Sleeping way too long - connection to diet?

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oftheearth
oftheearth Posts: 104 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello!

I have an incredible alarm clock that is as loud as a jackhammer and vibrates my bed. I used to constantly sleep through other alarms, so my alarm clock is certainly not the problem. I do wake up from it and turn it off, and reset the time on it. The following situation (today), is not unusual: I went to bed at 2 am and set alarms for 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, and 10:30. I had class at noon. The idea was that if I woke up early enough, I could go to the gym before class, and that if not, I could go after class and before work (at 3:00). Instead, I kept waking up and just GOING BACK TO BED! Until...well, until 2:00 pm. At noon my boyfriend called me to see how my day was going and I said I was still in bed and missing class but that I was getting up then. I felt alert and ready to wake up when I talked to him. Yet...I didn't. I'm not sure why. I think my body felt tired, but my brain didn't.

When I have to work early (and USUALLY when I have class early - I guess it being the last class of the semester I subconsciously didn't think it was too important or something...), I am there on time. I see what time it is and I get it, and if I'm tired, then I am for a little bit. I don't know. It's like this afternoon I was waiting to wake up until I didn't feel tired anymore, and I only felt increasingly tired. Or at least, not any less tired.

My question is if this could be related to my diet. Usually I NET 1200-1700, but it is not uncommon for me to net significantly less than 1200. Or could it be micronutrients? I feel silly asking because I took a nutrition class at my university 3 years ago and got an A, really enjoyed the class. I seem to have forgotten it all.

Don't search for a connection if you don't think there is one, though - I realize this could just be pure laziness.

Thanks.

Replies

  • oftheearth
    oftheearth Posts: 104 Member
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    I should also add that even as a kid, I've always been able to sleep 12+ hours, no problem. When I didn't have much going on in my life, I'd do 17 in a row on the weekends, easily.

    I sleep heavily and always dream very vividly, and start dreaming almost immediately. I think I might have more fun than many people do sleeping, haha.
  • norma67
    norma67 Posts: 255 Member
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    I want to know where I can get an alarm like the one you currently have.
    I have a teenage son that doesn't wake up for any alarms LOL
  • PennyNickel14
    PennyNickel14 Posts: 749 Member
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    Did you change your exercise routine?

    When i started p90x I went from 8.5 hours a night to 11. A solid 11.

    Also, I ended up putting my phone alarm to the sound of a crying baby. The beeps will not get me up, but i will shoot out of bed for the baby sound. Yeah, my head is wired weird.
  • annabellj
    annabellj Posts: 1,337 Member
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    two things, most people cant stay up til 2am and then wake up at 10am, I am not your mother, but go to bed at a decent time! if you dont get enough sleep it halts your weightloss. but you may need to eat more. if you are not eating enough, it can create sluggishness. but i say that you just didnt want to get up also. if you have to get up then you said you do. i go to bed between 9 and 10 and sleep til 6 or 630. i need at least 8 to 10 hours or i am a bear.
  • norma67
    norma67 Posts: 255 Member
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    oh and you might want to add liquid vit. B to your diet in the mornings
    it can help with that feeling
  • mallorybriann
    mallorybriann Posts: 1,380 Member
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    Have you tried ice water....?
    :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
    I want to know where I can get an alarm like the one you currently have.
    I have a teenage son that doesn't wake up for any alarms LOL
  • BenderFitness
    BenderFitness Posts: 349
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    If you aren't getting enough calories you will definitely need more sleep. Your body won't have the energy to function normally. Sleep is important (it also helps prevent excess belly fat) but getting to much or too little isn't good. Generally 7-8 hours is good.

    How is your quality of sleep?
  • mehaugen
    mehaugen Posts: 210 Member
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    I used to sleep all the time before I found out I was anemic caused by Celiac disease.
  • norma67
    norma67 Posts: 255 Member
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    Have you tried ice water....?
    :bigsmile: :bigsmile:


    yup LOL
  • ruby_red_rose
    ruby_red_rose Posts: 321 Member
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    Could you have a sleep disorder? It might be useful to go see a sleep specialist. Maybe you are not getting quality sleep, and that is why you can't get up because you are still tired.
  • mallorybriann
    mallorybriann Posts: 1,380 Member
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    LOL.
    My mom would do that to me :( And pull all my covers off haha
    I miss being able to sleep! UGH! I am lucky to get 6 hours and that is not even sound sleep.
    Have you tried ice water....?
    :bigsmile: :bigsmile:


    yup LOL
  • firedragon064
    firedragon064 Posts: 1,090 Member
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    If I eat high carb, specially starch, I can sleep straight 10 hours.
    If I eat too low calorie, my body wakes me in the middle of night so I can feed it.
    If you body are tired during the day/waking hours , it's telling you to just slow know. It can be mal-nutrition, stress, over exercise.
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    Without knowing how old you are, how much you're eating, and how much sleep you're getting, it's hard to say much. If you're eating 1200 calories of nothing but protein and are already below normal weight and in a growth spurt, yeah, it could definitely be your diet causing profound lack of energy.
  • oftheearth
    oftheearth Posts: 104 Member
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    I am 22, so no growth spurt. The food I eat is balanced, I think that yes, with exercise, it just might be that I'm not getting enough.

    The quality of my sleep is great! I'm very lucky!

    As for the time...I don't think that has much to do with it. Except for when I have a lack of sleep from previous nights, I never go to bed before midnight. I like to go to bed at midnight, but I'm rarely tired then, even if I do get up very early that day. By age 9 I was staying up until 1 am, and having my Dad drag me out of bed in the morning for school. I caught up on the weekends. I estimate I've gone to bed before midnight about 200 nights of the past 13 years. (Not counting nights from a couple years where I regularly used large amounts of alcohol and pot) . So, my clock is just kind of funny in that way, I think.

    I do think working out is helping with getting to bed earlier, though...because my body will be so tired it takes over my brain and I have gotten to bed before midnight more since I started exercising than ever before.

    Finally, the alarm clock I use is from a brand called SONIC ALERT. The deaf often buy from them because they have the vibration option. Here is their site, although I've found much better prices on amazon.com : http://www.sonicalert.com/products-alarm-clocks-all.html. HIGHLY recommend this brand!!
  • oftheearth
    oftheearth Posts: 104 Member
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    Also, just realized that I move A LOT in my sleep, and I dream so intensely, but all the while sleeping very heavy. Very rarely do I wake up during the night. I remember a doctor once prescribing something telling me that troubles one has concentrating during the daytime can sometimes be attributed to getting poor sleep. The medication was too intense and I didn't continue it. But, yeah, maybe I don't get the best sleep, actually. I suppose this would require more research, logging, and professional opinions.

    Thank you everyone for your responses! I will ask the nutritionist about it when I see her this month.
  • i_love_vinegar
    i_love_vinegar Posts: 2,092 Member
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    I used to have this same problem...until the past maybe 8 months~i think you need more drive to workout and go to class ^^

    Since childhood, I too easily netted 12+ hours of sleep...I can sleep for 16 hours and I too have extremely vivid dreams...almost more vivid than real life haha *-* But, recently I have an early morning (8:40) class 3 days per week...I often go to bed at 2 and wake at 7 to get ready for class...it is because i feel like taking the class, we have hw to submit, and quizzes.

    Maybe choosing classes in the future that you are animate about (small classroom environment where the teacher will notice your absence is great too) would help...

    I used to use an alarm clock called Sonic Boom...it gets as loud as a fire engine, the pitch can be adjusted, and it has a vibrator that goes under your pillow to shake you awake...maybe try the vibration setting on your phone alarm for example ^^

    One thing I have also noticed is...not eating as much makes me feel more awake and apt to wake on time...

    while if I eat more I tend to sleep well, but often become lazy~

    I really think drive to do something is the key thing though~~~
    Good luck and i hope this helps :)
  • oftheearth
    oftheearth Posts: 104 Member
    Options
    I used to have this same problem...until the past maybe 8 months~i think you need more drive to workout and go to class ^^

    Since childhood, I too easily netted 12+ hours of sleep...I can sleep for 16 hours and I too have extremely vivid dreams...almost more vivid than real life haha *-* But, recently I have an early morning (8:40) class 3 days per week...I often go to bed at 2 and wake at 7 to get ready for class...it is because i feel like taking the class, we have hw to submit, and quizzes.

    Maybe choosing classes in the future that you are animate about (small classroom environment where the teacher will notice your absence is great too) would help...

    I used to use an alarm clock called Sonic Boom...it gets as loud as a fire engine, the pitch can be adjusted, and it has a vibrator that goes under your pillow to shake you awake...maybe try the vibration setting on your phone alarm for example ^^

    One thing I have also noticed is...not eating as much makes me feel more awake and apt to wake on time...

    while if I eat more I tend to sleep well, but often become lazy~

    I really think drive to do something is the key thing though~~~
    Good luck and i hope this helps :)

    Thank you! Next semester I have class at 8 am every day, so that will change things up a bit, and I will have to get up at 6:30 (because I have to catch a bus). Mine is called sonic boom I think actually, but the brand is sonic alert? Anyways yes it has the vibration which I use, I've been getting up to turn the whole thing off, though.
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    It is worth getting a sleep evaluation. Not everyone with narcolepsy drops off to sleep while walking around. Some just have a blurring of the line between sleep and wake. They often get full-fledged dreams (with plots and the whole nine yards) from the time they fall asleep instead of after they've been asleep over an hour and been down to stage 4 sleep and back, and they often continue to dream after they wake up (something called sleep paralysis, since you can't move during a dream. It can happen to anyone but is more common in narcolepsy).
  • oftheearth
    oftheearth Posts: 104 Member
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    Interesting. I don't think I continue to dream once I awake, but I often choose to and am able to continue a dream right where I left off after I wake up and do something like use the bathroom, turn off my alarm, take a quick phone call, etc. Perhaps I never fully wake up, then in those cases.
  • Mitchlou84
    Mitchlou84 Posts: 135
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    Sorry but I think that this is just bad habits! I'm not being nasty as I was 100% the same in uni. I would struggle to get up, miss classes, sleep through multiple alarms and then be not tired at bed time so would stay up til 2 etc like you. I too felt like I was tired all the time, even though had 12 hours sleep but I couldn't be, was just sluggish.

    As soon as I had a job, as in had to get up, I did, it was hard but you do it. Now I get up every morning between 6 and 7, and go to bed between 10-11.

    You just need to break the habits!

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