Why Do I Want to Sleep All the Time? When Excessive Tiredness Is a Medical Signal

We could all come up with a lot of reasons why we feel sleepy during the day. Things are stressful at work. You’re always busy with something. You’re getting older. You’ve been staying up late watching TikTok. But excessive daytime sleepiness—or the feeling that, if given the chance to lay down, you’d definitely fall asleep—can be the product of sleep disorders, underlying medical conditions, and more. If you’ve already tried to clean up your sleep hygiene to no success, there could be more going on. Here’s what to do next.

We live in such a busy culture where social media life hacks include waking up at 4 a.m. to get a jump on the day. "Hustle culture" can make us feel like daytime sleepiness is inevitable, just part of life, or even a badge of honor. But despite stress and packed schedules, utter exhaustion shouldn't be a normal part of life. In fact, this distinct symptom has a name: excessive daytime sleepiness. 

If you’ve tried the standard fixes—earlier bedtimes, swearing off before-bed doomscrolling, limiting caffeine intake—but you still can’t get ahead of the fatigue, consider this your first step to determining why your body keeps asking for sleep and how to get tested, if needed. After all, you’re probably not “just a bad sleeper.” We’re here to explain why.

What’s the difference between tired and excessively sleepy?

Normal tiredness can be relieved with rest, while excessive daytime sleepiness means you’re likely to fall asleep during the day while doing quiet activities, such as reading or in the theater—or even stopped in traffic. 

Research published in Sleep Health indicates that as many as one in four adults said they had excessive sleepiness, saying they had difficulty getting up in the morning, feelings of insufficient sleep despite spending sufficient time in bed, and falling asleep in quiet settings.

Ask yourself: If given the opportunity to lay down, would you lay there and rest or would you fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow? That’s one way Funke Afolabi-Brown, MD, a triple-board-certified sleep medicine physician and author of Beyond Tired, describes the difference between being tired and the experience of excessive sleepiness.

There are additional barometers you can use to determine if your sleepiness is problematic, says  board-certified sleep, pulmonary, and critical care physician Alison Kole, MD, host of the podcast Sleep Is My Waking Passion. Excessive daytime sleepiness may feel like:

• Your eyes are so heavy that you feel the uncontrollable urge to close them.

• You need naps (or experience sudden episodes of extreme fatigue or “microsleeps”) no matter how many hours you sleep.

• More days out of the week than not, you feel unable to enjoy activities that once brought you joy or you can’t keep up with normal activities of daily living because of your level of fatigue.

• You have trouble functioning at work. While you might show up everyday, you struggle to be productive due to brain fog.

What causes excessive daytime sleepiness?

Underlying health conditions, medication use, and lifestyle factors can all cause excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS):

Sleep disorders

• Sleep apnea: According to the scientific journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society, more than half of people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) report EDS. You may feel sleepy during the day despite getting adequate sleep. “Even mild sleep apnea can present with profound daytime sleepiness,” says Dr. Kole. 

• Restless legs syndrome (RLS): Given the neurological condition comes with an irresistible urge to move your legs at rest or before sleep, impairing your ability to doze off, it’s common to feel exhausted and sleepy in the daytime.

• Hypersomnia: According to Missouri Medicine journal, a hallmark symptom of hypersomnia is EDS, with feelings that you can’t control sleepiness and you may actually fall asleep during the day when you should be awake.

• Narcolepsy: If you have this neurological disorder, your brain struggles to control your sleep-wake cycle, and EDS—or an uncontrollable “sleep attack,” is a common symptom. “While narcolepsy is rare, it’s probably underdiagnosed,” says Dr. Kole.

• Circadian rhythm disorders: When your internal body clock is disrupted—say you naturally stay up late and struggle to get up in the a.m.—you may get too little sleep, causing EDS.

Other medical causes

• Depression and anxiety: Mood and anxiety disorders are associated with insomnia, which negatively affects daytime alertness. 

• Thyroid disorders: Hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism are often related to insomnia, restless legs syndrome, and OSA, all of which can cause excessive daytime sleepiness. 

• Iron deficiency anemia: Iron helps produce hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Anemia often causes unexplained fatigue, according to the American Society of Hematology.

• Certain medications: Antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, pain medications, epilepsy medications, and some antihistamines can make you drowsy during the day, per research published in the Canadian Respiratory Journal.

• Neurological conditions: EDS can occur as part of several neurological disorders, such as Lewy body dementia or Parkinson’s disease, or following a traumatic brain injury.

Why do so many people assume excessive sleepiness is just part of life?

Hustle culture has, in part, helped create the assumption that exhaustion is a normal byproduct of modern life. If you think that this is “just the way it is” or that “everyone feels this way,” you may not seek an evaluation. 

It’s also possible that two things can be true: You can have depression or anxiety that’s  contributing to trouble sleeping and daytime sleepiness while also having a sleep disorder that’s compounding the problem, says Dr. Afolabi-Brown.

The traditional diagnostic pathway, involving physician referral to a sleep specialist, entry onto a waiting list, and an in-lab overnight study can present several barriers to timely diagnosis and treatment. 

For many people, at-home sleep testing is a preferred way to access a timely diagnosis and start a treatment plan. You get to stay in your bed in the comfort of your home. If you're interested in testing for sleep apnea or other sleep conditions, book an appointment with Dreem Health.

What happens if excessive sleepiness goes untreated?

“We know poor quality sleep can impact health in the short- and long-term,” says Dr. Afolabi-Brown. She points to poor cardiovascular, mental health, and cognitive outcomes associated with sleep problems. “Being tired or sleepy all the time is a red flag that might be masking something very serious that we don’t want to miss.” 

In addition to personal health, excessive sleepiness is a public health issue, says Dr. Kole. “Drowsy driving is a catastrophic, potentially life-altering outcome of ignoring daytime sleepiness.” 

Beyond the very important components of health and safety is that going through life with draining fatigue and significant sleepiness steals your joy, says Dr. Kole. “You’re missing out on life. This is about being able to stay awake to enjoy your son’s baseball game or daughter’s dance recital. If you can’t participate in those activities that create real meaning, then what are you doing?”

How is excessive daytime sleepiness diagnosed?

Now that you understand more about your symptoms, here are the next steps you can take. 

For a straightforward self-test, sleep medicine specialists use the Epworth Sleep Scale, Dr. Afolabi-Brown says. “This provides an assessment of tiredness versus sleepiness by measuring the likelihood that you’ll sleep in various day-to-day scenarios.”  

Then, talk to your health provider. When describing your symptoms, Dr. Kole recommends using words like “sleepy” instead of “tired,” as it’s more specific to how you’re feeling.  Don’t downplay symptoms, either. If you’re snoring, don’t  be shy about describing how your partner complains that it sounds as if you’re literally sawing wood all night. Express the desire to talk to a sleep specialist if you don’t feel heard by your medical provider. 

Sleep may be something we do every night,  but not every healthcare provider is confident in diagnosing sleep conditions, which is why consulting knowledgeable, licensed sleep specialists is important. Online providers can be a huge asset in testing and diagnosis. “Sleep is really easy to talk about over telemedicine,” says Dr. Kole. 

Seeing a sleep specialist for a formal sleep evaluation  involves visiting a sleep center where you are hooked up to monitors and observed by sleep technicians. At-home sleep testing is another clinically valid option that can be more convenient and comfortable. Dreem Health offers convenient, affordable home sleep testing. Book a telehealth appointment now.

Want sleep apnea testing from the comfort of your home? Book a virtual sleep consultation at Dreem Health.

The bottom line

Excessive sleepiness or feeling as if you’re always tired or exhausted all the time is not a character flaw or an inevitable side effect of modern society or aging. This is a symptom with several underlying medical causes, including sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorders, and hypersomnia. Once you have a diagnosis, there are effective treatments out there that help you feel more alert, regain productivity, reduce long-term health risks, and allow you to get more joy out of your day.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is it normal to just want to sleep all day?

It is not normal to want to sleep all day, especially if you think you get a good night of sleep at night. This can be a sign of an undiagnosed sleep disorder, underlying medical condition, side effects of a medication, or a sign of poor sleep habits.

How do I stop wanting to sleep all the time?

If you know you have good sleep habits and get an adequate amount of sleep every day, a sleep evaluation is a great way to determine if you have a sleep disorder. This is done with a sleep test, which can be done in a clinical lab or at home.

When should I see a doctor about always feeling sleepy?

Make your sleep a priority, and don’t wait until you’re really struggling. Talk to your healthcare provider if you feel sleepy all the time but you’re not sure why. Having that first conversation is the start of figuring out what’s really going on with your sleep.