Why do I sleep so much?

Some of the most common questions asked regarding sleep are:

'Why do I sleep so much?'

'Why do we need sleep?'

'What causes sleep?'

To understand why people need to sleep, we need to understand what causes sleep and why we need to sleep.

According to studies completed at the Stanford Sleep Clinic indicate that people really do need to sleep - of which the medical benefits include the restoration of glucose levels, the formation of long-term memory and other neuro-related effects - and that sleep debt is very much reality. People who feel perpetually tired, or who need to sleep a lot can be categorized in two ways: those suffering from a sleep disorder, or those who have accumulated a great deal of sleep debt. The studies completed at the Stanford Sleep Clinic have shown that the only way to alleviate cumulative sleep debt is to sleep it off.

Sleep disorders concerning tiredness are slightly more complex. Tiredness may be a sign of other medical complications, such as anemia, or may be the result of chronic fatigue syndrome (Myalgic Encephalopathy). Chronic fatigue syndrome has only been recently recognized in the United States and United Kingdom, and is treated as a chronic illness rather than a medical condition.