Ask Aunt B

Dear Aunt B,

I sleep too much. Everyone I know speaks of getting too little sleep. I know this is a big problem in today’s world. I hear about not getting enough sleep all the time but my problem is I sleep too much. It makes me feel like I’m lazy. Can you sleep too much?

Sleepy

Dear Sleepy,

Yes you can sleep too much. There are many factors that determine the amount of sleep one needs. So before you go about beating yourself up over your sleep patterns, let’s look at a few things. Remember, you can not beat yourself better.

First things first, get a physical. Talk to your health care provider and rule out any physical cause for the amount of sleep you are getting. Ask your healthcare provider about the possibility of sleep apnea or other sleep disorders.

Why do we sleep anyway? Generally speaking we sleep to restore and rejuvenate the body. Sleep is essential for brain development as well. It helps us to maintain cognitive skills. Restoring and maintaining body functions tells me that we probably need more sleep if we are under more physical and mental stress. So secondly, I would take a look at your stress levels and take steps to reduce that load.

Exactly, how much sleep are you getting? Sleep researchers tell us that most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep a night. They are also very quick to say that some need only 6 and others need 10. So like most things, it is very personal.

How do you know if you are getting enough sleep or too much sleep? One idea is to keep a sleep journal. Start by recording your sleep times. You might also record any pertinent data:

Bedtime

Awaken Time

Levels of Stress for the day(Give a rating 1-10)

Ease of Falling asleep:(1-10)

Did you awaken in the night? How many times?

Did you get up, ie: go to the bathroom?

Ease of awakening: (1-10)

How refreshed upon awakening? (1-10)

Do you experience daytime drowsiness?

It is good that you get some of this figured out because there are some downfalls to getting too much sleep. There is some correlation to depression and excess sleeping. I suspect that that can be bi-directional. Are you depressed? If so, please reach out for help. The American Heart Association links oversleeping to heart disease. Again this is not fully understood, but further evidence that you need to see your healthcare provider. Another symptom that has been linked to oversleeping is weight gain. Makes sense even just taking consideration of less calorie burn.

Try to go to sleep and get up at the same time each day. This has been shown to aid in your sleep routines. Speaking of routines, nighttime routines are important. Developing a routine for bedtime can help your body and mind prepare for a better restful experience. I’m sure you know, turn off the screens a couple of hours before you go to bed. Don’t exercise or eat right before bed.

Love, Aunt B

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