Eli5: Why do we end up more tired from sleeping longer than recommended amounts?

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Why is it when you sleep for 10-12 hours you end up more tired throughout the day than if you had 8 hours of sleep?

In: Biology

16 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I can’t help wondering why there are still shift systems like this. Surely it would be better for there to be a night shift, early shift etc

Anonymous 0 Comments

Wait some people get 8 hours of sleep?

Anonymous 0 Comments

Usually because you were tired to start with, which is why you needed 12 hours sleep in the first place.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The short version is you don’t… or at least, not really. If you sleep 12 hours when you normally sleep 8 hours, there’s probably a reason. Typically, it’s because you either DIDN’T get your normal sleep, or are ill, or recently changed sleep schedules. Sleeping 10-12 hours is your body trying to play catchup and re-adjust, and it can’t really do that in a single day.

I doubt you’d actually feel better if you “only” had 8 hours sleep than if you had 10-12. Your head can get used to sleeping < 6 hours a night, but your body remembers the debt. As soon as you let your body begin to recover, your head will notice the change and become aware of what it was concealing from itself.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Maybe the Matrix was on to something. We’re built like a battery, once it gets charged up to 100%, any additional charging actually depreciate the lifespan of the battery.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Hormones. The longer you sleep, the more “relaxing” hormones your body releases. If you sleep for 10 hours, you have more hormones (such as prolactin and melatonin) than you would have if you slept for 1 hour.