In today’s world, where many of us find it hard to get enough shut-eye, the idea of sleeping too much sounds like a problem we’d like to have. We all know not getting enough sleep is bad for us, but what about too much sleep? It turns out that oversleeping can lead to issues like diabetes, heart disease, and even a higher risk of death. Just like not getting enough sleep can give you a headache, sleeping too much can do the same.
One reason oversleeping causes problems is that your sleep isn’t restful; it gets disrupted. Depression and too much sleep can also lead to health issues, including headaches. Everybody needs different amounts of sleep throughout their life, so how can you manage your sleep to avoid headaches? Here are three important tips about oversleeping headaches:
1. Sleeping too much can indeed lead to headaches, often called “weekend headaches.” To avoid them, try to stick to a regular sleep schedule by waking up and going to bed at the same times on weekends as you do during the week.
2. If you wake up with a headache after a nap, it could be because you woke up at the wrong point in your sleep cycle. Our bodies go through different stages during sleep, and napping for more than 20 to 45 minutes means you might wake up in a deeper sleep stage, leading to a headache.
3. Insomnia, a common and annoying sleep disorder, can cause headaches by itself. It can also result in oversleeping when you finally get some rest. It’s important to figure out what’s causing your insomnia to deal with the headache side effects.
Our bodies have a natural need for a specific amount of sleep, and we often get headaches when we don’t hit that sweet spot. Morning headaches can be caused by various things like sleep apnea, depression, or teeth grinding. Just like treating headaches varies from person to person, so does the impact of sleep.
