Sleeping is essential for your health. It heals your entire system and recharges you for the next day. Its benefits are not limited to physical health only, your mental functions and cognitive abilities get a necessary boost too. A sleep duration of around 7 to 9 hours every night is considered a proper one. Meanwhile, as you are fast asleep, your body carries out a series of biological processes that ensure optimal health. But if your sleep time exceeds more than 10 hours or if you have a habit of extending your sleep time during the day, then you may wake up feeling fatigued or exhausted.
Daytime Sleeping
Daytime sleeping is often associated with depression. Individuals suffering from depression tend to sleep more than normal ones. Such individuals might stay up all night thinking, and contemplating traumatizing events that happened in their lives. They may isolate themselves and feel comfortable staying awake during night-time, which is why they recover their sleep during the daytime. They may even sleep excessively which can worsen their depression symptoms even more.
How is daytime sleep linked to depression?
Excessive sleeping can lead to depressive feelings, and it goes the other way around too. Depression can increase an individual’s urge for excessive sleep. For such individuals, sleeping can work as an escape mechanism for depressed individuals. It can help them to get away from the harsh reality of their life and slip into slumber. This may cause them to become distant from people and society and they may even entertain suicidal thoughts, which is why depression must be treated in time, or else it can have detrimental effects on the individual’s psyche and physical health.
Necessity
It is necessary to understand that sleeping is not a cure for all your problems. Sleeping with all the worries, tensions, and depressive thoughts can cause even more harm. One must distract themselves from a negative downward spiral of depression. Feeling a bit depressed for some time is still okay and is natural to some extent, but long-term depression can turn into a disorder that has extremely bad consequences on one’s overall health and well-being.
Risk
Moreover, individuals that are not depressed but tend to sleep excessively, especially during the daytime are at a higher risk of developing depression. Daytime is for action, goal setting, task achievement, performance, and productivity, but wasting this precious time on sleeping can hinder you from your long-term goals and leave you with a lack of motivation. Therefore, it is important to recognize that sometimes it is okay to feel a bit depressed, but staying in the depressive feeling and thoughts will harm your life in every which way.
Effects of daytime sleeping
Sleeping for prolonged durations can disrupt your circadian rhythm, which is nothing but your sleep cycle. Changes to your sleep cycle may cause disturbance to your body clock. Your body’s mechanism of action in controlling the functions like digestion, mental functions, immune function, etc. may get hugely impacted.
Chronic Health Conditions
The cells in your body might get confused which causes them to respond abnormally and this is how you become more susceptible to chronic health conditions. A slight change can still be overcome but if you sleep during odd times and keep changing your sleep schedules then it may lead to metabolic disorders.
Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation and oversleeping can also affect an individual’s sexual health. As changes in sleep patterns give rise to extreme fatigue and feelings of dullness, their desire to engage in sexual interaction may decrease. They may lack interest in sex. Some may even experience difficulties with their sexual function.
Depression & ED
Depression gives rise to erectile dysfunction or impotence issues in some. Problems like erectile dysfunction can be managed with the help of ED medications such as Malegra. These medications stimulate the brain function to increase the flow of blood to men’s reproductive organs which further revives the erection function.
Moreover, sleeping during the daytime can increase your laziness and kills your motivation. Your goals might seem unreachable as a result. An individual who lacks motivation will automatically start imagining worst-case scenarios in their mind, which can bring in more depressive thoughts. Hence, it is necessary to follow a proper sleep pattern every day and seek appropriate treatment for depression.
Steps to restore sleep pattern
- Decide a specific time to get the bed and stick to that every day, no matter what.
- Make sure you keep your phones and other devices away from your bed and shut them about half an hour before your bedtime.
- Eat something light for dinner, as heavy meals can keep you awake at night due to stomach discomfort.
- Skip working at night, it can make you feel dizzy and fatigued the next day.
Treatment for depression
In case it becomes difficult for you to overcome depressive thoughts and feeling then you must seek treatment. You can try self-treatment methods like meditation, and deep breathing exercises, do something creative and fun, put on some good music, learn a new skill, or develop some hobbies or interests that keep you occupied, and so on. If nothing works, then it is imperative to consult a doctor, that can help you in alleviating the symptoms by prescribing medications and suggesting some remedy.
Last Word
Excessive sleep and depression are somewhat linked. People suffering from depression might feel like dozing off during the daytime, as sleeping is a way for them to escape negative thoughts. Conversely, those who suffer from sleep deprivation at night may try recovering their sleep through daytime naps, which can leave them feeling low, lack of inspiration, and ultimately depressed. Therefore, it is necessary to take timely action in improving the sleep pattern and treating depression as early as possible, otherwise, their effects can take a toll on life.
