This is somewhat controversial, since we all need sleep to survive. But do you feel that it is possible for a person to enjoy sleep or the way that sleeping feels (especially when depressed or sad when awake) that a person could keep trying to sleep and need to have help if they start doing that to the point of obsession?
I don't know about this one. For some people they may have some medical issues going on here. You may have to go get checked out by a doc and they can do sleep tests. Though there is nothing wrong with enjoying some rest, there is no need to overdo it either.
I know some people in my family who enjoy sleeping like my mums brother he is in 50's and could do this for the day or half depending on what he plans on doing in the day or afternoon, and I reckon it could be due to feeling warm in the blanket or a cold day where you just want to stay in the bed and not be disturbed at all. In some cases, it can be due to a sleep disorder which can make the person moody and they have to think about what they want and the body can feel weary if it does not get the right amount of rest and sleep at night which can happen to some people. When a person has stress they can find it hard to sleep as their mind is focused on fixing a problem and it is not a good thing as you are worrying and that can lead to not getting the right amount of sleep and rest for the body.
Nope, we can't speak of a sleeping addiction, unless we're talking about sleeping with someone else ) But truth be told, we sleep because our body needs sleep. We can sleep more than the average, but it can't be considered an addiction, but rather a lack of goals and so on.
Great input everyone. I asked this on behalf of a friend who approached me today and mentioned that they have sleep apnea, a medical condition in which they stop breathing while sleeping. They were diagnosed with it after they had a very close call and had to stop drinking alcohol, because it was causing shortness of breath which made it harder to breathe at night for them. They are breathing better now that they have stopped, but there is still some difficulty for them whenever the air is very heavy or there is a lot of pollution outside. They noticed that they had to sleep more and more, and asked me if I could ask everyone if maybe it was possible to become addicted to sleep if you did nothave enoough of it? I think vegito12 and Jasmine are correct on that any possibility of addiction would be due to that medical condition not letting them have the sleep they need. I see your point too 111kg, but I don't see her as being a lazy person at all. She was very active before she drank too much and her health began to deteriorate. Even after, she was still an active person but not getting the rest she needed at night and had breathing difficulty since. She just went through a divorce not too long ago, and (as far as I know) she hasn't been interested in sleeping with anyone else lol but I see your point in that, too and how that could be a possibility for some people!
I am not sure you would call it an addiction but there are people who just love to sleep. I go to bed late and get up early. I can't for the life of me imagine sleeping until noon or later but people do it. For me it is a complete waste of the day. Early morning are the best time of day. Then the same people will lay down for a nap in the middle of the afternoon. I can see if you are struggling with depression and you feel down but the people I know are not like that. They just like to stay in bed all day and the entire time they are awake they are complaining about how tired they are.
I think that everyone loves how sleep feels. If someone is depressed they may like to sleep a lot, to avoid facing the day ahead of them. Sleeping is healthy but not if you over do it. I think if a person sleeps too much they may get into the habit of over sleeping on the other hand.
Lately I've been feeling like sleeping too much, and yes it's due depression, but I'd not go as far as calling it an addiction I mean, I know a person can get addicted to so many different things, but I don't think sleep is one of them to be honest.
Excessive sleep can be a symptom of ME, and one which many people might confuse with laziness or slothful behavior. But whether this qualifies as an "addiction" would be hard to argue.
I don't think it's really possible to be addicted to sleep as such (although technically we are all physically addicted to it because we need it). I don't think the enjoyment factor is really there, as no-one knows what they're going to dream about (except maybe lucid dreamers), it's not really a recreational thing. In my opinion, wanting excessive sleep is often a result of underlying factors/problems in life that the person is having difficulty handling and would rather go back to sleep in order to not have to think about it. People with existential depression tend to want to go to sleep and often can't bare to even think about the day ahead when they wake up. They just want to go back to sleep.
Some people may requre a lot of sleep and it may look like a sleep addiction. Some people may require 9 or 10 hours of sleep per day because that is what their body tells them they need. 7-8 hours of sleep is average for most people, but I doubt most people get that much. I would love to sleep that much, but I think I average just over 6 per night...but it seems to be enough for me.
That's in line with that I was going to say - the times in life where I felt like I just wanted to sleep were times when I was struggling with other things. Usually when things are good, I don't have that same desire to over-sleep...I mean, sometimes a decent extra nap would be nice, but apart from that nope!
Exactly Seeping for hours and hours is not something most people can achieve at will, is not like for example over eating. That is why I thought the idea of sleep addiction sounded kind of odd to me.
I think that when someone is sleeping too much and obsesses about sleep as you say, there's an underlying issue. Most of the time it's due to depression or one is trying to avoid something in their lives. And maybe sometime someone is just tired and needs to catch up on sleep.
I suffer a bit from depression and all i really want to do is stay in bed all day and. But I'm always forced to get up and go to work because I really need the money. So I'd like to be in bed all day due to depression but it's not really an addiction. What I'm trying to say is that there might be something behind that addiction...
I also think that most probably those have medical conditions or issues. Also as mentioned, those who are depressed or pained tend to sleep more than usual. But I do think that it is possible to get addicted to it as anything can be addictive.
There's something called hypersomnia, which obviously is the opposite of insomnia. But I think that's a sleep disorder and can't be termed an addiction. According to Wikipedia, the main symptom of hypersomnia is excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), or prolonged nighttime sleep, which has occurred for at least 3 months prior to diagnosis. It also says that Hypersomnia can be primary (of central/brain origin), or it can be secondary to any of numerous medical conditions. Some conditions that can lead to this sleep disorder are clinical depression, multiple sclerosis, encephalitis, epilepsy, or obesity.
That it a sign of being lazy. How will you make money out of sleeping? Who will be providing for your basic needs? It can also be a serious mental condition whereby you always feel tired. Before one can take it as addiction, they first need to see their doctor.
I personally sleep to escape my addiction. When I feel like I'm slipping and might give in, I go to sleep. Sleep really helps me cope with the anxiety I'm facing. I know of other people that do the same. I've heard of a lot of people that deal with depression in the same way. Sleep helps them run away from their problems. If your friend has no other addiction, and is not going through depression (sometimes we can be facing depression and not know it) he should maybe visit a doctor specializing in sleeping disorders.
This thread has sparked an interesting conversation. So far, I would say that I don't consider sleep to be considered an "Addiction". My main reason for this is because we all need sleep to survive. However with that being said, oversleeping can be a sign of something else such as depression. I have suffered from depression myself and I usually sleep the days away. Sometimes it can be a struggle to get out of bed. I recommend talking to your doctor about this.