Reviewed by Jennifer Martin, PhD
Perhaps you’ve seen the headlines about how oversleeping has been linked to a higher danger of illness and demise. In the event you’re the type of one who frequently clocks greater than eight hours of slumber, these information tales have in all probability made you marvel, “Why do I sleep a lot? And is it dangerous for me?”
On this story, sleep consultants assist you perceive the most recent science. You’ll discover out what actually occurs if 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 route, 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 Baby, and co-author of Precision Diet’s Sleep, Stress Administration, and Restoration Teaching Certification.
Above (and beneath) common sleepers fall into three most important classes.
1. Individuals who want fewer than 7 hours of sleep
Known as Pure Brief Sleepers, these genetically-gifted people don’t want as a lot sleep as the common particular person.
Elevated ranges of a hormone referred to 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 Brief Sleepers. Relatively, they skimp on sleep for different causes, starting from revenge-bedtime procrastination to parenthood to an “all the time on” work ethic.
In the event you’re not genetically a Pure Brief Sleeper, skimping on sleep doubtless 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 consequences of sleep deprivation that you simply’ve now not bear in mind what it feels wish to be nicely rested
Along with the above, over time, your danger for coronary heart illness, most cancers, and sort 2 diabetes can go up as nicely.
(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 often want 10, 11, or 12 hours to be able to really feel refreshed. Their genetics additionally trigger them to really feel drained extra rapidly than different folks.
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 Drugs 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 treatment, and in some circumstances, the sleepiness is lowered as soon as the particular person will get used to the treatment,” she says.
3. Individuals who want 13+ hours of sleep
Some folks sleep 14, 17, 24 or extra hours with little or no interruption, and so they nonetheless wake feeling drained.
“In the event you discover you’re one in all these folks, it may be a sign that there’s something fallacious together 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 folks to wake feeling unrefreshed.
A wide range of well being circumstances—together with epilepsy, Parkinson’s illness, and despair—may result in hypersomnia, which is the shortcoming to remain awake. Narcolepsy, one other hypersomnia situation, causes folks to really feel drained on a regular basis, main them to go to sleep at inappropriate and harmful occasions, akin to whereas on a date or driving a car. These problems require medical therapy.
In the event you suspect any of the above is true for you, it’s an ideal factor to say to your physician.
What occurs if you sleep an excessive amount of?
“For the common particular person, if they’re sleeping, they in all probability must 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 could have observed: In the event you accumulate extra sleep than standard by sleeping in on a weekend, you’ll doubtless end up wakeful later that night.
There are, nonetheless, some exceptions. Extra about these beneath.
(Discover out: Would YOU make an ideal sleep coach?)
Does oversleeping hurt your well being?
Regardless of the entire scary headlines, it’s doubtless 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 continual well being downside, not the trigger, finds analysis.1,2
Often, the issue is bi-directional, which 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 embody:
▶ 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
▶ Melancholy
▶ Persistent fatigue syndrome
▶ Coronary heart illness
For the above circumstances, it’s vital to notice that oversleeping doesn’t trigger them. Relatively, it’s a symptom of them.
For instance, sleep apnea repeatedly wakes folks, typically for transient moments, through the night time, which might result in hypersomnia (extreme sleepiness through the day) in addition to a robust want 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.
In the event you frequently 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 concern. You probably don’t have anything to fret about.
However, when you spend your days craving a nap—drained, mind fogged, irritated, and resolution fatigued—there could also be an underlying subject value exploring together with your physician.
(Be taught extra: Why folks with insomnia swear by CBT-I.)
4 Sleep Habits That Enhance Sleep High quality
In the event you’re eager about sleeping extra restfully, take into account forming any of the next sleep habits.
Create a sleep oasis. When your sleep atmosphere makes you’re feeling protected and comfortable, it’s simpler on your mind to loosen up, permitting you to sleep extra deeply.
Block out mild. Your circadian rhythm responds to adjustments in mild. For most individuals, the darker the room, the higher they sleep. In the event you can’t get your room as darkish as wanted, take into account experimenting with a sleep masks that covers your eyes and blocks out mild.
Modify the temperature. Along with mild, your circadian rhythm additionally responds to adjustments in temperature, making you’re feeling sleepy as your physique cools down. Taking a scorching 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 scorching flashes are protecting you awake, take into account investing in cooling mattress pads or utilizing a fan. (Learn extra: Menopause and sleep).
Contemplate sleeping alone. A loud night breathing partner or lively pet can wake you repeatedly, inflicting you to want extra sleep to really feel rested.
(Learn extra: How you can sleep higher.)
Can sleeping an excessive amount of make you drained?
Ever observed that you simply really feel extra drained if you sleep in (say, on the weekends) than you do if you stand up early?
There are two doubtless causes for this phenomenon.
1. Oversleeping is usually a response to undersleeping
Some folks sleep 10+ hours on the weekends as a result of they’re sleeping six or fewer hours through the week.
“One motive folks really feel drained after sleeping quite a bit 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.
In the event you often 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 substances
✅ Conversations with housemates that nudge you to “get up! suppose!”
✅ Caffeine
✅ Breakfast
✅ That feeling of being rushed as you race out the door
If you sometimes oversleep, you deprive your mind of some or all of these cues. Among the wakeup indicators won’t happen in any respect. Others, like overhead lighting and caffeine, happen hours later than your mind is used to getting them.
Finish consequence: you’re feeling drained.
How will you inform when you’re sleeping an excessive amount of?
Dr. Winter suggests you take into account this query:
In the course of the day, when you sit all the way down to learn a ebook or watch a present, do you’re 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 subject, he says.
However, when you’re clocking a number 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 finest 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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