We’re so used to hearing about too little sleep that the idea of too much almost sounds like a luxury – something we should be grateful for. But what if you’re waking up after 10 hours still feeling tired? Or needing naps even after a long night? Or lying in at the weekend and finding yourself more sluggish, not less?
Is too much sleep a thing?
The short answer: yes, but it’s rarely about actual sleep. It’s often about what your body is trying to tell you.
Just like with hunger, your body has internal cues for rest. If you’re suddenly needing 10+ hours regularly, it might be signalling something. It could be:
- You’re recovering from illness
- You’re navigating burnout
- Your circadian rhythm is out of sync
- You’re dealing with low mood or depression
- Your night-time sleep is fragmented and poor quality – possibly even from a sleep disorder
In many of these cases, your body isn’t getting more deep, restorative sleep, it’s getting more time in bed, often spent tossing, turning, dozing, or waking up repeatedly. And this can actually leave you feeling more drained. This can be normal in the short term, but if it’s not going away, it’s time to rethink your sleep strategy. If you fear you may have insomnia, learn more about sleep support for adults.
The Bank Account Myth
People often think of sleep like money: you can save it up, or go into debt and pay it back later. But your body doesn’t quite work that way.
Sleep works on a kind of rolling average. Yes, you can recover to some extent from a few short nights, but you don’t stockpile sleep like coins. Instead, your body builds up sleep pressure when you’re awake, especially with morning daylight and movement and getting up at the same time each day; and when that pressure reaches a certain level, it helps you sleep deeply and efficiently.
If you’re spending too much time in bed, you dilute that pressure. It’s like trying to fill a glass of water that’s already half full, you just don’t need it yet. The result? More light, broken sleep. More time lying awake. More grogginess.
You can’t force yourself to get more sleep than your body needs, just as you can’t force yourself to get less without consequences.
If you try to restrict sleep, your body will eventually push back, often by making you fall asleep at the wrong time.
Likewise, trying to force more sleep doesn’t work either. Your body has its own natural rhythm, and it will only take the sleep it needs.
“But I thought more sleep was healthy?”
It’s a common myth that more sleep equals better health. But the real relationship between sleep and health is U-shaped. Both too little and too much sleep accompanied by low quality, are associated with higher risks of conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and low mood.
But here’s the important part: oversleeping doesn’t cause those problems. It’s often a symptom of them. So if you find yourself regularly oversleeping and feeling worse, it might be worth looking at the bigger picture.
I once worked with a client who thought they had chronic fatigue. They were sleeping 10–11 hours a night, then napping during the day. But they still felt awful. When we looked closer, their night sleep was highly fragmented – they were waking over 20 times an hour (without remembering). They weren’t lazy napping through the day, they were trying to recover but the same thing would happen during the naps. Therefore they felt chronically sleepy all the time. It turns out that they had a sleep disorder called sleep apnoea. Once we established this, we were able to get them treatment. Sleep reduced down to 7-9 hours, and wake time was suddenly free of sleepiness and naps! It was never about their sleep duration – it was all about their sleep quality!
What should you do instead?
If you’re feeling the urge to sleep more than 9–10 hours regularly, ask yourself:
- How do I feel during the day? If you’re actively falling asleep during the day or struggling to keep yourself awake and naps are needed to get you through, it’s time to contact your gp for further investigation. Sleeping for adequate amounts at night and still feeling like you need to nap to cope with the day is actually a sign something is wrong with your sleep quality (potentially a sleep disorder) and you need investigations to correct it. If you’re foggy, low in mood, or lacking motivation (not the same as physically needing to sleep to get through the day), the issue might not be sleep itself – but your routine, light exposure, movement, or mental health.
- Am I going to bed too early out of habit or fear? Wait until you’re sleepy-tired, not just clock-tired.
- Is my sleep broken up by wake-ups, restlessness, or worry? That’s a quality issue – not a quantity one.
Here’s a gentle strategy to try if you’re not sure:
- Anchor your wake-up time by setting an alarm for the same time each day (yes, even on weekends).
- Get light and movement close to wake up time.
- Delay bedtime until you feel naturally sleepy – not just bored or frustrated.
- Stay out of bed if you’re not sleeping. Let your brain re-learn that bed = sleep.
Over time, you might find you need less time in bed – but get more rest from it. If you still feel excessive sleepiness during the day, and need to nap just to cope, it’s time to discuss with your GP some further investigation into your sleep to rule out sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea. If these tips don’t improve poor sleep quality but you don’t need to nap during the day, it could be a sign of insomnia that is more deep-rooted, and sleep needs to be retrained – reach out to us if this is you!
