Is it possible to sleep too much?

[esmereldaskysurfer]

I havent worked for 4 years, and in that time i've noticed a disturbing trend: i seem to sleep more and more. At first it was about 9-10 hours a day, then over time that increased to over 13 hours of sleep every day. Sometimes its because im depressed or because my negative symptoms are particularly bad, but sometimes there is no reason at all (unless my negative sx's are just bad all the time now and i've just stopped noticing). Im currently at about 11-11 1/2 hours, and even then i sometimes need a nap in the middle of the day (well about 2pm, which is the middle of my "day"). I havent been this way my whole life, i've had periods when i've needed more sleep but it rarely gets this bad. I think it's only been this bad once before and my boss actually sent me to the hospital for tests because i was falling asleep at work.

Anyway, i wondered, is it a self-fulfilling prophecy? Am i tired because i sleep too much, therefore i sleep too much because im tired? Is that even possible? All i know is, something has to change. We recently had a puppy live with us for almost a month and i had to get up early to deal with her, so i would go to bed at like 8pm because i was wiped out. Im sure this isnt normal.

Any advice?

[saveyoursanity]

Talk to a (physical) doctor to rule out body problems! There are a lot of ailments that can cause sleeping more and more over time.

I personally sleep practically all the time. It's not fun, and I feel your pain. I'm fighting with doctors to get it taken more seriously--I don't really believe that (currently) moderate depression/dysthymia should cause me to sleep 14+ hours a day for weeks, but there's so much crap to sort through to get tested for everything that I'm getting tired just thinking about it.

[Guest]

I think oversleeping often starts off as avoidance and turns into a habit. If you can rule out fatigue, then it's more a case of resetting your body clock and being realy strict with your sleep hygiene.

[esmereldaskysurfer]

Talk to a (physical) doctor to rule out body problems! There are a lot of ailments that can cause sleeping more and more over time.

I personally sleep practically all the time. It's not fun, and I feel your pain. I'm fighting with doctors to get it taken more seriously--I don't really believe that (currently) moderate depression/dysthymia should cause me to sleep 14+ hours a day for weeks, but there's so much crap to sort through to get tested for everything that I'm getting tired just thinking about it.

See, people dont understand it, do they? My husband is like "oh if i didnt have to work i would totally sleep in until 11 every day" but he doesnt understand: it's nice, every now and then, to really binge on sleep, go over 12 hours and really luxuriate in it. When it's every day, you dont feel like that. You feel heavy, and leaden, and lazy. And nobody sees it as a serious problem, they just tell you to get up earlier, like you didnt already think of that!

[esmereldaskysurfer]

I think oversleeping often starts off as avoidance and turns into a habit. If you can rule out fatigue, then it's more a case of resetting your body clock and being realy strict with your sleep hygiene.

I do think this is a big issue with me. I dont do much during the day except the bare minimum of housework (hello apathy), and i think a big part of it is, i sleep late because there's no reason to get up early.

At the moment im trying something. I used to set my alarm for 11 "in case i overslept", which was like every day. Now i set it for 9.30, and i will creep it back over the weeks until about 8.30/ 9am which i think is an acceptable time to be getting up. As and when i go back to work i can creep it back earlier until im getting up at a "normal" time, and hopefully still managing to go to bed at 10.

[Guest]

Try it in 30 minute/1 hour increments. If you have a supportive person who knows of your problem, get them to text or call you at 10 am for a week to shame you out of bed.

The thing to remember is that oversleeping usually makes you feel groggy, headachey and guilty. Yes, it feels nice to roll over and be unconscious, but everything you are avoiding is still there when you wake up, only you're not six hours behind. You will feel a little rough in the firs few weeks, but stick with it, you will adjust. The quality of sleep you get when it is regulated is deeper and most restful. I had to do this myself, it was hard and it took a year or two, but now I sleep from 11 till 9 (I don't have to get up early either.) I try to plan nice things for my morning, cereal I love, my favourite radio station on, nice products in my shower, to incentivize me.

[joachim]

something I learned is more sleep can lead to depression (if you're prone) and less sleep can lead to hypomania (if you're slanted that way)....I told my pdoc about feeling hypo despite being awake all night and she said in the old days that was one way they diagnosed bipolar...then with a little laugh, said the insurance companies didn't like it much

anyway, if you're sleeping more and more, it could be creating a viscious circle (if there isn't another problem going on)

...stephanie

one day you'll be old and have the opposite problem!

[CrankyMe]

I think I sleep too much. I generally go to bed around 10 or 11pm, sleep until 5:30 or 6:30 am (I'd sleep later but my cat won't let me). I'm tired all day and usually end up taking a 3 to 4 hour nap at some point during the day. I don't drink caffeine, I don't do anything in my bed but sleep (I actually have a very rigid sleep routine that I have to follow in order to fall asleep), and I've tried avoiding naps but it doesn't seem to change my sleepiness levels or the amount I sleep at night. I've tried exercising, too, and that didn't seem to affect sleep, either. I go through periods of insomnia that I'm pretty sure are hormone related, although I haven't had any episodes lately. I really need to go in for a sleep study, but I'm so conditioned in how/where I sleep, I don't think I'll sleep at all while I'm there.

Blergh. Sleeping problems stink.

[g8orgirl]

I'm another one who sleeps too much. I'm a night owl and have been all my life so I don't go to bed until around 2:30am. I usually sleep in until 1:00-1:30 the next afternoon. It does take me awhile to fall asleep though, usually a minimum of an hour and a half to two hours. I don't have anything to get up for, my husband takes our two dogs out in the morning when he gets up for work and then I take them out again when I get up. It's getting to the point though that hubby is complaining because he goes to bed around 11pm and he likes me to come to bed when he does so maybe I'll try that and see if I can get up earlier. I just chalk my excessive sleep up to Seroquel, been on it over 13 years and it still makes it very hard to sleep less than 9-10 hours.

[CrankyMe]

I'm so frustrated by the constant fatigue and exhaustion. I'm getting my thyroid levels checked again tomorrow. I really hope that's the problem because it'll be an easy fix. I'm trying so hard to stay awake right now in case the vet calls (cat is getting fixed today). I'm glad I can post this here and there are some people who will understand. I feel like my friends and family don't take it seriously at all. As another poster said, they just say "go to bed earlier!" or "be more active!" as if I haven't thought of/tried those things already. There's something WRONG. This level of fatigue and brain fog just isn't normal.

[koa]

I sleep a lot, and have ever since I went on zyprexa which made me groggy as hell all the time. But even now, I still waste half the day sleeping, and I'm not sure if it is my AAP or what. I go to bed usually around 2:00 and wake up around 11:30 or 12:00. I wish that I woke up early so I could exercise before it gets warm here, since it is usually storming in the afternoons here. But I have no idea how I would start to change my schedule so much.

[Guest]

Sometimes having a routine where you got to bed a little earlier each night until your body adjusts can work.

A lot of people find that if they are unemployed and depressed, they don't move around a lot during the day, which means their body isn't physically tired when they go to bed. Getting up at midday and sitting in a chair till two am is not conducive to sleep at all. Tiredness and fatigue is influenced by movement, exposure to natural light, good diet etc. Even if you don't have anything to get up for now, it's in your power to create something and practice, particularly if you want to work in future, where you will have to change your sleep schedule.

I only say it because I had years where all I did was sleep, it made me feel crappy, I missed out on a lot of stuff and the people living with me felt resentful. Just because there isn't a job to get up for in the morning, doesn't mean you won't feel better if you get up, get dressed and do something that occupies you. People need meaningful tasks and a reason to get up. It really does help a lot with depression. Lack of routine and structure is a big factor in relapse.

[wj74]

Titania has a good point, I was/am having a wonky sleep schedule right now and it is prob at least partially because I have been staying up later, sleeping in and working less hours. Then, when I would normally be crashing I'm not tired and am up til midnight/1 am again, vicious cycle.

[koa]

Titania, good point about work, etc. I am in school right now and am out for the summer. I will eventually have to adjust my schedule for school, and I am nervous about it. I ought to take some of the advice on this thread and gradually change my sleep patterns. Tomorrow I need to cut the grass, so I may set the alarm and try to get up before it gets too hot!

[ginger_flybaby]

You are so right, Titania!

[crtclms]

Koakua, is that a Boxer as your avatar?

[Catnapper]

Another thing that helps tremendously is to go outdoors in the morning as soon as you wake up. I feel lazy right now, so won't look it up, but there's some effect that sunlight has on your retinas that in turns tells your body to get up and get with it. It's effective even if it isn't actually sunny, it works even on a cloudy / rainy day. So even if you're still in your jammies, go stand in the yard for a little while. I've also spent years in bed and depressed, and know how much it sucks.

The other thing that I think is helpful is to get completely dressed, including shoes. It's probably a good idea to plan a regular first thing in the morning activity, like walking the dog, or going to the coffee shop, or anything that requires you to leave the house.

And probably the most important thing is to go over it with your pdoc to see if a med adjustment could help.

[hammock]

I can't sleep at night but I can sleep ALL day, most of the time. other times my sleep schedule shifts later and later over the course of weeks

it's awful. I end up either getting only a few hours or I end up sleeping through entire days.

I've had bad insomnia in various forms since I was a child.

[koa]

Koakua, is that a Boxer as your avatar?

No, he is a mutt. Not sure what he's got in him, maybe some hound.

[crtclms]

Ah! I saw the mask, and jumped to conclusions. He looks sweet.

[Alien Navel Cord]

I sleep too much, too. But my situation is different, I think. My girlfriend is rigid about not letting me sleep past 8 hours (when she is home - we work different schedules), and despite having good sleep hygeine, I am fatigued and sleepy during the day and naps don't help because she only lets me sleep for 1 hour. It practically takes me that long to fall asleep during a nap in the first place. I've had tests done before and came out negative for everything. The doctor just said to excersize, eat healthy, and take vitamins. That didn't seem to help either.

I have always been this way, however. I remember being in high school and having my mom tell me, "you were BORN tired."

This morning my alarm went off at 10am and I hit snooze a few times. Then apparently my phone decided to randomly shut itself off, and I woke up naturally around noon, feeling rested and refreshed. This was 10 hours of sleep. So I feel as though for some reason, my body is just unique in the way that it requires more sleep than most people.

if left to my own devices, I can sleep for 10-11 hours at a time and wake up feeling refreshed. But anything less than that, and I am sleepy during the day. I don't know why.

[Wooster]

8 hours is an average. A lot of people need fewer or more hours of sleep than 8. I seem to be wired for about 7 or 10, either way, but definitely not a straight 8.

[Jen78]

I sleep around 10-12 hours on this seroquel and it definatly makes my bp worse. We are starting our back to school bedtimes so ive been forcing myself to get up at 6:30 which gives me 8 hours still. But its kicking my ass and makes me feel like shit

[YellowBlue_12]

I sleep too much, mostly on days I don't have to work, or in the evening I fall asleep on the couch...which wouldn't be so bad except I can't take short naps; if I fall asleep I'm out for long periods of time. I have been getting blood tests done on a regular basis but I'll have to make sure my doctor is checking my thyroid...