Sleeping in is seductive. Your bed is like a lover who doesn’t want to let you go. It can make getting up and out of bed a daily dilemma, and so hitting the snooze button to get those delicious extra 10 minutes or more of sleep feels like a simple solution. But is sleeping in a good idea? It all depends, according to experts.
It could be that you were up all night with a colicky baby and barely got three hours of sleep. Or perhaps you wake up on a Sunday morning and it’s cloudy and cold—not exactly conducive to climbing out from underneath your covers to start the day. And maybe you’re like most people who just need a little more time in the morning to get their bearings. The issue is that you might not be doing yourself a favor trying to finagle extra minutes (or even hours) bundled up in your bed. That’s why sleeping in (and how it can affect you) is so important. That’s why understanding
Why Do People Want To Sleep In?
If you’ve ever gotten up in the morning and asked yourself, “Did I even sleep last night?”, you’re not alone. Unless you really were up all night, you might have gotten more sleep than you think (even if it wasn’t exactly optimal rest). “Sometimes people sleep in because they don’t feel like they got enough sleep the night before so they sleep in to catch up on lost sleep,” says Jessica Fink, LCSW PLLC, a psychotherapist specializing in sleep issues in Austin, TX. “It usually doesn’t do them any favors— we can’t go back and make last night not suck. We can only move forward.” That might mean chugging through the day (even if you’re exhausted) and going to bed an hour earlier so that you can reset your sleep pattern.
Is Sleeping In Ever A Good Thing?
Your bed is warm and cozy, so who could blame you for wanting to curl up under the covers and snooze a little longer? Thankfully, catching a few more winks won’t really hurt you in the long run, as long as you don’t make it a habit. “If you haven’t gotten sufficient sleep, sleeping in can be a good thing,” says Dr. Bruce Forman, a Florida licensed psychologist specializing in the treatment of insomnia and other sleep disorders. “You might have been sleep-deprived and catching up on some extra sleep—called debt sleep—can contribute to health maintenance.”
Are Some People More Prone To Sleeping In?
Although most everyone will want to be under their blankets longer than they should, there are some who are more susceptible to heeding the siren song of extra sleep. “Folks with insomnia are notorious for doing what we call extending the sleep opportunity,” explains Fink. “They linger in bed a little longer, nap during the day, or go to bed early the following night if they have a bad night.”
How Does Sleeping In Affect Your Physical Health?
You might think that you’re doing your body a favor by fueling it with more sleep, and that can be true to a certain extent. Thing is, the frequency and amount of minutes you snooze could adversely affect your goal of feeling refreshed in the morning. “When we try to get extra sleep, beyond 30 minutes to an hour, it interferes with normal processes that regulate sleep,” says Forman. “If you sleep in today, then tonight you may have difficulty falling asleep at your regular bedtime because there isn’t sufficient sleep pressure. Then tomorrow morning, you’ll be sleep-deprived and might find yourself dragging through the day.”
Sluggishness aside, trying to go back to sleep after you’ve already awakened isn’t good for you. In fact, multiplied over time, the effects of trying to get extra hours of sleep can be dangerous to your health. Says Forman: “Chronic sleep deprivation is a risk factor in cardiovascular and metabolic disorders.”
How Does Sleeping In Affect Your Mental Health?
Sometimes you wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and fired up, but more than likely, you crack one eye open and feel like crying, and this can be more impactful for people with mental health issues. “People with depression and chronic pain have an especially hard time getting out of bed in the morning,” says Fink. But catching those coveted zzz’s can come at a price. “For people with a behavioral health problem, it can be a risk factor in suicide and accidents at home, work, and traffic.”
How Can You Prevent The Need To Sleep In?
Obviously, getting between 7-9 hours of sleep is ideal, according to the Mayo Clinic. So if you’re scoring six hours or less of sleep a night, it’s no wonder that you’re super tired during the day. You can correct this condition, though. “Most sleep-related behaviors are ultimately habits and thus many sleep disorders respond well to behavioral treatments, including insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders,” says Fink.
Ultimately, keep your eye on the clock if you choose to sleep in—and we’re not talking about the snooze button. “Get out of bed at a regular time 7 days a week,” suggests Fink. “ Keep the variation to no more than an hour. The problem is erratic wake times or long periods of time spent in bed trying unsuccessfully to go back to sleep.” Adds Forman: “That way, our internal sleep-wake circadian clock will self-regulate.”
Very few of us get the amount of sleep we need. But like many things in life, we have the choice to either continue the cycle of crappy sleep, or make the necessary changes to improve our wellbeing. “The relationship between our minds, bodies, and sleep is intricate,” says Fink. “By prioritizing a consistent wake time, we can significantly improve our overall well-being.”