1) Sleep apnea. Both my husband and I had it. I had an operation, he used a CPAP machine and lost weight. It made all the difference in the world.
2) Depression. Are you grieving right now or have had any other losses (broken up with a girlfriend, lost a pet) that would be making you depressed? Depression can manifest as excessive sleep. In fact, the classic sign of a depression is to go to sleep, wake up very early (like 4:30 or 5), stay awake a couple hours unable to sleep, and then become desperately sleepy and sleep for several hours before waking again. You can be depressed without necessarily being aware of "sad" feelings
3) Anxiety. Any unusual stresses in your life right now (monetary strain, divorce, etc.) People under stress can sleep more.
4)Excessive caffeine, alcohol, other meds. Sometimes people can sleep with a lot of coffee or Red Bull in them, but it's a shallow sleep without a lot of deep sleep, the part of sleeping that physically refreshes the body. Alcohol, same thing. If you don't dream or can't dream, that may be a clue you aren't getting the right kind of sleep, so your body is sleeping longer trying to get it.
Just my random thoughts! I agree with other posters: go to a sleep clinic. Treating our apnea just made a world of difference in our lives!
Yeah. I don't think the Special Forces are going to let you sleep 15 hours a day.
Well I heard a voice cry in the deep Come join me baby in my endless sleep Endless sleep
I think I found your answer here..
” although I was up for 34 hours before that “
When I was young and physically active, I required lots of sleep. I could sleep 12 hours or more if and when my schedule permitted it. When you are going and going and day after day you are in a sleep deficit, as soon as you are allowed to or have the time to, your body will try to make up for that deficit. It’s normal.
I can’t remember exactly how the saying went, but it had something to do with warriors. All the way back to the beginning of recorded history, warriors had to go without sleep. Therefore, whenever possible, a warrior would get some sleep in the strangest places and times and sleep through anything. If you are one that falls asleep everytime you get a little bored or sit doing nothing for a few minutes, you are a warrior. I tend to fall asleep everytime i try to watch TV. That’s why I rarely turn on the TV. When I was younger and had very physical jobs, everytime I was givin a 15 minute break, I would fall asleep. Some think this is a weakness. It isn’t. It is merely a well trained warrior. But if you fall asleep when your aren’t supposed to, then you have a problem.
You know, my son has done the same thing. He can sleep and sleep and sleep—12 hours, like you. He nearly lost his job before he dealt with himself and has made himself get up when the alarm goes off. The company told him that if he was late to work once over the next 6 months, they’d fire him. He’s made it more than 6 months.
I really thought that he had a sleep disorder. Now, I think it was a self-control disorder. I just can’t figure out how he can sleep so long.
Two possibilities:
1) some people are “long sleepers” (as opposed to short sleepers)— the human body is set to sleep about 8 hours a night unless it is “trained” to sleep less. But then, sleeping less ends up as a mild sleep deprivation.
On the other hand, long sleepers generally sleep more than the eight hours — like maybe 10 to 12 hours a night.
We can’t make up the sleep we lose, but we can make up the REM sleep — that time in our sleep cycle when rapid eye movements say we’re dreaming. And even for those people who say they never dream, they do dream. They just don’t remember their dreams.
2.) It could also be what we call “hypersomnia” which is one of the criteria for depression. But hypersomnia is reserved more for people who want to stay in bed for long long periods of time with the proverbial blanket pulled over their heads. Doesn’t sound like you’re hypersomniac but rather, a long sleeper.
(Hypersomnia is the opposite of insomnia)
Sleep cycles and the brain were my students’ favorite units when I taught psychology. But college students tend to be short sleepers, and sleep deprived. Short sleepers also tend to drive drowsy — so they’d all be a bit better off going toward the long sleepers.
— Jane
Two nights ago I slept for about 15 hours, although I was up for 34 hours before
Yesterday I was up for 15 hours, then slept for 11 hours
Those are normal stats to me
I would suggest that you are missing out on *quality* sleep, which your body tries to make up for with quantity.
Here are some ideas that might help:
1) Try sleeping with Breathe Right nasal strips on your nose for a week. You might need more oxygen while sleeping to get to a deeper level of sleep. They may also reduce snoring.
2) Get some “32” or better rated foam earplugs. Extraneous noises might be interfering with your rest.
3) Have a glass of warm milk before bed. Warmed milk has chemicals in it that promote restful sleep.
4) If you regularly snore, you may have sleep Apnea. This can be a dangerous condition and should be treated.
5) Body position while sleeping may matter to you. Become aware of how you sleep, and how restless you are when you sleep.
6) Try varying the temperature of the room you are sleeping in. Warmer or colder may give you better rest.
7) There is an over-the-counter sleep aid called Doxylamine Succinate (25mg) which is the same pill in brand name and generic. It is just the part of antihistamine that makes you drowsy. For some people it can give them a very deep sleep, and they wake up much more rested. Though for the first few uses, you may remain drowsy when you wake up in the morning. It is available in drug and grocery stores.
depression.
I naturally sleep 12 hours a night if not awakened by an alarm.
Talk to your GP about getting a sleep study done. The symptoms you describe could be cause by a variety of things. In my case it was a form of parasomnia. As I’d start to drift off, my foot would begin to shake, waking me up. But I wouldn’t feel (/remember) the movement or even that I had fallen asleep. Instead, it felt like I’d just been lying there, waiting (which is why my GP originally diagnosed it simply as insomnia). Periodically throughout the night I’d wake myself up like this. But I wouldn’t remember it. All the interruptions were keeping me from getting rested, which is why I was sleeping so long (10 or 12 hours, easy). Anyway, none of this was evident until I had the study done.
That's 7.5 hours per night. Not a problem.
Do you work in the Power trades?
If you work your a@@ off for about ten hours a day this problem will subside.
bflr
OOps. Big mistake. Saw that you are a soldier. Withdraw my comment. Hope you find relief.