Can too much sleep make you tired?

What does oversleeping mean? 

The recommended amount of sleep per night is an average of seven to nine hours, however some people, especially sports players, will need more sleep due to their high performance level. Oversleeping is usually only a cause for concern when it feels unusual to the individual and accompanied with fatigue and low mood. Hypersomnia is a condition in which you oversleep for a prolonged period of time and feel unusually tired during the day, which can affect your daily life routine. This condition is usually caused by depression or mood disorders, which can be diagnosed by a doctor or sleep expert. Here at Sleep Science by Emma we have plenty of sleep resources to help you identify your symptoms early and get the help you need.  

Below is a helpful guideline1 which shows how much sleep you should be aiming to get each night based on your age: 

• Newborns: 16-18 hours of sleep per night
• Preschoolers: 11-12 hours of sleep per night
• School-aged and teens: Around 10 hours of sleep per night
• Adults and seniors: 7-9 hours of sleep per night

You should be aware that sometimes there are exceptions as some people will need more sleep than others. Sleep issues accompanied by side effects during the daytime are usually the only cause for concern. 

The simple fact is that sleeping too much can make you feel tired, so you should try not to oversleep and stick to the recommended amount of sleep. However, should you feel that you are struggling to control how much you sleep, or something doesn’t feel right, here are the symptoms of Hypersomnia you can look for: 

• Sleeping for long periods of time during the night (more than your personal ‘normal’) 
• Having trouble getting out of bed in the morning (including sleeping through an alarm)
• Having difficulty getting out of bed and starting the day
• Grogginess that comes and goes or that lasts all day
• Concentration issues

• Low mood

How to stop sleeping too much?

When oversleeping is not being caused by an underlying condition, sometimes self care remedies can help. If nothing works after you've tried what feels like everything, it's time to seek professional help from a medical specialist. Here are some suggestions from Sleep Science for reducing excessive sleeping: 

Resist hitting the snooze button when your alarm goes off. 

If you're sleeping too much, improving your relationship with your alarm clock, or getting rid of it altogether, could be a major help. It has been proven that allowing yourself to wake up naturally rather than being jolted awake is the greatest method to wake up in the morning. If you're one of those individuals who can't live without an alarm clock, consider one with a progressive wake-up sound. It's important to get out of bed as soon as the alarm sounds in the morning, or as soon as you naturally wake up, to avoid the temptation of drifting back to sleep. Placing your alarm clock on the opposite side of the room can help. 

Avoid having a lie-in over the weekends 

Your body will enter a sleep/wake cycle if you wake up at the same time every day and go to bed at the same time every night. This daily routine takes some time to adjust to, but it can be quite beneficial in the long term. Many apps and alarm clocks allow you to set a nighttime alert as well as an alarm for the morning. Making and keeping to a sleep plan will help you stop oversleeping in no time, even on weekends. 

Avoid blue light before bed 

It's good to read before bed, but phones, iPads, and eBooks should be avoided. Avoiding blue light from electronic gadgets, as well as distractions from mobile notifications, will make it easier to fall asleep quickly. Electronic screens emit blue light, which can delay the production of sleep-inducing melatonin while also raising our attentiveness, making it difficult to fall asleep. 

Don’t overthink oversleeping 

In order to increase your sleep, it's key to be on track and in charge of your daily routine. Worrying and overthinking, on the other hand, will keep you awake at night. Allow yourself time to adjust to new situations by gradually implementing changes. If something doesn't work right immediately, try not to get too irritated with yourself. If everything you've done hasn't worked, you might want to seek medical guidance. 

Sleep Disorders 

Although your doctor may be able to diagnose Hypersomnia, sometimes getting to the root cause is a little more difficult. The most common reason you might begin to oversleep is due to a period of time when you might not be getting enough sleep, for example, a week's worth of late nights or looking after a new baby. Your body then needs to make up for the sleep that’s been lost, and triggers the brain into oversleeping. 

There are certain health conditions that may be causing you to oversleep as well: [Text Wrapping Break] 

• Sleeping disorders such as Sleep Apnea and Narcolepsy 
• Anxiety and depression
• Chronic pain disorders
• Obesity

• Cardiovascular disease
• Hyperthyroidism 
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

What is Sleep Apnea? 

Sleep Apnea is a condition characterised by pauses in breathing while sleeping. When people with Sleep Apnea sleep, they have many lengthy breath disruptions. These brief pauses in breathing impair sleep quality and deplete the body's oxygen supply, potentially resulting in serious health repercussions. 

It can occur in people of any age, however, it is more prevalent in men2. Some of the symptoms of Sleep Apnea include: 

• Difficulty breathing during the night which can disrupt sleep
• Chronic snoring

• Daytime sleepiness
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Concentration issues

If you think you might have Sleep Apnea, it’s important to talk to your doctor who can advise on the best course of action - they may send you to an overnight sleep clinic which can analyse your sleep and your breathing. The good news is that treatments have evolved incredibly well over the past decade, the most common being either mouthpieces which are fitted to align the jaw in place to aid breathing, or a CPAP machine which supplements oxygen while you are asleep. 

What is Narcolepsy? 

Narcolepsy is a disorder that causes sleep-wake cycles to be disrupted. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is the most common symptom, which happens when the brain is unable to manage wakefulness and sleep effectively.  

Normal sleep occurs in stages, with rapid eye movement (REM) sleep occurring in the final stage, which normally begins an hour or so after falling asleep. REM sleep is erratic in narcolepsy, and it often starts moments after falling asleep, which is significantly earlier than expected. 

Because of alterations in the brain that impair how sleep functions, REM sleep occurs much more quickly in patients with Narcolepsy. Daytime sleepiness and other Narcolepsy symptoms are also caused by these interruptions. These symptoms include: 

• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Disrupted nighttime sleep

• Sleep paralysis
• Sleep related hallucinations

A study of symptoms and medical history is the first step in the diagnosis process. This assists the doctor in gaining a better understanding of the patient's sleeping habits as well as the nature of their EDS. Family members are frequently involved in many cases, particularly with children, in order to provide more context concerning the patient's condition. 

Here at Sleep Science by Emma, our main goal is for you to have the best night's sleep you possibly can. You may find our sleep wellness resources useful if you suffer from anxiety before going to sleep. This may also be helpful if you are sleeping too much and feeling tired. 

References 

https://aasm.org/resources/pdf/pressroom/adult-sleep-duration-consensus.pdf 

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-apnea