The surprising science of oversleeping

Reviewed by Jennifer Martin, PhD

Maybe you’ve seen the headlines well-nigh how oversleeping has been linked to a greater risk of disease and death. If you’re the kind of person who regularly clocks increasingly than eight hours of slumber, these news stories have probably made you wonder, “Why do I sleep so much? And is it bad for me?”

In this story, sleep experts help you understand the latest science. You’ll find out what really happens when you oversleep, withal with how it affects your health.

(Spoiler: Chances are, you have nothing to worry about.)

How much is too much sleep?

On average, most people need somewhere between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. But that’s an average, not a good-health edict.

“As you start to move out in either direction, there are people who require slightly increasingly and slightly less sleep,” says Chris Winter, MD, sleep specialist, tragedian of The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child, and co-author of Precision Nutrition’s Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Coaching Certification.

Above (and below) stereotype sleepers fall into three main categories.

1. People who need fewer than 7 hours of sleep

Referred to as Natural Short Sleepers, these genetically-gifted folks don’t need as much sleep as the stereotype person.

Increased levels of a hormone tabbed orexin allows them to finger spunky and clear-headed with just five to six hours of shuteye.

Here’s an important caveat, though. Plenty of people who get less than seven hours aren’t Natural Short Sleepers. Rather, they skimp on sleep for other reasons, ranging from revenge-bedtime procrastination to parenthood to an “always on” work ethic.

If you’re not genetically a Natural Short Sleeper, skimping on sleep likely ways you’ll either…

finger like garbage the next day

won’t finger like garbage the next day—but only considering you’re so used to the effects of sleep pennilessness that you’ve no longer remember what it feels like to be well rested

In wing to the above, over time, your risk for heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes can go up as well.

(More well-nigh sleep and health remoter lanugo in the story.)

2. People who need increasingly than 9 hours of sleep

Due to their genetic makeup, Natural Long Sleepers usually need 10, 11, or 12 hours in order to finger refreshed. Their genetics moreover rationalization them to finger tired increasingly quickly than other people.

Also in this longer-sleeping category: children, teenagers, and many young adults, all of whom need increasingly sleep so their persons can protract to develop, says Jennifer Martin, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles and moreover a co-author Precision Nutrition’s Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Coaching Certification.

Certain prescription medications can moreover increase sleep time, says Dr. Martin.

“Usually this effect is reversed when the person stops the medication, and in some cases, the sleepiness is reduced once the person gets used to the medication,” she says.

3. People who need 13 hours of sleep

Some people sleep 14, 17, 24 or increasingly hours with very little interruption, and they still wake feeling tired.

“If you find you are one of these people, it might be an indication that there is something wrong with your sleep quality, not necessarily the quantity,” Dr. Winter says. For example, sleep disorders like sleep apnea and insomnia can disrupt sleep, causing people to wake feeling unrefreshed.

A variety of health conditions—including epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and depression—can moreover lead to hypersomnia, which is the inability to stay awake. Narcolepsy, flipside hypersomnia condition, causes people to finger tired all the time, leading them to fall unconsciousness at inappropriate and dangerous times, such as while on a stage or driving a vehicle. These disorders require medical treatment.

If you suspect any of the whilom is true for you, it’s a unconfined thing to mention to your doctor.

What happens when you sleep too much?

“For the stereotype person, if they are sleeping, they probably need to be sleeping,” says Dr. Winter.

That’s considering our persons all have a sleep set point—referred to as “homeostasis.” Get too little sleep one night and your soul will respond by starving increasingly sleep the next. Alternatively, you may have noticed: If you collect increasingly sleep than usual by sleeping in on a weekend, you’ll likely find yourself wide awake later that evening.

There are, however, some exceptions. Increasingly well-nigh those below.

(Find out: Would YOU make a unconfined sleep coach?)

Does oversleeping harm your health?

Despite all of the scary headlines, it’s likely that long sleep itself poses little to no health problems. That’s because, in people who sleep increasingly than most, it’s often the result of a chronic health problem, not the cause, finds research.^1,2

Occasionally, the problem is bi-directional, meaning the health problem disturbs sleep, which worsens the health problem, which leads to worsened sleep, and the trundling continues.

These health problems include:

Sleep disorders like sleep apnea (where zoetic repeatedly stops during sleep) and narcolepsy (which is characterized by severe daytime sleepiness and sleep attacks)

Diabetes

Hypothyroidism

Depression

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Heart disease

For the whilom conditions, it’s important to note that oversleeping doesn’t cause them. Rather, it’s a symptom of them.

For example, sleep apnea repeatedly wakes people, often for unenduring moments, during the night, which can lead to hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness during the day) as well as a strong desire to stay in bed longer than eight hours or to take a nap during the afternoon.

“When medical problems disturb sleep, it takes a person a longer period of time to be sufficiently recovered,” says Dr. Martin.

If you regularly get increasingly than 10 hours, and you finger energetic and well-spoken headed during the day, that’s great! Enjoy your slumber without fear. You most likely have nothing to worry about.

On the other hand, if you spend your days starving a nap—tired, smart-ass fogged, irritated, and visualization fatigued—there may be an underlying issue worth exploring with your doctor.

(Learn more: Why people with insomnia swear by CBT-I.)

4 Sleep Habits That Improve Sleep Quality

If you’re interested in sleeping increasingly restfully, consider forming any of the pursuit sleep habits.

Create a sleep oasis. When your sleep environment makes you finger unscratched and cozy, it’s easier for your smart-ass to relax, permitting you to sleep increasingly deeply.

Block out light. Your quotidian rhythm responds to changes in light. For most people, the darker the room, the largest they sleep. If you can’t get your room as visionless as needed, consider experimenting with a sleep mask that covers your vision and blocks out light.

Adjust the temperature. In wing to light, your quotidian rhythm moreover responds to changes in temperature, making you finger sleepy as your soul cools down. Taking a hot suffuse or shower surpassing bed can trick your soul that it’s time to sleep as it’s cooling down. Flipside tactic: Set your thermostat so it reduces the ambient temperature by a couple degrees at night.

If hot flashes are keeping you awake, consider investing in cooling mattress pads or using a fan. (Read more: Menopause and sleep).

Consider sleeping alone. A snoring spouse or zippy pet can wake you repeatedly, causing you to need increasingly sleep to finger rested.

(Read more: How to sleep better.)

Can sleeping too much make you tired?

Ever noticed that you finger increasingly tired when you sleep in (say, on the weekends) than you do when you get up early?

There are two likely reasons for this phenomenon.

1. Oversleeping is often a response to undersleeping

Some people sleep 10 hours on the weekends considering they’re sleeping six or fewer hours during the week.

“One reason people finger tired without sleeping a lot is that they still haven’t paid when their sleep debts from prior nights,” says Dr. Martin. “If you are very sleep deprived, it takes several days to get when on track and ‘catch up.’”

2. Sleeping in can disrupt sleep-wake signaling.

If you usually wake at 6 am, sleeping in on the weekends will disrupt your brain’s worthiness to release the neurochemicals needed for that refreshed, ready-to-slay-the-world feeling.

“It’s really increasingly well-nigh sleep timing than sleep amount,” explains Dr. Winter. “The brain’s timing cues are stuff disrupted.”

Among those timing cues:

Overhead and outdoor light that sets your brain’s quotidian clock

The clarion noise of your watchtower clock that triggers the release of cortisol and other willingness chemicals

Conversations with housemates that nudge you to “wake up! think!”

Caffeine

Breakfast

That feeling of stuff rushed as you race out the door

When you occasionally oversleep, you deprive your smart-ass of some or all of those cues. Some of the wakeup signals might not take place at all. Others, like overhead lighting and caffeine, take place hours later than your smart-ass is used to getting them.

End result: you finger tired.

How can you tell if you’re sleeping too much?

Dr. Winter suggests you consider this question:

During the day, if you sit lanugo to read a typesetting or watch a show, do you finger a strong urge to nod off?

If the wordplay is yes, it’s an indication that you’re not getting unbearable restorative sleep at night, which may be a sign of a sleep disorder or sleep quality issue, he says.

On the other hand, if you’re clocking a lot of bedtime hours and finger energized during the day, 10 hours could just be your natural sleep pattern.

“If you are a long sleeper and finger good, don’t worry well-nigh it,” says Dr. Martin. “Do your weightier to spend the value of time in bed you need.”