Is there such thing as "too much sleep?"

[ColtsForTheWin]

I just woke up from another 2 hour nap during the day and was tired as hell. Am I getting too much sleep by sleeping whenever I feel tired? My room is completely dark with the lights off so it's like always sleeping at night even if the sun is out.

[Ujjay]

How many hours do you work out weekly? How many hours do you sleep weekly? How stressful is your work/school?

[mikeygotz1]

hmm I sometimes take a nap by accident or something and I am tiered...so yeah i guess you can have too much sleep
I personally like waking up early because I feel better later in the day

[whitesox3223]

how bout take all the sheets off your window? you answered your own question

[derek1986]

Too much sleep is not the problem. Unstructured sleeping patterns is generally the problem if we were to evaluate your sleeping patterns. A lack of a sleeping sequence over a longer term will be shown in your overall health. A structured sleep, (going to bed roughly at same time every night, and sleeping for the same amount of time) will be the most beneficial for you. Although this is rarely practical for most people, it is infact the most ideal. Naps are generally not good for you, but if your body has adapted to them everyday at a set hour, then it could be considered not as bad.

[Killa Cris]

There's been research on this.
If you get too much sleep, like 10 hours or more, you'll feel more drowsy and lazy throughout the day.
You should probably get 8 to 9 hours of sleep and not overdo it.

[MindZiper]

today i slept like 13 hours.... i get like 6 on week days, and i try to catch up on wekends by sleeping alot.

[jonsimo]

if you're going to take a nap, try to make it maximum 30min. It will energize your body. If you take a nap any longer than that, you're body will start the normal sleep phases and try to go into REM, but once you wake up earlier than the body is expecting you to, you will feel more tired than before you took the nap.
Hope that helps

[Solid0Snake]

I'm a big sleeper, maybe it's a genetics thing coz my dad and grandpa have the same.
I could go for 16 hours of sleep, that's the most i've done.

[Torque757]

today i slept like 13 hours.... i get like 6 on week days, and i try to catch up on wekends by sleeping alot.

You cant catch up on sleep.


6 hrs isnt to bad.Your body is adaptive, it adapts to training by growing and it will adapt to amount of sleep you get too.

[Lintford]

When I was 13, I slept for 32 hours, no lies.

My parents called a doctor around, he said everything was fine just let me sleep, haha.

[REBELZZ]

I go to bed at 10 and fall asleep at 12

[The_General]

Too much sleep is not the problem. Unstructured sleeping patterns is generally the problem if we were to evaluate your sleeping patterns. A lack of a sleeping sequence over a longer term will be shown in your overall health. A structured sleep, (going to bed roughly at same time every night, and sleeping for the same amount of time) will be the most beneficial for you. Although this is rarely practical for most people, it is infact the most ideal. Naps are generally not good for you, but if your body has adapted to them everyday at a set hour, then it could be considered not as bad.

This is probably the best information you have received on this thread. My professor actually was discussing this the other day. As adolescents, it is not uncommon for our bodies to sleep about 12 hours a day. That is not to say that everyone must sleep 12 hours, but adolescents usually sleep longer. Feel free to be a scientist and tell the world why this is. As for "catching up on sleep," thats physically impossible. Your quality of sleep may be better the night after not sleeping well, but you cannot actually "catch up." And yes, if you have sheets covering your window, take it off. Our biological clocks have sensors that can detect light when the morning comes around, which tells us that the day has started. This is how we wake up. That is why many people suggest not watching TV before bed becuase A) your brain will be thinking about the show you just watched, causing a restless night or B) the sensors in your body will be kind of ****ed up, because they sense lighting, yet you are trying to sleep. Make sense? Also, never work out directly before you go to bed......big problem. It is obviously because your body will be to riled up to sleep a peaceful night.

[Amu]

You cant catch up on sleep.


6 hrs isnt to bad.Your body is adaptive, it adapts to training by growing and it will adapt to amount of sleep you get too.

Indeed it has been said by many doctors that your body developes a sleep debt as a precaution so the human can make up the sleep and allow the body to grow when it was unable to during the short sleeps.

Below I will use three sources. One primary coming from a team of specialists (Heather Larson, Gina Kemp, M.A., and Robert Segal, M.A.,) And two others in order to show the point of view of other specialists as well.

Getting less sleep than needed can cause a “sleep debt,” meaning that your body expects to make up that missed sleep. Remarkably, a person can make up for missed sleep during a night by sleeping more the next night, or compensate for missed sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekend. Getting the missed sleep is important because the body needs it to recover and restore itself. Some people claim to get used to sleeping less. They may think their body adjusts to a sleep deprived schedule, but this probably isn’t the case. Generally, people who aren’t getting enough sleep show mental and physical signs of sleep deprivation during their waking hours.

Sources: "Getting the Sleep You Need: Sleep Stages, Sleep Tips and Aids" Heather Larson, Gina Kemp, M.A., and Robert Segal, M.A.,

This point is further produced by the following:

2. Can I make up lost sleep?

It is possible to make up sleep if you don't have too large a sleep debt. It takes 2 hours of weekend sleep to make up for every lost hour during the week. If you really require 7 hours of sleep and are only getting 6 every night, you would need approximately 10 extra hours of sleep every weekend (5 x 2 hours = 10 hours) to make up your sleep debt.

Sources: "Frequently Asked Questions About Sleep" by Mary I. O'Sullivan, M.S. (From Quanta Dynamics Inc.)

In order to get more information about the source please read at: http://www.quantadynamics.com/aboutus/index.html

Secondary:

4. Make Up For Lost Sleep.
Pay back your sleep debt in a timely fashion. Make up for any lost sleep as soon as possible. Sleep loss is cumulative. If you lose several hours on a given night, you will become more and more sleepy in the ensuing days, even though you get your "normal" sleep. So pay back your sleep debt. But remember:
You cannot replace lost sleep at once.
When you sleep longer to catch up, try to do so by going to bed earlier than usual.
You cannot make up for large sleep losses during the week by sleeping in on the weekends.
A nap during the day can help you pay back your sleep debt.
The important rule is to return to your regular sleep schedule as soon as possible.

Sources: "The Golden Rules of Sleep" Dr. James B. Maas (Dr. James B. Maas is Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Professor and past chairman of the Department of Psychology at Cornell University. He received his B.A. from Williams College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell.)

EDIT: Point to be noted from Dr. Maas is how he describes "You cannot make up for large sleep losses" So easily. This seems true but others have advocated it can be done if slept at around 11-12 for three nights the body can recover. To this day it is arbitrary whether this is possible however Maas does not go against the principle only discourages against it.

ALL Sources that were used were completely unedited in this post. I however am not responsible for any misinformation coming straight from the medical specialists, and am only responsible for any that came via transcription.

If there are any questions on how valid this is do reply as I'll be happy to provide whatever.

[dwasson85]

Great info derek1986, Killa Cris, The_General, and Amu! You're all on-point. Maybe there's some hope for the teen section after all...

[TDE]

There's been research on this.
If you get too much sleep, like 10 hours or more, you'll feel more drowsy and lazy throughout the day.
You should probably get 8 to 9 hours of sleep and not overdo it.

Yea, the minimum amount is considered 5-6 hours, and the max 8-9 hours. Children - min 8-9, max 12-13

I hear that Chinese monks that meditate, 4 hours of sleep to them is equivalent to our 8 hours.......