Table of contents:
- 5 reasons people sleep longer
- 1. Genetic factors
- 2. Mental health problems
- 3. Experiencing sleep disorders
- 4. A very sensitive person
- 5. Certain medical conditions
The duration and quality of sleep varies greatly from person to person. Dr. Ana C. Krieger, medical director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York states this usually depends on the circumstances and conditions of each individual. Sleeping longer can also be one of the body's responses to certain health problems. Various other factors can cause people to sleep longer.
5 reasons people sleep longer
1. Genetic factors
Research quoted from Medical News Today shows that some people need more sleep than others. One of these needs depends on a person's genetic makeup.
Some people may only take 3 to 4 hours to restore their stamina. While others need more than 10 hours for the body to be able to carry out normal activities.
Scientists believe that this has to do with a person's circadian rhythm, the cycle involved in each day's sleep and wake patterns. This cycle is influenced by genetic factors.
2. Mental health problems
Sleeping longer can also indicate certain mental disorders that a person is experiencing. Depression is a disorder that makes the body feel tired and sleepy.
Therefore, people who are depressed usually need to sleep longer because they usually feel sleepy throughout the day. So people who are depressed need a longer rest period than usual, which is about 10 to 11 hours a day.
Research also shows a link between depression and sleep disorders. Certain medications used to treat this condition can also cause greater fatigue and drowsiness.
3. Experiencing sleep disorders
One of the things that causes longer sleep time is when someone is suffering from sleep disorders. One of the sleep disturbances is hypersomnia or sleeping sickness.
People who suffer from hypersomnia usually have difficulty getting out of bed if they sleep less than 10 hours. In fact, even after sleeping for 10 hours, sometimes people with hypersomnia still feel that they are not getting enough sleep.
Emmanuel H., a neurologist and psychiatrist at Stanford University, stated that people with hypersomnia who have slept more than 10 hours of sleep a night and napped for 2 to 3 hours still feel that it takes longer to close their eyes (still sleepy during the day).
Apart from hypersomnia, a rare neurological disorder with Kleine-Levin syndrome can also cause quite an extreme need for sleep, up to weeks or even months and just getting up to go to the bathroom or eat.
4. A very sensitive person
Very high sensitivity can be defined as an acute physical, mental, and emotional response to external (social, environmental) or internal (inner) stimuli. A very sensitive person may be an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert.
People who have too high a sensitivity often experience physical and mental fatigue due to the response to something that is too excessive so that the brain always feels alert.
Therefore, people with very high sensitivity need to sleep more than other people. So this is her way of reducing the pressure and getting her nervous system back to normal.
5. Certain medical conditions
Quoted from the Huffington Post, a study found that people who experience traumatic brain injuries spend more time sleeping than other healthy people.
However, longer sleep in people who have experienced trauma is not always bad. Even longer sleep can be quite an effective means of recovery to improve brain function.
If you routinely experience periods of sleep that are longer than usual and exceed normal limits, you need to see a doctor. The reason is that longer sleep time does not always have a good effect on health, except for people with certain medical conditions.
