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Does Sleeping All Day Cause Depression

Difficulty Getting Out Of Bed

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Its normal to enjoy sleeping in or spending time in bed. However, if it has become difficult to find the motivation to get out of bed or get ready in the morning, this could be a sign of depression. Depression can make us feel fatigued and physically drained to the point where even small tasks, like getting up in the morning, can feel exhausting or difficult to do.

What Are The Symptoms Of Oversleeping

The potential physical repercussions of oversleeping include diabetes, obesity, headaches, increased pain, heart disease, stroke, inflammation, impaired fertility, and early death. Additionally, too much sleep could lead to adverse mental effects such as depression, anxiety, sleep hangovers and confusional arousals, and impaired cognitive abilities and memory.

A Recent Study Casts Doubt On The Assumed Relationship

Posted April 3, 2017

Post by Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Staff

People with depression and a type of excessive sleepiness called hypersomnolence sleep for longer periods than healthy individuals, but sleep just as well, according to a February 1 study in the Journal of Sleep Research.

This calls into question past assumptions that people with depression experience daytime sleepiness because their sleep is fragmented and poor quality.

The studys lead author, David T. Plante, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin, is a 2012 NARSAD Young Investigator grantee. He and his colleagues examined the sleep of 22 patients with major depressive disorder and hypersomnolence with the sleep of healthy individuals of the same age and sex. The analysis included information provided by all participants from daily sleep diaries, a wrist monitor and a monitored sleep study where the participants were allowed to sleep as long as they wanted.

The researchers note that their study should not be construed to mean that all mood-disordered patients with a complaint of hypersomnolence will be free of sleep initiation and/or maintenance difficulties.

They also suggest that future studies to establish the biological basis hypersomnolence in mood disorders, as well as clarify the accuracy of diagnostic thresholds to define excessive sleep duration, are needed to refine the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders.

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You Dont Sleep As Well

Depression may be disrupting your sleeping patterns in some way. About 80% of people with depression, for example, experience insomnia.

But its not just a lack of sleep that causes tiredness. Oversleeping, which is also a common symptom of depression, can cause similar feelings of fatigue over a period of time.

These kinds of sleep irregularities are among the biggest causes of fatigue in those who experience depression.

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Are There More Complex Sleeping Pill Side Effects

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Some sleeping pills have potentially harmful side effects, including parasomnias. Parasomnias are movements, behaviors, and actions over which you have no control, like sleepwalking. During a parasomnia, you are asleep and unaware of what is happening.

Parasomnias with sleeping pills are complex sleep behaviors and may include sleep eating, making phone calls, or having sex while in a sleep state. Sleep driving, which is driving while not fully awake, is another serious sleeping pill side effect. Though rare, parasomnias are difficult to detect once the medication takes effect.

Product labels for sedative-hypnotic medicines include language about the potential risks of taking a sleeping pill. Because complex sleep behaviors are more likely to occur if you increase the dosage of a sleeping pill, take only what your doctor prescribes — no more.

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Is It Dangerous To Combine Sleeping Pills And Alcohol

Yes. Mixing alcohol and sleeping pills can have additive sedating effects from both drugs, and the combination can cause someone to stop breathing, which could cause death.Ã Sleeping pill labels warn against using alcohol while taking the drug.

Also, you should not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while taking some sleeping pills. Grapefruit increases the amount of the drug absorbed into your bloodstream and how long it stays in the body. That can cause over-sedation.

What Causes Problems With Sleep

The things that affect our sleep differ for everyone. They can include:

  • stresses or worries for example, issues with money, housing or work
  • problems with where you sleep for example, if you sleep somewhere uncomfortable or you’re easily disturbed
  • health conditions relating to sleep, also known as sleep disorders
  • being a parent or carer

For more information about sleep disorders, see the Mental Health Foundation and Royal College of Psychiatrists websites, and our list of useful contacts.

“It’s not possible to relax if you don’t have anywhere comfortable and safe at night. This leads to not sleeping and worrying most of the night.”

If problems with sleep are worrying you or affecting your day to day life, it’s a good idea to see a doctor who can give you a health check and help you access treatment and support. If you fill in a sleep diary, you could take this to your appointment to show your doctor.

“My sleep problems are more a case of bedtime procrastination than insomnia as such and, as a consequence, being too tired the next morning. I still haven’t found out what works for me as I can get to sleep once I do get to bed.”

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Depression And Oversleeping: What’s The Link

posted: Oct. 13, 2021.

For many hardworking Americans, more sleep is the ultimate dream.

We rise to the sound of the alarm, and delight in the ability to hit the snooze button.

We look forward to days off where no alarm is needed, and we can blissfully stay in bed until long after typical breakfast hours.

We drool over high-thread-count sheets, supportive pillows, luxury beds.

Yes, many of us want and need that extra rest, a lovely little gift to ourselves when weve been so overworked and overtired.

But sometimes, too much sleep is a sign of something more sinister. It could possibly be a sign of a mental health disorder, like depression.

While most of us link insomnia to depression, hypersomnia is a symptom too, affecting about 15% of people with depression. Its more typically linked to those with atypical depression, which is the type that sees a persons mood change and lift in response to positive events, even if only temporarily.

When Danny, 35, was first diagnosed with depression, she had told her therapist it wasnt possible. Id always heard about people with depression and anxiety being unable to sleep, but for me, I could sleep anywhere, anytime, she remarks. I actually thought it was a kind of talent my head would hit any pillow and boom, Id be out.

Some tips on how to improve poor sleep habits include the following:

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When To Seek Help

Too much REM sleep: why do depressed people wake up exhausted? | Human Givens

When do depression naps go from Twitter joke to crucial sign that you may need to seek medical help?

The key to a healthy nap is that its short, infrequent and energizing usually referred to as power naps, Farrell said.

When naps grow longer and start to feel draining rather than restorative, or when they cause someone to miss out on important work or life events, it may be time to seek professional attention, Farrell noted.

Also, if napping is accompanied by other symptoms of depression, like low energy, trouble concentrating, or low mood, then professional help can be extremely beneficial and even life-saving, she said.

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Aim To Exercise More And Start Small If You Need To

Though depressive attitudes may make it harder to work out, implementing an exercise routine thats realistic and attainable in your everyday life can ease depression fatigue.

Exercise has the added benefit of improving your sleep, too.

Its OK to start small even just walking for 30 minutes a day will likely boost your energy and mood. Exercise is truly an organic and reliable way to help address your depression fatigue.

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Its very important for people to be able to tolerate their feelings and practice healthy coping skills that combat depression, rather than succumbing to it, Farrell explained.

Emanuel Maidenberg, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, agreed such naps could be a coping mechanism, noting they could either be a symptom of low energy or a way for people to avoid hopeless or helpless thoughts.

It can be helpful in the short run, but recurrent dependence on naps becomes a potential mechanism of depression maintenance, he explained.

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Poor Quality Sleep Reduces Resilience

In a recent Johns Hopkins study, healthy women and men whose sleep wasinterrupted throughout the night had a 31 percent reduction in positivemoods the next day. Sleep interruptions interfere with deep, restorativeslow-wave sleep, explains lead researcher Patrick Finan, Ph.D. Ongoing insomnia could increase a persons risk of depression, he says, byweakening their emotional resiliencethe buffer of positive emotions thathelps people deal with stress and challenges of life.

What’s The Relationship Between Sleep And Depression

Sleep deprivation and your body

People experiencing depression may have sleep difficulties, including not sleeping enough to sleeping excessively, according to the NIMH. They can also wake up much earlier than they intended to . These issues are linked to depression through hormones and the nervous system.

According to a March 2015 study published in the International Journal of Endocrinology, there are several hormones that play a role in being asleep and awake. Those hormones include:

  • Growth hormones
  • Ghrelin and leptin

Melatonin and cortisol help regulate your circadian rhythm as they work opposite of one another. If they are out of balance, sleep issues can occur. Additionally, increased TSH or ghrelin levels and decreased growth hormone or leptin levels can all lead to sleeplessness and vice versa.

The nervous system contains neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers that send signals between neurons . Certain neurotransmitters are responsible for regulating periods of wakefulness and sleep, according to a January 2022 study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. The researchers found that neurotransmitter system abnormalities can result in both sleep-wake rhythm disorders and the development of depression.

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How Does Depression Affect Sleep

While its no surprise that there is a strong relationship between sleep and depression, movies and TV shows often only depict the illness manifesting itself as hypersomnia, or excessive rest when in reality the opposite occurs more frequently. Many people with depression suffer from chronic insomnia and feel that their symptoms get in the way of falling or staying asleep. Both effects are characteristic of the disease.

While insomnia may be more common than hypersomnia, research cited by Scientific American suggests that the two go hand in hand, heres why: disturbed sleep is incredibly distressing. While this is probably a pretty unsurprising statement, lets look closer at how this all fits together.

For someone with depression, missing a few hours of sleep can feel like a major defeat, especially when you are doing everything you can to fix the problem.

If a woman is experiencing a major depressive episode, around the time most people go to bed, she may be in a dark room, at the ideal room temperature with the best mattress in the world, but she would probably still be awake thinking about all the things she needs to do the next day.

Trapped between apathy and feelings of defeat, everything from registering her car to attending a performance review at work feels so unrewarding to her. Sarah may ask herself why it matters, why anything at all matters, and feel helpless to change her situation.

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Dr. Natalie Azar, NBC news medical contributor, said the technical term for a depression nap is hypersomnia, “which means that youre sleeping too much.”

In fact, naps can be good for you. Recent evidence finds that one or two daytime naps a week may be linked to a lower risk of heart attack or stroke. And nap length, which can include anything from a quick, five-minute catnap to an hour or more snooze, doesn’t seem to make a difference. Still, when it comes to daytime naps, there’s seems to be a fine line between a healthy refresh and an indication of a problem.

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Irregular Sleep Connected To Bad Moods And Depression Study Shows

The more variation in wake up and sleep time, the worse mood and more chance of depression symptoms.

An irregular sleep schedule can increase a persons risk of depression over the long term as much as getting fewer hours of sleep overall, or staying up late most nights, a new study suggests.

Even when it comes to just their mood the next day, people whose waking time varies from day to day may find themselves in as much of a foul mood as those who stayed up extra late the night before, or got up extra early that morning, the study shows.

The study, conducted by a team from Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigans academic medical center, uses data from direct measurements of the sleep and mood of more than 2,100 early-career physicians over one year. Its published in npj Digital Medicine.

The interns, as they are called in their first year of residency training after medical school, all experienced the long intense work days and irregular work schedules that are the hallmark of this time in medical training. Those factors, changing from day to day, altered their ability to have regular sleep schedules.

The new paper is based on data gathered by tracking the interns sleep and other activity through commercial devices worn on their wrists, and asking them to report their daily mood on a smartphone app and take quarterly tests for signs of depression.

Is 10 Hours Of Sleep Too Much

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How long you should sleep is dependent upon your age and individual health circumstances. 10 hours a night can be a healthy duration for children and teens, but for adults, experts with Johns Hopkins Medicine suggest a minimum of 7 hours a night and that regularly sleeping more than 9 hours is considered too much sleep.

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When To See A Professional

Most people oversleep on occasion, especially after a few late nights or intense physical activity. If you usually dont have any problems getting up in the morning, you probably dont need to worry about sleeping too long once in a while.

But, if you notice more frequent oversleeping, it may be time to talk with a healthcare professional. Only medical and mental health professionals can diagnose sleep disorders and mental health conditions.

Getting an expert opinion becomes even more important when:

  • symptoms of depression persist for longer than 1 to 2 weeks
  • you dont feel rested after any amount of sleep
  • you cant stay awake during the day
  • your regular activities no longer interest you
  • changes in mood begin to affect your daily life or relationships

If you need help now

If you need someone to talk with in a moment of distress, trained, compassionate crisis counselors can listen and offer support with finding helpful ways to cope. Here are a few options:

Since depression and sleep disorder symptoms can overlap, make sure to tell a professional about all of your symptoms.

Even the symptoms that dont seem relevant anxiety, anger, aches and pains, increased tearfulness can help a professional figure out whats affecting your sleep habits.

Is There A Cure For This Problem

The best way to combat oversleeping is by forming good sleep habits and creating positive lifestyle changes. You can reference the aforementioned suggestions for better sleep to help get you started and discover what works best for you. In the event you do not notice a difference after implementing these habits regularly, you should consult with your physician.

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Depression Acts On Neurotransmitters To Make You Tired

Depression is likely associated with changes in brain neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. “These neurotransmitters play important roles in regulating energy levels, sleep, appetite, motivation, and pleasure,” Ricke says.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, depression is a complex disease with many possible and interlinked causes, including genetics, medical conditions, stressful life events, and brain chemistry. And it can be challenging to tell the difference between everyday tiredness and depression-related fatigue.

“Fatigue and depression can look quite similar,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, psychiatrist and sleep medicine expert, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine.

When You Sleep Too Much

How Does Lack Of Sleep Hurt Us?

Excessive sleepiness is a common symptom of atypical depression. This subtype of the mood disorder can be tough to identify because it doesn’t involve some of the classic symptoms, said Gail Saltz, MD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill-Cornell Medical College and a psychoanalyst with the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. “Instead of trouble sleeping and loss of appetite, you sleep too much and eat too much,” Dr. Saltz told Health.

What’s more, when you have atypical depression, you don’t always feel low: Your mood may lift temporarily when positive events happen or you hear good news. This makes it easier to brush off other signs that something’s amiss, like using the snooze button more often and having a lack of motivation to start the day.

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