Why Do You Sleep So A lot? The Shocking Science

Reviewed by Jennifer Martin, PhD

Possibly you’ve seen the headlines about how oversleeping has been linked to a higher threat of illness and loss of life. For those who’re the sort of one that usually clocks greater than eight hours of slumber, these information tales have most likely made you surprise, “Why do I sleep a lot? And is it dangerous for me?”

On this story, sleep consultants assist you perceive the newest science. You’ll discover out what actually occurs if you oversleep, together with the way it impacts your well being.

(Spoiler: Chances are high, 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 evening. 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, writer 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 most important classes.

1. Individuals who want fewer than 7 hours of sleep

Known as Pure Quick Sleepers, these genetically-gifted of us don’t want as a lot sleep as the common 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 necessary caveat, although. Loads of individuals who get lower than seven hours aren’t Pure Quick Sleepers. Fairly, they skimp on sleep for different causes, starting from revenge-bedtime procrastination to parenthood to an “at all times on” work ethic.

For those who’re not genetically a Pure Quick Sleeper, skimping on sleep possible means you’ll both…

▶ really feel like rubbish the following day

▶ received’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 bear in mind what it feels prefer to be effectively rested

Along with the above, over time, your threat for coronary heart illness, most cancers, and kind 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

Resulting from their genetic make-up, Pure Lengthy Sleepers normally want 10, 11, or 12 hours in an effort to really feel refreshed. Their genetics additionally trigger them to really feel drained extra rapidly than different individuals.

Additionally on this longer-sleeping class: youngsters, youngsters, and plenty 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 likewise a co-author Precision Diet’s Sleep, Stress Administration, and Restoration Teaching Certification.

Sure prescription drugs can even enhance sleep time, says Dr. Martin.

“Normally this impact is reversed when the particular person stops the remedy, and in some instances, 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.

“For those who discover you might be one among these individuals, it may be a sign that there’s something mistaken 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.

Quite a lot of well being situations—together with epilepsy, Parkinson’s illness, and melancholy—can even 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, resembling whereas on a date or driving a car. These problems require medical therapy.

For those who suspect any of the above is true for you, it’s an important 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 most likely 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 evening and your physique will reply by craving extra sleep the following. Alternatively, you might have observed: For those who gather extra sleep than normal by sleeping in on a weekend, you’ll possible end up wakeful 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 the entire scary headlines, it’s possible 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 ends up 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

▶ Melancholy

▶ Continual fatigue syndrome

▶ Coronary heart illness

For the above situations, it’s necessary to notice that oversleeping doesn’t trigger them. Fairly, it’s a symptom of them.

For instance, sleep apnea repeatedly wakes individuals, typically for temporary moments, throughout the evening, which may result in hypersomnia (extreme sleepiness throughout the day) in addition to a robust want to remain in mattress longer than eight hours or to take a nap throughout the afternoon.

“When medical issues disturb sleep, it takes an individual an extended time frame to be sufficiently recovered,” says Dr. Martin.

For those who usually get greater than 10 hours, and you’re feeling energetic and clear headed throughout the day, that’s nice! Get pleasure from your slumber with out worry. You probably don’t have anything to fret about.

However, if you happen to spend your days craving a nap—drained, mind fogged, irritated, and resolution fatigued—there could also be an underlying situation value exploring along with your physician.

(Study extra: Why individuals with insomnia swear by CBT-I.)

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 possible causes for this phenomenon.

1. Oversleeping is usually a response to undersleeping

Some individuals sleep 10+ hours on the weekends as a result of they’re sleeping six or fewer hours throughout the week.

“One purpose individuals really feel drained after sleeping lots is that they nonetheless haven’t paid again their sleep money owed from prior nights,” says Dr. Martin. “In case you are very sleep disadvantaged, it takes a number of days to get again on observe and ‘catch up.’”

2. Sleeping in can disrupt sleep-wake signaling.

For those who 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 outside 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

If you often oversleep, you deprive your mind of some or all of these cues. A number of the wakeup alerts won’t happen in any respect. Others, like overhead lighting and caffeine, happen hours later than your mind is used to getting them.

Finish end result: you are feeling drained.

How will you inform if you happen to’re sleeping an excessive amount of?  

Dr. Winter suggests you contemplate this query:

Throughout the day, if you happen to 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 evening, which can be an indication of a sleep problem or sleep high quality situation, he says.

However, if you happen to’re clocking plenty of bedtime hours and really feel energized throughout the day, 10+ hours might simply be your pure sleep sample.

“In case you are an extended 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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