Excessive sleep: causes and habits that prevent a good night’s sleep

Sleep is an essential biological function for the regulation of the organism. And feeling excessive sleep throughout the day is usually a consequence of sleep deprivation (night and quality) which, in turn, can occur for several reasons. Pay attention to health conditions and habits that may be causing this excessive sleepiness and impairing your quality of life.

7 possible causes for excessive sleep

There are several factors that can cause excessive sleep. Check out the main ones below:

1. Nighttime sleep deprivation

Luciano Ribeiro (CRM 20350), neurologist, specialist in Sleep Medicine at Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz highlights this as one of the most frequent causes of excessive sleepiness.

It occurs when the person sleeps for less time than their body needs, which prevents the body from repairing properly, which can generate excessive sleepiness and other health damages. It is important to think here not only about sleep time, but also about the quality of that sleep.

Sleep deprivation can be acute (when it occurs in specific situations) or chronic, when this smaller amount of sleep and, consequently, excessive sleep, become part of the person’s routine.

Sleep deprivation, at the same time, also has different causes and can be due to inadequate habits, more serious conditions or diseases that should be investigated.

2. Sleep apnea

Sleep disorder in which breathing stops and comes back several times during the time of sleep, usually causing loud snoring and significantly affecting the quality of that moment (even though the person has the impression that they slept well all night).

3. Narcolepsy

Chronic sleep disorder characterized precisely by attacks of excessive sleep throughout the day, which can occur in different situations such as, for example, while driving, during work, etc. Hallucinations and sudden loss of muscle tone may also occur.

4. Use of psychotropic medications

Ribeiro highlights that this is one of the possible causes of excessive sleep. Psychotropic medications are those commonly used in the treatment of mental conditions. They act on the central nervous system and, therefore, can change patients’ perception, behavior and/or emotions.

5. Depression

Ribeiro explains that depression can lead, among other symptoms, to excessive sleep, due to demotivation, discouragement and possible nighttime sleep disorders associated with the disease.

6. Anemia

Ribeiro explains that anemia may have drowsiness as one of its symptoms. This condition occurs when the blood has an insufficient amount of healthy red blood cells, which causes a decrease in the flow of oxygen to the organs.

7. pregnancy

Pregnancy itself can lead to excessive sleep, as Ribeiro comments, due to hormonal changes and compromised nighttime sleep.

It is worth noting that these are just some of the possibilities and that excessive sleep is not always associated with more serious health problems, and can be caused by habits (which will possibly need to be shaped for a better quality of life).

Habits that impair your sleep and cause excessive sleep

There are countless habits that may be harming the amount of time and/or the quality of sleep. Can be highlighted:

• Use of electronics in bed: this habit, apparently harmless, is very harmful, as it delays the time for the person to fall asleep and the light emitted by the screens tends to compromise the quality of sleep.
• Watching TV in bed: Paying attention to television, the person tends to wake up and take a lot longer to get to sleep. In addition, the chance of sleeping with the TV on is increased, and the noise and brightness prevent a peaceful and deep sleep.
• Working late at home: there are people who are working on the computer or doing housework until late hours, which naturally prevents them from going to bed earlier, in addition to leaving them accelerated, with “thoughts on”.
• Shift work: specialist Luciano Ribeiro comments that shift work can cause sleep problems, which, among other problems, cause excessive sleep and tiredness throughout the day. That’s because this activity causes changes in the circadian rhythm (brain mechanism that regulates the body’s biological clock).
• Exercising at night: this, however, is not a rule. There are people who exercise at night and feel good about it, but others can be restless and have trouble falling asleep.
• Dinner too late: if you eat shortly before going to bed, digestion will be interrupted when you lie down, which tends to interfere with sleep.
• Consuming drinks that contain caffeine: there are people who are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine and, when they consume too much and/or too late, coffee or another drink that contains this stimulant substance, their sleep is directly affected.
• Sleep during the day: some people like to nap after lunch or at another time of day. However, for some people, this tends to disrupt nighttime habits. That is, at bedtime at night, the person will take longer to fall asleep and, the next day, there is a great chance of feeling tired and excessively sleepy.

Excessive sleep throughout the day can often be treated with changes in habits. But, it is always interesting to seek medical help to further investigate the causes that may be associated with this problem. Also check out which essential oils to sleep better and that can help you with this problem.

The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only. They do not replace the advice and follow-up of doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, physical education professionals and other specialists.