

Drerup calls “fragmented and disrupted sleep,” they often don’t get into the deeper stages of sleep or get as much REM sleep as they need. So then they oversleep in trying to catch up.”ĭuring sleep apnea, a person will stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night.

“In that case, a person is often experiencing non-restorative sleep at night so they’re not rested even after eight hours. “Sleep apnea is commonly comorbid with depression,” she adds. It’s also possible that if you or someone else is oversleeping, there’s an underlying sleep disorder. “They may be thinking, ‘I don’t have anything to look forward to so why do I even start the day?’’ “When someone is depressed, it can be because they sleep as a form of escape,” says Dr. While oversleeping can be a symptom of atypical depression, there are different factors that also contribute to it.

And that depression feeds into other reasons sleep can be so greatly affected. Besides oversleeping, other symptoms are increased appetite and interpersonal sensitivity, like the feeling of being rejected. “Often, they don’t realize they’re depressed,” Dr. But even though their mood may brighten, it’s only temporary and the root depression remains. Drerup says that oversleeping is a symptom in 15% of people with depression and she notes that it tends to more often be related to atypical depression.Ītypical depression is a specific type of depression in which the person’s mood can improve in response to a positive event. Sleep psychologist Michelle Drerup, PsyD, DBSM, says that while insomnia is more likely to be associated with depression than oversleeping, it’s still possible that sleeping too much is a sign that something is amiss. Sure, sometimes we all need extra rest to recuperate, but chronic oversleeping can be a sign of something more serious than just catching up after a late night, including links to depression. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center.
