hours may simply be your pure sleep sample.
“If you’re a protracted sleeper and really feel good, don’t fear about it,” says Dr. Martin. “Do your greatest to spend the period of time in mattress you want.”
References
Click on right here to view the knowledge sources referenced on this article.
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