Evolve > Sleep > What Are The Causes Of Oversleeping?
Slept through your alarm? Decided to sleep for 5 minutes more but when you woke up next, it was 10 am? If these situations resonate with you, you are familiar with oversleeping! But why does this happen? Excessive sleepiness can have causes that aren’t due to underlying disease. Let’s take a look at major causes of oversleeping.
Table of Contents
The causes of oversleeping
- Watching TV at night
- Stress or anxiety
- Alcohol
- Large dinners
- Sleep disorders
Watching TV. Binge-watching Netflix, watching IPL or television in general until the early hours of the morning is one of the biggest causes of oversleeping. Your body and mind need to compensate and get more rest, so you’re unable to wake up on time. As a result, you end up sleeping for longer and it leads to oversleeping. Instead, try and avoid watching TV or exposure to screens for an hour or so prior to your bedtime. Our sleep audio “Sleep after a netflix binge” will help you in case you need to sleep after a binge!
Stress or anxiety. In case you’re feeling stressed or anxious, you may end up oversleeping. The tension and range of negative emotions might keep you up at night or lead to disturbed sleep. Moreover, when stress and anxiety is left unchecked, it can lead to burnout or depression. That can worsen your sleep problems, leading to a lot of health issues. It’s one of the major causes of oversleeping. How can you fix it? Ensure to go to bed balanced and grounded, with a simple bedtime routine. Or try Evolve’s guided sleep audios, which help you go to bed relaxed and happy.
Alcohol. Consumption of alcohol can mess with your sleep cycle and is one of the main causes of oversleeping. Alcohol reduces your REM sleep cycle and can put you in a deeper sleep. Your sleep patterns go awry, sleep quality declines and you end up oversleeping with daytime sleepiness. You might fall asleep faster but will face disturbed sleep.
Large dinners. A large dinner leads to your body being active and awake trying to digest food until late at night. Until that process finishes and your body starts to get into a proper sleep rhythm, it might be quite late. As a result, you end up oversleeping and are unable to wake up on time. Large dinners and late at snacking are one of the most common causes of oversleeping.
Sleep disorders. Various sleep disorders like narcolepsy and sleep apnea can hinder your sleep quality and lead to oversleeping. These conditions make sleep uncomfortable due to a variety of factors. Sleep apnea directly affects airways and narcolepsy causes oversleeping and excessive sleepiness. In case you have been oversleeping regularly and feel it’s a problem, you should meet an expert and get yourself diagnosed.
Oversleeping is a common problem that many face without any underlying diseases or disorders. These are just some of the causes of oversleeping and you should know how to fix it. Practice good sleep habits, journal at night, meditate for sleep and follow a lifestyle that works best for your sleep.
Evolve helps you sleep better and faster with a variety of joyful guided audios! The Evolve app is now live globally on Android & Apple, click here to try for free!