• Patients reported poorer perceptions of sleep quality, life quality and mood.
• Individuals desire to shut out all negativity in a coma-like state
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“I wish people understood that I’m not lazy, I don’t want to sleep half the day away, I’m just always tired no matter how much sleep I get. Some days are better than others.”
“I really don't want to cancel those plans. It is just that when my depression hits, I need extra sleep.”
What makes you "sleep too much?" is a question perhaps you should never ask anyone because maybe they do not even have the answer.
Instead, ask them how they are really feeling. What is going on, or if they need some sort of help.
Sleep plays an important role in both your physical and mental health.
In fact, insufficient sleep has been associated with an increased risk of mortality rate.
The amount of sleep you need actually depends on various elements, including your work, health and age.
Kids are recommended getting an average of 12 to 16 hrs of sleep while adults get 7 to 10 hrs of sleep.
However, if all you want is to lay in bed all day long all the time, perhaps you might be slowly getting addicted.
Even though sleep addiction has not been recognized as a medical condition, sometimes too much of something can be poisonous.
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An addiction, is often described by Medical News Today as a compulsively craving of a substance or behavior that may lead to the obsessive pursuit of a reward or pay off.
Currently, no research links sleep as an addiction. However, excessive sleeping has been linked to other conditions such as diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease and depression.
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A 2008 Study found that there is a strong association between sleep disturbance and major depression.
The study found that about 40 percent of young depressed adults and 10 percent of older depressed adults experienced hypersomnia. These numbers were higher in women.
Hypersomnia, (EDS) also referred to as excessive daytime sleepiness whose common symptom is constant tiredness and insomnia, sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall or stay asleep were common on the patients.
Depressed patients reported significantly poorer perceptions of sleep quality and poorer perceptions of life quality and mood.
The symptoms cause huge distress, have a major impact on quality of life, and are a strong risk factor for suicide.
A 2017 study found that while insomnia was the most common sleep problem in people with depression, nearly half of the study’s participants reported hypersomnia as a symptom of their depression.
“Individuals [thinking or] talking about escaping from reality might be driven by deep dissatisfaction with their waking life, with a desire to shut out all negativity in a coma-like state,” Bodiu says in the research.
There have been several strategies proposed to prolong the therapeutic effect such as adding drug interventions and strictly controlling the amount and type of sleep to help people with sleep disruption.
But all in all, talking with your doctor to get support and find a solution that’s right for you is the best solution.