Did you sleep too much? Are you kidding? There is no such thing these days, right? With today’s fast-paced lifestyle, there is barely enough time to get enough sleep, much less too much.
However, if you sleep eight hours a night or more and still wake up less than refreshed, you are probably sleeping too much. What you need is not more sleep, it is quality sleep.
A quality sleep allows us to wake up feeling renewed and full of energy, ready to start the day. It also allows us to sleep fewer hours, which gives us more time to do the things we want to do.
Many people assume that because they feel tired all day or have a “depression” in the middle of the afternoon, they need more sleep. Is not true!
Many people believe that because they may have been late for a couple of nights, they have to “catch up” by getting more sleep. It is not true either!
Sleeping too much can hurt your circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is your 24-hour “clock” controlled by a central part of the brain. This clock tells us when we are sleepy by altering our body temperature by a few degrees. When our body temperature is lowered, we feel drowsy. On the contrary, when he wakes up, we feel awake and alert.
When we sleep longer, our body temperature does not rise as fast. This is why we feel sleepy and lazy in the mornings. The more tired we feel, the less we exercise. Inactivity keeps body temperature low creating a vicious cycle.
The more we sleep, the less time we stay awake to create our quality of sleep for the next night. Our bodies are not exposed to enough sunlight to lower our melatonin levels, so we remain drowsy throughout the day.
The deepest stages of sleep (stages 3 and 4) are the most restorative. This is where the body regenerates. Most of the sleep in stages 3 and 4 takes place in the first 4 hours of our sleep. The rest of the night is spent in REM sleep (dreaming) and in the lighter stages. Stages 3 and 4 are also where the immune system is repaired and strengthened. Getting this kind of quality sleep is vital.
A good start is to make sure you get enough exercise throughout the day, this gives us a triple benefit. It takes us out into the sunlight which lowers our melatonin levels, raises our body temperature so we feel energized, and tires us out in a healthy way so we can sleep more soundly at night.
So when you come home from work feeling drained and tired, don’t get excited in front of the TV. Put on those sneakers and take a quick walk around the block!