Am I sleeping too much?

[Packet]

I'm 19 years old and try to get 9 hours sleep, but even with that I am tired. Usually after sleeping for about 10 hours I feel refreshed in the morning. I don't really want to cut this time down as I feel terrible, really tired, lazy and don't feel I can do much and I don't want larger or darkerdark circles under my eyes abut I understand this is a long time to sleep? My dad used to sleep about the same when he was working so maybe it runs in the family?
Thanks for any help.

[ginkgo]

It is impossible to sleep too much. Why? Because it is not in your concious control. To prove it just sleep 10 hours and then sleep another 10 hours. You can lie there for 10 hours but you will not be asleep since you do not need it.

Do you think it is possible to produce too much bile? Why not. Well try right now to tell your body to produce much more bile. You cannot do it. Some people sleep 24 hours a day. Tell them that is too much and to get up. They can't. They are in a coma!

[bluestar]

Everyone's sleep requirements are different. Some people do well, function well, and feel wide awake all day after 6 hours sleep.....some need 8 or 9. Some need more.
The secret to how much sleep you personally need is this:
After how many hours sleep do you
a) wake up naturally
b) feel refreshed
c) function all day feeling OK and energetic
?

That is how many hours sleep you personally need. Never mind what anyone else does.

[Le Roi]

Do you eat 4 hours before sleep? If so what? Do you eat potatoes and meat together a lot?

Both of these things can destroy your energy.

Plus, if you have sleep apnea, it can seriously impaire your sleep. That's when you temporarily stop breathing so your body wakes you very briefly up so you can start breathing again. This can happen hundreds of time in a night leading you to feel like you got little rest.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

It is impossible to sleep too much. Why? Because it is not in your concious control. To prove it just sleep 10 hours and then sleep another 10 hours. You can lie there for 10 hours but you will not be asleep since you do not need it.

Do you think it is possible to produce too much bile? Why not. Well try right now to tell your body to produce much more bile. You cannot do it. Some people sleep 24 hours a day. Tell them that is too much and to get up. They can't. They are in a coma!

I've seen you post this before, and it's crap. Of course you can sleep too much. Plenty of people on this site could attest to that. Sleeping long enough to feel like crap once you finally get up. That's called TOO MUCH. Just because YOU can't sleep long enough, doesn't mean people can't sleep too much.

Can you eat too much? Once you get to a certain point, you can't eat anymore cause your stomach is full. I guess you can't eat too much

Can you stay up too much? Once you get to a certain point, you'll either pass out, or die. There for you won't be awake anymore, one way or another, so, I guess you can't stay up too much.

So, what can you do too much of, by your standards?

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

I've seen you post this before, and it's crap. Of course you can sleep too much. Plenty of people on this site could attest to that. Sleeping long enough to feel like crap once you finally get up. That's called TOO MUCH. Just because YOU can't sleep long enough, doesn't mean people can't sleep too much.

Can you eat too much? Once you get to a certain point, you can't eat anymore cause your stomach is full. I guess you can't eat too much

Can you stay up too much? Once you get to a certain point, you'll either pass out, or die. There for you won't be awake anymore, one way or another, so, I guess you can't stay up too much.

So, what can you do too much of, by your standards?

This is not that difficult to understand! Being asleep is not under concious control. That is why most Americans have trouble sleeping. Once your stomach is full you can keep eating since it stretches like a balloon. That is why so many people are obese. You can drink too much water like that woman did in the news and die. You can do too much weight lifting-- known as overtraining.

You can sunbathe too long and cause 3rd degree burns. But you bring up a good point. Many feel terrible sleeping a long time. If someone goes too long without a cigarette, they can also feel horrible. So why does sleeping long make you feel terrible?

If you do not eat for 10 minutes then you have fasted for 10 minutes. But you do not feel a difference since it is not long enough for your body to go into a cleansing mode of accelerated cleansing. For that to happen it takes many hours. Now fasts are good for health, right? But we have read on this forum that it can make people feel terrible. So you go too long without a cigarette or too long without heroin (if you are an addict) and you feel terrible. So to use your terminology, if you go without crap for too long, it makes you feel like crap.

So with fasting your body is dumping these poisons back into your blood (they are stored in the fat) at a fast rate and you feel awful. So by now you may be wondering what this has to do with sleeping. Every night when people sleep awhile, they are fasting. Then after sleeping you wake up and have a meal. That meal is called break-fast since it breaks your fast.

The longer you sleep the more the cleansing that takes place (or the longer the fast) and you can feel bad from that. Of course some can feel bad after sleeping a long time since there is something wrong with their sleeping like a matress that is too soft or sleeping in a bad position for sleep or a pillow that bends their neck the wrong way etc.

They have orthopedic pillows. I guess a pillow can have toxins in it also. I use a pillow that is filled with buckwheat that I got from a chiropractor. Also someone above mentioned going to sleep too soon after eating and that it not good. Sorry I cannot take credit for the above about sleeping and going without food (fasting) while you sleep. This comes from Fit for Life (I and II). Over 15 million copies of these books were sold.

In them it also explains that many people have healed themselves of many problems by just skipping breakfast! Can skipping breakfast make you feel terrible? Yes it can just like fasting can make you feel terrible since it is fasting. While you are sleeping (and not eating) your body does most of its cleansing. If you are fasting and go to sleep, you can feel worse since the body can cleanse faster while you are sleeping since it is not using that energy for other things.

So many who fast every night while sleeping and break the fast with break-fast will tell you that they think fasting is bad for health and they would never do it!

[JDuff]

You are not sleeping 'too much' in the sense that it is bad for you. It you feel you need x amount of hours to feel good, then that is ok for you.

However, some people do not get as much sleep as they would ideally like because they are too busy doing other things. But as long as you get everything done in the day, then in your free time you can sleep for as long as you please!! However, if you wish to say, work 8 hours a day and do 8 hours of other activities, then the maximum you could sleep would be 8 hours (and probably less). In such a scenario, you would be sleeping too much because it would be conflicting with your goals. If you feel 'lazy' in this sense, then yes perhaps you sleep too much. But I don't think this is what you mean.

[bluestar]

I personally think there is too much emphasis in our day of people "wasting precious time sleeping". I think there is too much emphasis put upon "waking up early" (and in many instances I mean "in the middle of the night and sometimes before it even gets light!") And sleep deprivation is beginning to be looked on as a virtue.

What's the matter with us?

Natural sleep is one of the most wonderful, healing mechanisms we have at our disposal. The more stressful our lives are, or the harder we work, the more sleep we need. Teenagers and growing children need more sleep. Let's not forget growing often isn't ended until the late teens or even early twenties! Also there are other reasons for needing larger amounts of one of the most natural and healthy things we could possibly do!

So while some can function just fine on less....some need more! Trust your own body's (and mind's) needs. You will wake up naturally when you've had enough (unless you are suffering from a disorder of some kind, or serious depression)

[votoshka]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

I've seen you post this before, and it's crap. Of course you can sleep too much. Plenty of people on this site could attest to that. Sleeping long enough to feel like crap once you finally get up. That's called TOO MUCH. Just because YOU can't sleep long enough, doesn't mean people can't sleep too much.

Can you eat too much? Once you get to a certain point, you can't eat anymore cause your stomach is full. I guess you can't eat too much

Can you stay up too much? Once you get to a certain point, you'll either pass out, or die. There for you won't be awake anymore, one way or another, so, I guess you can't stay up too much.

So, what can you do too much of, by your standards?

Too true! It is DEFINITELY possible to over sleep. I get to a "point of no return" where I get even sleepier when I sleep too much which err... lets me continue sleeping. That's definitely TOO MUCH sleep.

Yes, the body generally does compensate though... by giving me insomnia the next night!! I don't think this is a good way to be, by any stretch of the imagination.

[Criseyde]

Well, you're not sleeping too much for you, because if you try to cut it down, you feel terrible.

You're still a teenager, so I'd say don't sweat it. Teenagers need more sleep than adults -- most need about 9 hours. 10 is longer than average, but not too much when you take your age into consideration. Your brain is still developing, so let it.

I was chronically sleep deprived in high school and felt terrible most of the time, even though I got 6-7 hours most nights. Now I actually do need less sleep (I think), though I'm not sure how much since I never slept enough.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

This is not that difficult to understand! Being asleep is not under concious control. That is why most Americans have trouble sleeping. Once your stomach is full you can keep eating since it stretches like a balloon. That is why so many people are obese. You can drink too much water like that woman did in the news and die. You can do too much weight lifting-- known as overtraining.

You can sunbathe too long and cause 3rd degree burns. But you bring up a good point. Many feel terrible sleeping a long time. If someone goes too long without a cigarette, they can also feel horrible. So why does sleeping long make you feel terrible?

If you do not eat for 10 minutes then you have fasted for 10 minutes. But you do not feel a difference since it is not long enough for your body to go into a cleansing mode of accelerated cleansing. For that to happen it takes many hours. Now fasts are good for health, right? But we have read on this forum that it can make people feel terrible. So you go too long without a cigarette or too long without heroin (if you are an addict) and you feel terrible. So to use your terminology, if you go without crap for too long, it makes you feel like crap.

So with fasting your body is dumping these poisons back into your blood (they are stored in the fat) at a fast rate and you feel awful. So by now you may be wondering what this has to do with sleeping. Every night when people sleep awhile, they are fasting. Then after sleeping you wake up and have a meal. That meal is called break-fast since it breaks your fast.

The longer you sleep the more the cleansing that takes place (or the longer the fast) and you can feel bad from that. Of course some can feel bad after sleeping a long time since there is something wrong with their sleeping like a matress that is too soft or sleeping in a bad position for sleep or a pillow that bends their neck the wrong way etc.

They have orthopedic pillows. I guess a pillow can have toxins in it also. I use a pillow that is filled with buckwheat that I got from a chiropractor. Also someone above mentioned going to sleep too soon after eating and that it not good. Sorry I cannot take credit for the above about sleeping and going without food (fasting) while you sleep. This comes from Fit for Life (I and II). Over 15 million copies of these books were sold.

In them it also explains that many people have healed themselves of many problems by just skipping breakfast! Can skipping breakfast make you feel terrible? Yes it can just like fasting can make you feel terrible since it is fasting. While you are sleeping (and not eating) your body does most of its cleansing. If you are fasting and go to sleep, you can feel worse since the body can cleanse faster while you are sleeping since it is not using that energy for other things.

So many who fast every night while sleeping and break the fast with break-fast will tell you that they think fasting is bad for health and they would never do it!

I'm pretty sure you are COMPLETELY pulling that out of, you know where. I've fasted plenty. For you to claim, that an extra few hours of sleeping, or multiple naps through out the day, is akin to fasting, and you feel bad because of TOXINS.. I just don't know what to say to that, other then, PROVE IT.

As far as my comparison of eating too much and sleeping too much.

You say that because the stomach stretches, you can over eat too much. Well, guess what. The brain "stretches" too. The more you sleep, and the more you sleep in, the more you become accustomed to that, and the more sleep you need. Just as people who cut down on their sleep, are usually exhausted, until their body gets adjusted to that new sleep cycle. Sleeping too long, is not withdrawal from being awake.

You can't keep eating, and your stomach only stretches so far. I've ate competitively before, and, there is absolutely a limit. People get fat, because they eat crap, a lot of it, and all the time. Sure, their stomach stretches, and allows them to eat more food in one sitting. That's not the reason for them getting fat. It's only one single variable.

As far as withdrawal goes. Well, sleep can be addictive. It's an escape from reality. It's emotional substitution for real life. You want more and more of it. You will get more and more of it. For you to claim, that at no point, are people over sleeping? Well, then people are never over eating. People are never over doing anything.

[bluestar]

I don't think a need for sleep can be any way likened to an addiction....unless of course, there is some major health problem going on like depression or something similar.
It isn't really a question of the more you get the more you will want...unlike chocolate or alcohol or worse.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by bluestar

I don't think a need for sleep can be any way likened to an addiction....unless of course, there is some major health problem going on like depression or something similar.
It isn't really a question of the more you get the more you will want...unlike chocolate or alcohol or worse.

Maybe you haven't experienced it, but myself and others have. What exactly is your definition of addiction, to where you claim that it can't be ANY WAY likened to one? That's a very bold statement there. There are 57 MILLION results on Google for sleep addiction and another 17 million for sleeping addiction. That's more then double the results compared to DRUG addiction and 6 times more then alcohol addiction. Sleep addiction has more results then drug, alcohol, and tobacco addiction combined.

What do you think the reason for that would be?

And if you recall, I said that mental issues can lead to it, ie depression.

[bluestar]

Well on Google there are all sorts of weird and wonderful things posted by all sorts of anxiety-ridden, deluded, or otherwise compromised people, under the guise of authority (I have a website therefore I know) It's a mixed-bag with 1st class information/good information/bad information/crap information. Just because it's google-able doesn't mean it's sound.

As I said before, sleep malfunction (call it "addiction" if you like) is likely, or possible if there is a disorder such as depression, or some other illness. Then yes. I know of some people suffered bad depression and could hardly get out of bed all day, every day. I am aware of horrible things like this.

Otherwise, under natural circumstances, I think a person sleeps until they need to wake up, and they sleep as much as they need (not are addicted to) Observe animals. They do the same. Some will sleep because they need to for 10-12 hours. I don't necessarily think we are all that much different.
In summertime, we have probably less need for sleep, and in wintertime, more. Age makes a difference, also levels of exertion or stresses of one kind or another during waking life. Lack of food can make a difference. Illness, or recovery from illness can make a difference.
Needing more sleep shouldn't be a thing to be too upset about, or ashamed of (if someone you know only needs a couple of power-naps each day, and wakes up at 3am)

[EvolveWithFlavor]

I notice that when I am engaged more on a daily basis with multiple tasks/exercise/hanging out with family, that I tend to start sleeping ALOT more - we're talking like 9-10 hours a day.

It's also common knowledge that when you're younger, you tend to sleep more.

And it could be influenced by any number of factors - Diet, Emotions, Worry, Girlfriends, etc.

[Megalodon]

Originally Posted by russianrocket

There are 57 MILLION results on Google for sleep addiction and another 17 million for sleeping addiction. That's more then double the results compared to DRUG addiction and 6 times more then alcohol addiction. Sleep addiction has more results then drug, alcohol, and tobacco addiction combined.

russianrocket nothing can be further from the truth. I have a few websites and I've done a lot of keyword research so I know what I'm talking about.

When you did the searches you did not used quotes and you got 57 million results for sleep addiction. What you received is the number of pages that have the word -sleep- and -addiction- somewhere on the page, most of the time in different paragraphs. The same thing applies for your other searches.

Now if you want to know the exact amount of results for -sleep addiction- you have to put the term "sleep addiction" with the quotes. Do that and you'll see that you only get about 70.000 results, that is 0.07 million. For "drug addiction" you get 14.7 million results and for "alcohol addiction" you get 4.2 million results. These are the real numbers.

So you get 200 times less results for "sleep addiction" than for "drug addiction" and 60 times less results than for "alcohol addiction".

Sorry for going offtopic, I just needed to point that out.

[Orator]

It is possible to oversleep and I can for 12 hours but I never do so since it is waste of time and it will weaken your metabolism in the long run. I sleep 6 to 7 hours though I like at least 8 hours' sleep. I have been living with busy schedules everyday and cannot afford more than 6 to 7 hours sleep. I have no sleep disorder. I think if people sleep more than 8 hours it is a form of sleep disorder.