Are you tired from...too much sleep? - Harvard Health (2024)

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Are you tired from...too much sleep? - Harvard Health? ›

Getting good sleep, in the right amount, can make a big difference in how you feel. Too little or too much sleep can increase your perception of fatigue. And even if you get enough hours of sleep, you might find yourself dragging the next day if that sleep was interrupted by frequent awakenings or was of poor quality.

Feeling tired constantly, despite getting enough sleep, can indicate underlying issues. It might be related to the quality of your sleep, which can be affected by factors like sleep disorders, stress, or your sleep environment. Other health conditions, like anemia or thyroid issues, could be at play.

Sleeping too much puts you at greater risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes than sleeping too little. If you wake up feeling exhausted, see your doctor. He or she may refer you to a sleep specialist to diagnose your specific problem and begin a course of treatment.

For most healthy adults, guidelines suggest at least seven hours of slumber. But these are general recommendations and not strict rules. "Some people need less than seven hours, while others might need more," says Eric Zhou with the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

While it may seem counterintuitive, staying in bed for prolonged periods can actually make you feel more tired. Oversleeping or spending excessive time in bed can disrupt your body's natural sleep-wake cycle, leading to feelings of grogginess, disorientation, and fatigue.

Waking up feeling foggy and sluggish despite getting your "beauty rest" could be a sign of oversleeping. Excessive daytime sleepiness, fatigue and sluggishness: Irony alert! Oversleeping can actually make you feel tired throughout the day.

Some ways to help you get up and going after oversleeping include drinking water, doing yoga, eating food, splashing water in your face, and getting physical activity.

Oversleeping, or sleeping for over nine hours in a night, happens for many reasons. Maybe you oversleep because you're fighting off an illness, or you're catching up after a few nights of sleep deprivation.

Symptoms of hypersomnia

Feeling unusually tired all the time. The need for daytime naps. Feeling drowsy, despite sleeping and napping – not refreshed on waking up. Difficulty thinking and making decisions – the mind feels 'foggy'

Many cases of tiredness are due to stress, not enough sleep, poor diet and other lifestyle factors. Try these self-help tips to restore your energy levels. If you feel you're suffering from fatigue, which is an overwhelming tiredness that isn't relieved by rest and sleep, you may have an underlying medical condition.

Should I let my body sleep as much as it wants? ›

Sleep needs can vary from person to person, but in general, experts recommend that healthy adults get an average of 7 to 9 hours per night of shuteye. If you regularly need more than 8 or 9 hours of sleep per night to feel rested, it might be a sign of an sleep or medical problem, Gamaldo says.

In a situation like yours, where you feel like you're getting plenty of sleep but don't feel well-rested in the morning, it's possible that your morning grogginess could be a symptom of a treatable sleep disorder. Make an appointment to see a health care provider who specializes in sleep medicine.

Having trouble getting that ideal 8 hours of sleep? So is everyone else. But there's some good news — you may only need 7 hours of it. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRS) have issued a new recommendation, saying seven is the magic sleep number for most healthy adults.

Conditions like anxiety or depression can play a part in making you feel tired during the day, even when you get enough hours of sleep. In addition, mood disorders like bipolar disorder or premenstrual dysphoric disorder can cause feelings of sluggishness during the day.

Well, this depends on a person's age, health, fitness level and lifestyle. Generally, the more years that pass, the more you'll value your beauty sleep, and its true senior fatigue is a real thing. However, most people start experiencing a decline in their energy levels by the time they reach their mid-thirties.

People use these terms interchangeably, but tiredness usually refers to short-term lack of energy that gets better with rest or sleep. Fatigue, on the other hand, is more of a constant mental or physical exhaustion that impacts your work, social life, or ability to do everyday things.

“You may feel more energy on less sleep because your body's producing more of the stress hormone cortisol. This helps you get through the day, but it's not a good productivity hack. High cortisol can cause sleep problems, weight gain, and an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks.

Reasons this might happen include drinking caffeine or alcohol late in the day, a poor sleep environment, a sleep disorder, or another health condition. When you can't get back to sleep quickly, you won't get enough quality sleep to keep you refreshed and healthy.

“If you need a break from running around all week or are even feeling down about something and want time to process your emotions, by all means, listen to your feelings and your body. Staying in bed all day every once in a while isn't going to do much harm.”

Oversleeping means sleeping more than nine hours in 24 hours. It's associated with a higher risk of several conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and heart failure—but it doesn't mean it causes those conditions. Instead, oversleeping may be a symptom of other underlying conditions.