Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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In the last two weeks, I have finally convinced my wife to allow us to sleep in the pitch dark. I've used tinfoil on the windows while she decides what kind of shades she wants to use. Anyway, I've been going to bed between 9:30 and 11:00 and waking up between 8:30 and 9:30 everyday. I've gotten around 11 hours of sleep a couple of nights!I have averaged around 8 and a half hours for the past year or so, but I am normally an early riser and this isn't going to work for me when I have to go back to work (I'm on vacation at the moment.) The reason I seem to be able to sleep so long is because it is still so dark in my room in the morning.

So, I guess i have two main questions about this:

First, can you get too much sleep per night? How would you know if you were getting too much?

Second, is it bad to wake up in a pitch black room? Does it mess up your circadian rhythm as much as sleeping in the bright light?

flag	asked Aug 11 at 18:09 Steven 943●1●5●9

CICO Suave · Answer 1 · 2012-08-11 19:48:51Z UTC

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Not sure... Gonna sleep on it.

answered Aug 11 at 19:48

CICO Suave
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Dan · Answer 2 · 2012-08-11 19:17:24Z UTC

You can certainly get too much sleep at night. Kind of like over-eating. If you get too much, you become lethargic, foggy-headed. I notice when I wake up at around 5AM and go back to sleep, I wake up groggy. However, if I force myself to stay up, I feel GREAT that day, even if I have to take an afternoon nap.

KA24 · Answer 3 · 2012-08-11 19:44:28Z UTC

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In theory, no.

If you're sleeping at the right times and in the appropriate conditions, your body will naturally wake up when you've gotten enough sleep...

answered Aug 11 at 19:44

KA24
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I mean, you're not gonna OD on it, but people oversleep all the time. They wake up, don't want to face the day, and force more sleep. – Dan Aug 11 at 20:52

bachcole · Answer 4 · 2012-08-11 20:10:02Z UTC

I think that most if not all of the time that the so-called experts say that too much sleep is associated with this or that disease that they are probably assuming causation when in fact people who are prone to this or that disease need more sleep.

I don't see how you can get too much sleep.

patti2003 · Answer 5 · 2012-08-11 21:06:16Z UTC

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If you artificially blackout the light in your room, natural light in the morning will not awaken you. Therefore, of course you can oversleep as you're not allowing natural mechanisms to work to awaken you. I'm surprised no one has mentioned this.

answered Aug 11 at 21:06

patti2003
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So what to do? I was just about to get black out shades as there is so much artificial light coming in from outside... now I don't know what to do. – Crowlover Aug 11 at 21:17

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A lot has to do with where you live. Someone who lives out in a remote area where they can control 100% their artificial light (no street lights, neighbor's lights, building/business lights) should literally just sleep and wake with the light cycles around them. – KA24 Aug 11 at 23:39

Christine M. · Answer 6 · 2012-08-11 20:09:17Z UTC

I oversleep a lot and Dan's right - lethargic, foggy, hard to get started.

If you're worried about the light, look at getting a wake-up clock/light, like http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Hf3470-60-Wake-up-Light/dp/B003XN4RIC (there are a few other brands that work just as well).

yup · Answer 7 · 2012-08-12 02:00:28Z UTC

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sleeping mask in murberry silk with adjustable elastic band => win

answered Aug 12 at 2:00

yup
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Julie · Answer 8 · 2012-08-12 04:33:29Z UTC

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Have you read "Lights Out" by T.S. Wiley and Bent Formby? Great book!

answered Aug 12 at 4:33

Julie
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Can a person get too many hours of sleep per night?

8 Answers