Many people are concerned about not getting enough sleep. However, oversleeping can present a number of health risks and signal the presence of an underlying medical condition.
What is considered oversleeping?
Oversleeping, also known as hypersomnia or long sleeping, is when someone regularly sleeps more than nine hours in a 24-hour period.
Maybe you overslept because you’re fighting an illness or trying to catch up after a few nights of sleep deprivation. Oversleeping on a regular basis, however, may indicate a sleep disorder, a mental health disorder, or another health problem.
How much sleep do you need?
The amount of sleep you need each night may depend on several factors, such as your age and lifestyle. Here are the current guidelines from the National Sleep Foundation:
| Age | Hours of sleep per day |
|---|---|
| 0–3 months | 14–17 hours (includes naps) |
| 4–11 months | 12–15 hours (includes naps) |
| 1–2 years | 11–14 hours (includes naps) |
| 3–5 years | 10–13 hours |
| 6–13 years | 9–11 hours |
| 14–17 years | 8–10 hours |
| 18–64 years | 7–9 hours |
| 65 years and older | 7–8 hours |
Symptoms of oversleeping
Symptoms of oversleeping may depend on the underlying cause and whether oversleeping is chronic or short-term. These may include:
- agitation
- irritation
- fatigue
- anxiety
- increased daytime naps
- decreased appetite
- headaches
- difficulty concentrating/brain fogginess
- increased inflammation
- memory issues
- puffy or strained eyes and face
- depression
What could cause oversleeping?
Oversleeping may simply be the result of catching up on the lost hours of sleep during a short time period, known as sleep debt. For example, if you need eight hours of sleep but only get six, you have a sleep debt of two hours. If you get four hours of sleep when you should be getting eight, you’ll have a sleep debt of four hours. If you do this for the next seven days, you’ll end up with a sleep debt of 28 hours.
A number of health conditions can also lead to oversleeping and excessive daytime sleepiness:
- Disrupted sleep cycle
- Sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, insomnia, idiopathic hypersomnia, narcolepsy, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder, parasomnia, restless leg syndrome
- Depression and anxiety
- Obesity
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Diabetes
- Chronic pain
- Hypothyroidism
- Head injury
1. Disrupted sleep cycle
Numerous factors might disturb your sleep pattern. Each night, the body alternates between four or five cycles of rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep. These cycles are necessary to help a person feel rested the next day.
Interruptions to the sleep cycle may result in drowsiness, which causes some people to oversleep. These disruptions may take the form of:
- loud noises
- bright lights
- caffeine consumption before bed
- pain
- restless legs syndrome
- bruxism, or teeth grinding
2. Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing temporarily during your sleep. As a result, you snore and choke at night and are drowsy during the day. To compensate for insufficient sleep, you may nap during the day and attempt to sleep longer at night, resulting in oversleeping.
Sleep apnea symptoms can often be resolved with adequate therapy. After a sleep study confirms that you have sleep apnea, your doctor may issue a prescription for a CPAP machine. This machine aids with breathing during sleep.
Other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea include:
- difficulty concentrating
- memory issues
- headaches or a dry mouth upon waking
- decreased libido
- waking up often to urinate
3. Idiopathic hypersomnia
Even with a comprehensive diagnosis healthcare professionals may be unable to determine the underlying cause of oversleeping. This is referred to as idiopathic hypersomnia.
A person with this condition may experience extreme sleepiness and oversleeping for no apparent/identifiable reason. This sleep disorder is characterized by difficulty waking, excessive sleepiness, and the inability to feel rested after sleeping at night or napping during the day. With this disorder, you may sleep as much as 14 to 18 hours a day.
For treatment, doctors frequently prescribe drugs similar to those used to treat narcolepsy. However, these drugs may not be as successful in treating idiopathic hypersomnia as they are for narcolepsy. Added to that, if you have idiopathic hypersomnia, you might be required to make some lifestyle modifications such as reducing alcohol use and avoiding nighttime activities.
4. Depression and Anxiety
Sleep difficulties and other health issues are common among those suffering from depression and anxiety. Depression can cause both oversleeping and trouble sleeping, and teenagers and older adults are more likely to feel excessive sleepiness. Several studies have found that those who sleep for an extended period of time are more likely to develop depression. Other research have found that persons with anxiety problems are more prone to have lengthy sleep, which causes them uneasiness.
There are numerous treatments available for both depression and anxiety. In addition to cognitive behavioral therapy, a variety of prescription drugs can help alleviate your symptoms. Consult a medical professional to discover which treatment options are best for you.
5. Narcolepsy
Is a sleep-related condition that can cause a person to experience extreme sleepiness throughout the day. This does not go away after a full night’s sleep or with daytime napping.
Narcolepsy may also cause other sleep issues, in addition to physical and cognitive symptoms. There are three types of narcolepsy, but in almost all cases you experience excessive daytime sleepiness and overpowering urges to sleep, called sleep attacks. In secondary narcolepsy, caused by injury to the hypothalamus, you may sleep for more than 10 hours each night. While narcolepsy is a lifelong disorder, it can be managed with treatment, including medication and lifestyle changes.
6. Hypothyroidism
Physical conditions such as hypothyroidism can also have an impact on sleep patterns in some situations.
A person with an underactive thyroid may feel sleepy even after a full night’s sleep. This can lead to daytime napping or falling back asleep in the morning, resulting in oversleeping.
Other typical hypothyroidism symptoms include feeling cold, muscle weakness, and unexplained weight gain.
7. Medications
Excessive sleepiness and oversleeping may be a side effect of taking certain medications and substances, including:
- sedatives
- cannabis
- opioids
- psychotropic drugs
- hypertension drugs
- antiepileptic drugs (AEDs)
- alcohol
- antidepressant drugs
If excessive sleepiness due to medication is difficult to cope with, a person should talk to a doctor about adjusting the dosage or changing to a new medication.
8. Head injury
A 2019 review found that 28% of people who experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) experience hypersomnia.
Effects of oversleeping on the body and overall health
Oversleeping impacts your overall health and can have negative effects, just as a lack of sleep does. Early research suggests that longer sleep:
- Worsens inflammation in the body
- Decreases your immune function
- Can lead to chronic diseases
Oversleeping due to short periods of sleep deprivation may cause temporary anxiety, fogginess, and low energy. However, regularly oversleeping may increase your risk of several health conditions, including:
- Obesity
- Cardiovascular disease
- Stroke
- Headaches
- Frequent mental distress
- Coronary heart disease
- Diabetes(type 2)
- Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
- Decrease in Fertility
- Weight Gain
- Poor Cognitive Performance
1. Inflammation
Inflammation is your body’s way of battling harmful things to mend itself. These include diseases, wounds, poisons and infections. And chronic inflammation is inflammation that goes on for months or even years.
While sleep enables your body to recuperate, sleeping excessively may have the opposite effect. A study in the journal Sleep demonstrates that sleep length changes your levels of cytokines. Cytokines are essential in controlling inflammation.
2. Cardiovascular disease
The connection between oversleeping and heart health is often proven in studies. Indeed, a new investigation even cautions that oversleeping may prompt premature death. The study, in the journal of the American Heart Foundation, finds that if you regularly sleep for ten hours you are 30% more prone to die prematurely than if you sleep for eight. Sleeping for ten hours or longer is connected to a 56% increase in the risk of death by stroke and a 49% increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The AHA research looks at information from 74 studies including more than three million individuals.
3. Decrease in Fertility
We know there is a connection between fertility and not getting enough sleep. However, what you probably won’t know is that oversleeping may also affect your pregnancy result. A group of analysts investigated the sleep habits of in excess of 650 ladies undergoing IVF. In general, pregnancy rates were higher in the average sleepers than in ladies who slept for more than nine hours each night.
4. Headaches
If you experience headaches, sleeping in on the weekend may be to blame. Specialists advise this is because of the impacts of oversleeping on specific synapses in the brain, including serotonin. If you sleep excessively in the day and disturb your evening rest you may end up in pain from headaches the next day.
But it’s not just headaches that result from oversleeping. If you experience physical pain, the impact of oversleeping may exacerbate it. Back pain, specifically, may increase from spending too much time in bed. Consider when you sleep or sit in one position for a really long time. You may feel stiff or endure pain when you stand up and move. Oversleeping can make your existing pain surprisingly worse.
5. Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease
Oversleeping has also been demonstrated to be an indicator of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. An investigation led by analysts at the Boston University School of Medicine discovers adults who sleep longer than nine hours consistently, will probably build up all-cause dementia and clinical Alzheimer’s disease.
Critically, the research finds that long sleep periods might be a marker of early neurodegeneration. More or less, oversleeping is a sign you’re at a higher risk of advancing to clinical dementia within 10 years. Which means your doctor may have the capacity to recognize Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia before memory loss even begins.
If you feel tired constantly and sleep for more than seven to nine hours every night, chat with your specialist about the reason for your oversleeping.
6. Poor cognitive performance
Cognitive performance is all the actions that your brain undertakes to process what is happening around you. This includes your capacity to focus, handling speed, learning, speech fluency, and memory. You know that feeling when you’ve woken up after a long sleep and feel groggy? That’s what impaired cognitive function feels like.
Oversleeping can influence your everyday memory. You may not feel as sharp. Or, on the other hand, you may feel clumsy or forgetful. In fact, oversleeping may be an indicator of an underlying issue. If you believe you need over 10 hours sleep every night talk with your specialist about it.
7. Weight Gain
People who get too much sleep are more likely to be overweight or obese. Oversleep can result in alterations in hunger hormones, potentially causing individuals to feel more famished and consume more food. Weight gain can in turn increase the risk of diabetes.
8. Type 2 Diabetes
Long sleep duration can lead to sleep disruptions like insomnia and sleep apnea, which can cause weight gain and reduce insulin-induced glucose disposal. Long sleep combined with late sleep onset can cause peripheral clocks to be out of sync with the brain’s master clock. This can lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Long sleepers are more likely to be sedentary and have poor dietary choices, which can lead to impaired insulin sensitivity and weight gain. Getting too much or too little sleep can increase insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes. Ten hours of sleep every day is related to metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that regularly happen together. They put you at greater risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease.
Oversleeping Treatment
Treatment for oversleeping will depend on the underlying cause. If an underlying health issue causes your oversleeping, treating the issue may help you start sleeping normally.
Your treatment plan may include a combination of lifestyle changes, at-home remedies, and medications.
- Have Regular Sleep Schedule:
Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. This helps you avoid sleep loss and sleep debt. Setting an alarm for the same time each day may help the body regulate its patterns and get back to its natural rhythms – Do not hit the snooze button; getting up and out of bed completely may help wake the body up and prevent falling back asleep or oversleeping.
- Create a Bedtime Routine/create a conducive Sleep Environment:
Your routine should help you relax and prepare for sleep. Avoid light from electronics in the hours before bedtime, as this light can delay sleep onset. Get rid of blue light. Turn off technology especially screens at least 2 hours before your standard sleep time. Blue light influences your circadian rhythm and affects your wellbeing. Read a book or play a board game. Your bedroom should be a cool temperature and free of excess light and noise.
- Keep a sleep journal:
A doctor may ask a patient to keep a sleep journal. In the journal, the individual will describe their typical sleep habits and routines, including bedtime and waking time. They can also mention any occurrences, such as how often they wake up to urinate or if they have difficulty falling asleep. Keeping a sleep journal may offer the doctor with the information necessary to diagnose any underlying health issues.
- Stay Active:
Daily exercise and sunlight exposure help you sleep well at night. Avoid excessive exercise close to bedtime.
- Nap Early:
Naps later in the afternoon can make it difficult for you to fall asleep on time at night. Some people who oversleep may benefit from avoiding naps. Too much napping may interrupt the body’s sleep patterns and promote oversleeping. On the other hand, some people may find that a short nap of just 10–20 minutes helps them feel refreshed.
- Get some daylight:
Sunlight enables your body to keep up its circadian rhythm. Waking up to the sun also makes a difference. So open the blinds and enjoy the morning sky.
How is oversleeping diagnosed
Oversleeping can be diagnosed with a combination of tests and questionnaires, as well as a review of your medical history and lifestyle habits;
- Sleep study: A polysomnography is an overnight sleep study that measures brain waves, breathing, heart rhythms, and muscle movements during sleep. This test can help identify sleep disorders and rule out other conditions.
- Multiple sleep latency test: Also known as a nap study, this test measures how likely a person is to fall asleep during a series of naps.
- Sleep questionnaires: Questionnaires like the Epworth Sleepiness Scale or Stanford Sleepiness Scale ask patients to rate their sleepiness in different situations.
- Sleep diary: A doctor may ask you to keep a sleep diary to track your sleep quality and symptoms.
- Medical history review: A doctor will review your medical history and ask about any medications you are taking.
- Mental health questions: A doctor may ask questions about your mental health.
