Have you been oversleeping? Here’s what you can do
Do you wake up late every morning? Does that make you feel frustrated with yourself every time? Is oversleeping making your life harder? Here we will explain some measures you can take to normalize your sleep schedule and eliminate this source of daily frustration. But first things first:
Oversleeping: how much sleep is too much?
I did my research on the ideal sleep length to no avail. Scientists seem not to agree on how much sleep a person needs. The reason behind it is that the ideal amount of sleep is mostly determined by genetic factors. It could be anything between 5 and 8.5 hours per day. So how do you know if you have been oversleeping?
The rule of thumb for what qualifies as oversleeping is consistently sleeping over 9 hours, so way beyond average. The reason why consistently was emphasized is that it is perfectly fine to catch up on sleep whenever the opportunity arises, such as on the weekend. However, sleeping long every day is a reason for concern.
RELATED ARTICLE: How to concentrate better
Why am I oversleeping? What can I do about it?
There are many reasons why you might be oversleeping. Here are the main ones:
- Disturbed sleep: is it too bright in your room? Are your neighbors too loud? In that case, it’s recommendable to invest on whatever could diminish these problems, such as blackout curtains, a comfy blindfold or noise concealing headphones. This way, your body would be able to stop trying to compensate for the lack of sleep quality with more hours of sleep!
- Avoidance: do you have anything to look forward to in the morning? Does every day feel like a grind? Maybe it’s a matter of restructuring your life and creating small morning rituals that motivate you to leave bed right when the alarm goes off.
- Seasonal depression: oversleeping is a symptom of seasonal depression. As the nights grow longer and the amount of sunlight we receive decreases, it is common for our circadian rhythm to get out of whack.
We hope our tips helped you rethink what you can do about oversleeping and wish you a wonderful night of sleep!
RELATED ARTICLE: How to change your habits
