Every person has their own sleep needs, but a range of 7 to 9 hours is considered healthy. However, if a person is continuously sleeping for more than 9 hours every night, it can lead to some health issues, and chronic pain is one of them. So, what happens to your body when you sleep too much for a long period? It can increase inflammation in the body, the risk of obesity, mental health issues, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and even stroke.
What Does Sleepiness Mean?
Sleeping for more than 9 hours for a few nights is perfectly fine. However, if you are consistently sleeping more than 9 hours in 24 hours, it can be a sign of some hidden causes. Sometimes, it shows that a person has some health or mental issues. You may be dealing with excessive sleepiness if:
- It is hard for you to wake up in the morning.
- You feel tired or sleepy most of the day.
- Taking naps doesn't help you feel refreshed.
- You fall asleep at times when you need to stay awake, like during classes or while driving.
Other than these problems, you also notice trouble focusing, thinking clearly, or remembering things. Sometimes you feel stressed, anxious, or irritable. Around 1 in 5 adults experience sleepiness serious enough to affect their daily life.
Not getting enough sleep is the common reason people feel overly sleepy during the day. Sometimes it happens simply because they stay up too late by choice. Working night shifts and sleeping during the day can also affect your sleep quality. If poor-quality sleep is a pattern you're noticing, improving your sleep is an essential step for your physical and mental well-being.
Depression and Excessive Sleep
Sleep problems and depression are closely related. Most people with depression struggle with sleeping too much or sleeping too little, and it's one of the most common symptoms clinicians look for.
- Insomnia is one of the most frequently reported symptoms among people with depression.
- Hypersomnia sleeping excessively tends to show up more often in younger adults with depression than in older adults.
- Hypersomnia linked to depression is also reported more commonly in women than in men.
Sleep disturbances may significantly impact your everyday functioning and quality of life. These disorders are strongly associated with the more profound mental health problems, such as increased likelihood of suicidal ideations and recurrence after treatment. Depression impacts the normal sleep cycle and interferes with brain processes that regulate sleep. Due to that, the sleep disorder continues even when your mood starts improving.
The effect works both ways: if a person experiences chronic insomnia, he or she is much more likely to develop depression in the future. Restoring a normal sleep cycle is crucial in the process of dealing with depression and preserving good psychological conditions in the future.
Dementia and Changes in Sleep Patterns
People with dementia usually feel very sleepy during the day because their sleep at night gets interrupted frequently. They take various short naps throughout the day to make up for lost sleep. There are various sleep-related conditions that are also common in people with dementia.
The most common is sleep apnea, a condition where breathing repeatedly slows down or stops during sleep because the airway becomes blocked. Sleep apnea is especially common in older adults living in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. Some of the risk factors include older age, sleeping flat on the back, and being overweight. If you're trying to work out whether what you're seeing is a breathing issue or a sleep disorder, understanding the difference between sleep apnea and insomnia can help clarify how both are evaluated.
Another common problem is periodic limb movements during sleep. These are caused by repeated leg or body movements that disturb your sleep and reduce overall sleep time. Pain can also make sleep worse in older adults with memory or thinking problems. Poor sleep is usually linked with lower quality of life, more depressive symptoms, and increased daytime tiredness.
Some of the environmental factors can also affect sleep in people with dementia. Those include insufficient daylight or sunlight, loud noise at night, and limited exposure to bright light during the day.
Burnout and Emotional Exhaustion
Burnout is very common among healthcare workers, and poor sleep is believed to be the major cause. The condition is a state of ongoing mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion that is caused by long-term stress at work. Some of the common signs include becoming less motivated or disconnected from work, feeling less productive, or feeling emotionally drained. Healthcare workers usually face:
- High stress
- Long hours and night shifts
- Heavy workloads
- Emotional pressure from patient care
- Lack of rest and recovery time.
These conditions can disturb normal sleep patterns and increase the risk of burnout. Good sleep health includes getting enough hours of rest, waking up refreshed, keeping a regular sleep schedule, sleeping efficiently without frequent interruptions, and staying alert throughout the day. Poor sleep, anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms frequently occur together especially during intense work pressure which is exactly why some people sleep a full night and still wake up drained.
If that sounds like you, read this guide about feeling exhausted all the time. It is like understanding what's happening behind the scenes is the first step toward getting your energy back.
Talk to Our Experts
Sleeping more than usual does not automatically mean it is affecting your health. But that also doesn't mean you should ignore it once it becomes a pattern. Changes in sleep are often the earliest sign that your body and mind need attention. Catching it early means a thoughtful conversation now, instead of a crisis response later.
If you or someone you care about is sleeping most of the day and struggling to return to a normal routine, request an appointment with MindSpa Psychiatry & Therapy and take the step toward clarity and balance.