Sleep Experts Share 7 Reasons You’re Sleeping So Much
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If it suddenly feels like you’re sleeping or feeling groggy more than you’re awake, you may be sleeping too much—also known as oversleeping or excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). The condition is characterized, research shows, as sleeping more than nine hours a day. The shift in energy can feel jarring and leave you questioning your physical and mental health, which sleep experts say is valid.
Meet the Experts: Ed O’Malley, Ph.D., F.A.A.S.M., an integrative sleep medicine specialist and Helight advisor and W. Chris Winter, M.D., a neurologist and sleep specialist in Charlottesville, VA and member of Prevention’s Medical Review Board.
“Generally, people do not ‘suddenly’ start sleeping too much,” explains Ed O’Malley, Ph.D., F.A.A.S.M., an integrative sleep medicine specialist and Helight advisor. “This process takes time to build up a deficit, whether through reduced sleep quantity or quality.” In other words, your more frequent naps may feel abrupt, but it’s likely a habit that’s been rolling at a low boil for a while. Below, O’Malley and another sleep expert explain why you may be nodding off excessively or why it’s so difficult to get out of bed.
1. Alcohol and drug use
It is well known that drinking alcohol disrupts sleep. “Excessive alcohol use, or even social drinking can regularly disturb sleep and reduce its restorative amount and quality,” says O’Malley. Drugs associated with most substance use disorders can also disrupt sleep quality, research shows.
2. Poor sleep hygiene/lack of sleep
Even the smallest slice out of your regular night’s sleep—which should average around seven to nine hours, per the National Institutes of Health—can prompt EDS. “Just half an hour less each weeknight can lead to what we call weekend lag,” or sleeping in on the weekends to make up for lost sleep, explains O’Malley. Your sleep schedule also may be at risk of disruption if you work the night shift or multiple jobs, adds W. Chris Winter, M.D., a neurologist and sleep specialist in Charlottesville, VA and member of Prevention’s Medical Review Board.
3. Dysfunctional sleep
You might spend a full eight or nine hours in bed nightly, but remain peeling your lids open during the day. That could mean that you’re not properly winding down (i.e. engaging in too much screen time, not creating a relaxing, comfortable sleep environment), or your sleep is being disrupted by a medical condition, substance use, or a disruptive sleep partner, says Dr. Winter.
4. Overtraining
Believe it or not, there is such thing as working out too much to the point of sleep disruption. “Overtraining can lead to a breakdown of restorative processes leading to increased sleep need,” says O’Malley.
5. Physical health conditions
The two most common health conditions associated with excessive sleepiness are obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy, O’Malley says. “Other medical conditions that affect the cardiovascular system, metabolic disturbances, or endocrine disorders can increase fatigue generally, requiring additional sleep,” he says.
“Restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder are other common health conditions that disrupts sleep,” adds Dr. Winter.
6. Medication
Many medication classes can cause excessive sleepiness or disrupt sleep, leading to EDS, say Dr. Winter and O’Malley. Those medications include:
Antihistamines
Benzodiazepines
Hypnotics, antipsychotics, and barbiturates
Antidepressants
Blood pressure medications
Beta-blockers
Chemotherapy drugs
Muscle relaxants
Opioids
Anti-seizure drugs
This is not a comprehensive list and there is a spectrum of medications under each class, some of which may impact sleep more than others. If you’re concerned about the side effects of your prescribed medications, consult your doctor.
7. Mental health conditions
“Major depression, depressive episodes of bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, dementia, and general anxiety disorder all can create fatigue that results in an increased sleep need, says O’Malley.
What happens if you sleep too much?
“Data collected over the last several decades support a negative health impact of too much sleep,” says O’Malley. “Both too little, and too much, is cause for concern.” Most importantly, an increased need for sleep should be evaluated for underlying medical or sleep disorder causes, he adds.
Dr. Winter adds that EDS becomes a concern when it begins to interfere with your personal or work life, especially if it’s affecting your ability to drive safely—then it becomes an “immediate” concern, he says.
Treatment for sleeping too much
It’s time to look into treatment when more sleep doesn’t fix the problem, O’Malley says, for instance, if you find you can no longer make it throughout the day without a nap. “There are some age-related changes in our ability to continue to get the sleep we need due to more aches and pains, medication use, and medical disorders,” he explains. “But in general, our sleep need does not change significantly throughout our adult and elderly years. So if there is an increase in need for sleep at night or inability to maintain wakefulness during the day, it is time to get evaluated.”
If you simply need to practice better sleep hygiene to see a change, O’Malley recommends making it a priority to get up at roughly the same time every day, including weekends, and exposing yourself to natural sunlight to kickstart wakefulness. In the evenings, he suggests winding down with sunset light exposure and minimizing screen time.
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