How to Stop Oversleeping: The Best Techniques to Overcome It

A pattern can be challenging to break, mainly if you’ve been doing it for years. Yet, there are specific items you can do to break the habit of oversleeping and start getting enough sleep (and less of it).

We all know that some habits take more time to break than others, so don’t get frustrated if you don’t notice immediate results.

The good news is that various techniques are available to help you combat oversleeping, including keeping a sleep journal, developing a nightly routine, and modifying the type of alarm clock you use.

To help prevent the urge to oversleep, we’ve listed a few suggestions that can help you. Remember, if you continue to oversleep, you may want to discuss this with your primary physician.

Understanding Oversleeping

Oversleeping, or excessive sleep, goes beyond occasional indulgence. It's characterized by consistently sleeping beyond recommended durations, typically exceeding 10 hours daily.

While temporary oversleeping can occur due to illness, injury, or intense physical exertion, persistent oversleeping may indicate an underlying health issue requiring professional evaluation.

Oversleeping has also been linked to a higher risk of diabetes and obesity, making it especially important to pay attention to prolonged sleep patterns. [1]

What Counts as Oversleeping?

Oversleeping usually means clocking more than the recommended 7–9 hours of sleep regularly. Hitting 10 hours or more night after night can signal there’s something deeper going on. And it’s not just about how long you sleep, quality matters, too.

Study: Roughly 15% of people with depression sleep too much, which may worsen their depression. [2]

Often, people who oversleep aren’t actually getting restful sleep. Poor sleep quality can leave you groggy, pushing you to stay in bed longer and fueling a cycle of fatigue. If you find yourself regularly needing extra hours, it’s worth asking what might be causing it.

Common Reasons You Might Be Oversleeping

If you’re clocking way more hours than you should, the cause could be anything from lifestyle habits to underlying health conditions.

Some of the usual issues include:

• Sleep Apnea: Breathing interruptions at night wreck sleep quality, leaving you tired and needing more hours.
• Depression: Can shift sleep patterns in either direction, leading to insomnia for some and oversleeping for others.
• Chronic Pain: Ongoing discomfort disrupts rest, pushing you to stay in bed longer to feel halfway recovered.
• Anxiety Disorders: Anxiety or panic can keep your system on edge, making your body crave extra sleep to rebound.
• Other Sleep Disorders: Issues like insomnia or restless leg syndrome can throw off sleep cycles and increase sleep needs.
• Lifestyle Habits: Irregular schedules, little physical activity, or poor sleep hygiene can all feed into oversleeping.

Spotting the Signs of Oversleeping

The first step in fixing oversleeping is knowing what to look for. When you’re regularly getting too much sleep, it often shows up in ways you might not immediately connect to sleep.

Common signs of oversleeping include:

• Waking Up Groggy: Feeling foggy or disoriented even after a long night’s sleep.
• Daytime Fatigue: Still dragging through the day despite logging extra hours.
• Difficulty Concentrating: Struggling to focus or stay sharp.
• Mood Shifts: Irritability, low mood, or even depression tied to too much sleep.
• Long Sleep Stretches: Regularly clocking 9+ hours a night for weeks at a time.
• Unrefreshed Rest: Waking up tired, like your sleep didn’t actually recharge you.

Did You Know: Multiple studies have found that people who sleep nine or more hours a night have significantly higher death rates than those sleeping seven to eight hours a night. [3]

If oversleeping sticks around for more than six to eight weeks, it’s time to talk with a healthcare provider. Long-term oversleeping can point to an underlying health issue, and catching it early can make a big difference.

Recognizing the signs is the first step. From there, you can start adjusting your sleep habits and routines to find balance. The goal isn’t just more or less sleep—it’s the right amount of quality sleep so you can actually feel your best.

If you're ready to break the cycle of oversleeping, these practical tips can help you establish healthier sleep habits.

Create a Sleep Diary

If you find yourself sleeping too much, it can be difficult to understand why it's occurring. Often, it's recommended to use a diary to track your nighttime habits. They are used to help you easily document your sleep and help you and your physician understand your pattern.

It can also help identify disruption and other factors influencing sleep quality. Identifying details about your sleep habits can show ways to explain your sleep issues further.

What Does a Sleep Diary Include:

It records daily important sleep habits or related details. Although not all sleep diaries are similar, they typically include details about:

• Start of bedtime
• Wake-up time
• Sleep latency; how long it takes to fall asleep
• The number and duration of sleep interruptions
• Duration and number of daytime naps
• Perceived sleep quality
• Consumption of caffeine, alcohol, and/or tobacco
• Daily medications
• Number of exercises and duration

Develop a Sleep Schedule

It sounds simple, but it can be difficult for some individuals. It's best to work on setting aside no more than eight hours of sleep. Creating a sleep schedule can help you train your mind and body. Being consistent helps get you back on track with a program.

Read More: Circadian Rhythm and Sleep: Structure, Function & More

If you're unsure about a schedule, give it at least a month, but try to always go to bed at the same time and always wake up at the same time, including on the weekends. You may be amazed how much sleep loves habit and consistency.

Sleeping Tip: If you don't fall asleep within the first 20 minutes, leave your bedroom and try to do something relaxing.

Avoid Sleeping in on the Weekends

We're all guilty of indulging in some extra shut-eye on the weekends. However, sleeping longer than usual on weekends can disrupt your sleep patterns and have a negative effect on your overall health.

The American Heart Association found that people who sleep in for two or more hours on weekends are more likely to have poor cardiovascular health than those who don't try to catch up on sleep. [4]

Maintain a Healthy Bedtime Routine

Like a healthy sleep schedule, a soothing nighttime routine can do wonders! It can help create a relaxing evening close to bedtime. This can help with falling asleep, delivering quality sleep, and making it easier to wake up in the morning.

Create a Sleep Routine

It's best to embrace it and develop a healthy nighttime routine. Give some of the below a try before sleeping and see which works best for you:

• Listen to relaxing music
• Perform Yoga Nidra
• Reading a book or favorite magazine
• Sleep meditation
• Journaling: write down your thoughts
• Avoid bright lights and sounds, including TV and computer
• Try a calm activity such as meditation
• Limit heavy meals, caffeine, and exercise
• Create a dark sleeping environment
• Lower your core body temperature using a cooling mattress topper

Sleeping Tip: For ideas on improving your bedroom to improve your sleep quality, check out our blog, Designing the Ideal Bedroom for Enhanced Sleep Quality, where we share top tips on creating the ideal sleeping environment.

Take Fewer Naps During the Day

Naps offer plenty of benefits, but taking a nap, especially when you don't need them, can make you groggy and overtired. While napping can offer benefits, it's important to understand the different types of naps and their potential effects.

Sleeping Tip: Some people may find that power naps of just 10 to 20 minutes help them feel refreshed and more energized. It's best to limit the time to less than 30 minutes; otherwise, you may wake up groggy. Read more about how long naps should be.

Improve Your Bedroom Environment

Creating a bedroom ideal for sleeping can help significantly. Take time and make sure that your bedroom temperature is cool, free of excess lighting, and free of objects that can affect the quality of your sleep, including your television.

Studies have shown that individuals sleep better when their bedroom is optimized for light exposure, noise levels, temperature, and comfort. [5] Additionally, the bedroom temperature is essential in creating the ideal environment. A bedroom that promotes sleep can improve your feelings while awake.

Limit the Amount of Screentime

Removing all technology from the bedroom is a simple way to improve your sleep. It's important to keep screentime away from the bed.

Harvard Health Publishing recently wrote an article highlighting the harmful effects of blue light in technology on sleep. [6] Blue light, in particular, affects melatonin production, a hormone that controls the sleep-wake cycle. You can improve your sleep quality and quantity by putting away your technology before bed.

Avoid the Snooze Button

Hitting the snooze button is easy to do, but completely getting up and out of bed may help wake the body and mind up and help prevent you from falling back asleep or oversleeping. Do you snooze? You may want to think twice before hitting that button. Take a look at our previous blog, Is Hitting the Snooze Button Healthy?

Fact: Roughly 57% of people say they snooze daily. [7]

Exercise Daily

Whether walking your pet or hitting the gym, any exercise is beneficial. Exercising during the day prepares your body for deep sleep at night, which helps you wake up feeling refreshed in the morning. When you feel energized and refreshed, you’re less likely to wake up groggy or tired, making you want to continue sleeping.

Final Thoughts

If you still struggle with oversleeping despite trying a few of the above changes, you may want to speak to your primary doctor to rule out any underlying health issues.

Remember, improving your sleep habits can take time and a lot of effort, but the results and benefits are worth it. By implementing some of the above tips and staying committed to your sleep routine, you can wake up feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to take on the day full steam ahead!