Possible underlying reasons include depression and anxiety. Depression is linked to dysania, a nonmedical term for when a person feels the need to stay in bed without sleeping. A wide range of physical conditions can also lead to fatigue, making it hard to get up. They include ME/CFS and long COVID.
You most likely can't wake up early anymore because you're sleep deprived, out of sync with your circadian rhythm, or have a medical condition or sleep disorder like insomnia, sleep apnea, or parasomnias.
Causes of Spending Too Much Time in Bed
Spending excessive time in bed may be a sign of an underlying medical condition, such as depression. Depression is a mood disorder that has many symptoms, including decreased interest in activities or other people, weight changes, trouble sleeping, and fatigue.
People with ADHD frequently report having trouble waking up in the morning. For help getting out of bed, try using light therapy or plan something enjoyable for when you get out of bed, such as exercise or a nice breakfast.
So when you're getting eight hours and still feeling tired the next day, it's frustrating. There are four likely culprits behind your low energy: your sleep need is more than eight hours, you're getting less sleep than you think, you've got sleep debt to pay back, or you're out of sync with your circadian rhythm.
If you have a really hard time, you could have something called dysania. This means you simply can't get out of bed for about 1 to 2 hours after you wake up. Doctors don't recognize it as a medical condition, as it is not an official diagnosis.
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, which helps synchronize your sleep-wake cycle. Limit awake-time in bed. If you don't get back to sleep within 20 minutes after waking up in the middle of the night, get out of bed and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy again.
In medicine, clinophilia is a sleep disorder described as the tendency of a patient to remain in bed in a reclined position without sleeping for prolonged periods of time.
"As soon as you wake up after a night of sleep, you should get out of bed. If you lie awake in bed, your brain links being awake to being in bed," according to Professor Matthew Walker from University of California Berkeley.
This will depend largely on how your body responds to resting this way. Some people are able to function on only 3 hours very well and actually perform better after sleeping in bursts. Though many experts do still recommend a minimum of 6 hours of sleep a night, with 8 being preferable.
Try to expose yourself to natural light first thing in the morning, even if it's cloudy outside. Practice deep breathing, stretching, or yoga right after you wake up. Keep a water bottle by your bed so you can hydrate immediately upon waking up. Give yourself an incentive.
Dysania, which isn't medically recognised, isn't just about feeling sleepier than usual – it is a chronic inability to leave bed. Self-proclaimed sufferers can stay in bed for days on end and often experience anxiety at the thought of getting up. They can also feel a "craving" to return to bed once they have left it.
If you are struggling to wake up in the morning, it's important to rule out medical conditions such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and chronic fatigue syndrome. However, if you have been diagnosed with one of these conditions, your inability to get out of bed may be related to your diagnosis.
Sitting or lying down for too long increases your risk of chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Too much sitting can also be bad for your mental health. Being active is not as hard as you think. There are lots of simple ways to include some physical activity in your day.
If you aren't feeling rested when you wake up, despite getting to sleep at least 8 hours prior, then it might not be the quantity of your sleep that's the problem. It could be your sleep quality that needs some attention. The amount of sleep you get is important, but equally important is the quality of that sleep.
ADHD burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that can be caused by long-term, unmanaged ADHD symptoms and stressors. It is often characterized by feelings of overwhelming fatigue, reduced productivity, and a sense of hopelessness or despair.
But in reality, it's usually a stress response. 🤯 And, some individuals with ADHD experience fatigue because they must make so much effort to keep up with the world around them. So, whether it's the restless body or the racing mind, hyperactivity in ADHD can take its toll and leave us exhausted.
Difficulty Waking Up with ADHD
ADHD sleepers are commonly irritable, even combative, when roused before they are ready. Many of them say they are not fully alert until noon.