Are You Excessively Napping These Days? Learn About Depression Naps

A random guy on social media used the term “depression naps.” After some research, I found that there are millions of posts, tweets, reposts, and hashtags related to the subject “depression naps.” Well, is that a thing in psychology?

I’m curious if social media users have created and broadcasted this term without even thinking about the outcome or consequences related to it! Someone posted, “depression nap” in the caption as if it’s nothing but a common trending term. I saw some posts mentioning depression naps without even realizing the actual meaning.

Someone posted, “I think I cashed in all of my depression naps”, “I gave everything to depression so all my naps are justified”, and “I spend my day having depression naps.” Well, what do you think “What is depression nap” …just a trending term or something in psychology with actual symptoms, causes, and symptoms? Comment down and do let me know!

To begin with, let me clear the mess we have created on social media, depression naps is not a medical term but it is a coping mechanism adapted to overcome excessive depressive moods, anxiety, or stress. In this blog, let’s explore if depression naps are healthy or unhealthy according to psychology. So, let’s get started.

What to Know About Depression Naps?

• Mental health and sleep are closely connected.
• People struggling with major depressive disorder experience sleep Dysfunctioning often.
• Excessive and frequent napping can be a sign of depression.

Depression Naps: What Does It Actually Mean?

According to the research, depression naps came from social media and it was widely spread by young adults and teens. It came from Gen Z and X who constantly use social media to look cool on the outside. The fact is that “depression sleeping” or “depression napping” are not actual medical terms but they are used by the grams to refer to their tiredness or procrastinating behavior.

According to psychology, this coping mechanism is mostly seen in depressive people and mentioned under hypersomnia which is excessive daytime sleeping. Depressive people are more likely to adapt to depression napping as they feel tired all the time and they tend to sleep more than other people. It’s a coping mechanism to escape what’s troubling them.

According to professionals, if napping is used to avoid or confront things, it is excessively related to depressed feelings or low mood. It can also be directly connected with a symptom or sign of a psychological disorder such as insomnia, anxiety, or depression.

Depression Naps: Healthy Or Unhealthy

“Napping” is considered to be a good thing because it helps improve alertness, strengthen performance, and help us feel rejuvenated and relaxed. Taking a quick nap to feel refreshed is a healthy trait to adopt. However, if you’re napping to avoid tasks or current struggles, that’s not considered the right way of coping with the difficulties.

According to our professionals, when we choose to take a nap instead of confronting our issues, it makes us feel more anxious and makes us procrastinators. Additionally, a nap is a short sleep and not sleep that lasts hours.

Lastly, a healthy nap can last for 90 minutes, after that sleeping for long hours during the daytime makes it harder to achieve deep sleep at night. There is other healthy coping mechanisms for sleep as well (body relaxation and meditation) to overcome excessive stress, anxiety, or mood disorders.

Depression naps are not considered to be the right coping mechanism for fighting the symptoms of depression. It makes us look like “we are sleeping to avoid problems”, this kind of mental respite is temporary.

Accordingly, depression naps are social media’s prescribed way to cope with unhealthy emotions which looks problematic in the future because napping can never look healthy especially when we’re avoiding problems.

Some evidence-based benefits of depression naps can be:

• Improves memory
• Improves emotional wellbeing
• Improves physical health
• Provides temporary escape from problems

Does depression make you feel tired?

Well, according to the research, sleep problems are mostly faced by people diagnosed with clinical depression. One study shows that 90% of people diagnosed with depression reported struggles with their sleeping patterns. This revolves around sleeping too much (hypersomnia), difficulty falling asleep (insomnia), and waking up before the alarm (awakening early morning). Depression and sleep issues make sense.

While insomnia and hypersomnia are both connected to the symptoms of depression according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5^th Edition (DSM-5), it is quite possible to experience depression napping or depression sleeping. However, it is also important to discuss such issues with a mental health professional because such symptoms can also be related to some other mental health issues or disorders.

The fact is that symptoms of depression are different from person to person, it can also happen that someone sleeps too much and someone is not able to achieve sleep for even hours. Symptoms of depression depend on many factors; therefore, it is always important to look out for the right assistance. Consecutively, whether you’re a nap person or not, a nap or short sleep can worsen sleep problems.

The fact is that depression napping is doing more harm to individuals diagnosed with clinical depression as it alters their sleeping patterns. Fatigue and depression go hand in hand, but there are other healthy coping mechanisms as well such as meditating, practicing yoga, listening to music, and more.

Characteristics of Depression Nap

Depression naps are just like feelings of depression that make someone sleep all the time. But, in general, it makes us sleep-deprived and alters our sleeping cycle. Depression naps can also contribute to other mental health conditions. When it comes to distinguishing the exact cause or underlying condition, it’s important to pay attention to the details.

Below are some of the characteristics of depression naps that help us undermine the exact cause behind adopting such an unhealthy coping mechanism:

1. Fatigue

Fatigue is related to reduced motivation, low sex drive, and low energy. Fatigue is different from sleeping issues because in this condition our body feels more tired physically and it can be a cause of other underlying mental or physical health issues. Therefore, it’s always better to connect with a professional because depression naps are not always connected to depression.

2. Depression

Depression is marked by the constant loss of interest and low mood. It is also highlighted by reduced energy, hopelessness, low appetite, and suicidal thoughts. In some cases, depressed people can also feel the urge to sleep excessively carried out by low motivation, low energy, and fatigue.

3. Sleepiness

Sleepiness is one of the easiest characteristics to identify in cases of depression naps. If that’s the case, you can try to maintain sleep hygiene and adopt healthy sleeping habits that will help you bring positive changes in your sleeping cycle.

4. Burnout

Mental exhaustion or burnout can result in depression naps. Research shows that a person can experience depression and exhaustion at the same time, in order to make the right diagnosis, a mental health professional makes an evaluation of more additional symptoms.

Ways to Identify Depression Naps

Based on these characteristics, it can become hard sometimes to find out the exact reason behind depression napping. Maybe you’re just exhausted, maybe you’re experiencing workplace burnout, or maybe you’re physically tried to do things. The first step to identifying depression naps is to confirm if the person can meet daily human needs or not such as socializing, exercising, or eating healthy.

If you or your loved one are not able to meet daily human needs regularly, it may be time to connect with a professional so that you can seek the right assistance and catch the red flag before time.

Here’s a check-list to identify excessive depression napping:

• Do you chronically nap to avoid or escape the reality of life?
• Do you nap to avoid work?
• Do you nap for no reason during the daytime?
• Does excessive napping interfere with your night sleep routine?
• Does excessive napping interfere with your regular functioning?
• Do you feel more tired after naps?
• Do you experience or struggle with other mental or physical health symptoms regularly?

Causes of Depression Naps

The excessive need to sleep or take naps during the day is mostly carried out by feelings of frustration or underlying mental health conditions like stress, anxiety, or depression. Sleep plays an important role in overall well-being and they are all connected. Depression is also connected to insomnia and other symptoms as well. Therefore, it’s always important to seek a proper diagnosis instead of referring to unverified information on social media.

Other potential causes of depression naps can be:

• Depression
• Desire to avoid problems or to escape
• Presence of certain medical conditions such as heart conditions, sleep apnea, poor-quality sleep, and others
• Night-time sleep habits resulting in low-quality sleep
• Night-time sleep disorders

Treatment for Depression Naps

After evaluating the problems on your own, it’s important to connect with a mental health professional to seek the right diagnosis and treatment for the underlying mental health condition. Your mental health professional is likely to determine a treatment plan based on symptoms, severity, and goals.

For example, if the issues are more related to sleep, they might help you achieve the right sleep or if the issues are more related to the onset of depression, they might prescribe you therapy (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) to replace the negative thoughts with positive ones.

Self-Help Tips for Coping Depression Naps

In mild to moderate cases, you can self-identify your issues and adopt healthy coping mechanisms to overcome depression naps. Usually, a healthy nap revolves around 30-45 minutes. Here’s how you can cope with depression napping:

• If you’re napping too much, try to adopt a healthy sleep cycle or you can take the help of sleep hygiene to limit your napping schedules.
• Increase your activities during the daytime so that you can adhere to healthy habits and routines. You can take healthy naps (30 minutes) so that they don’t interfere with your night-time sleep routine.
• Avoid alcohol use or heavy food before bedtime
• Practice yoga or meditation before sleeping
• Track your symptoms and connect with a mental health professional in case of regular and excessive symptoms.

Key Takeaway from the Author

The fact is that it’s quite okay to feel a little bit blue and take short naps to dust away the tiredness. They work in a restorative manner and help us feel refreshed. Short naps are considered to be a good thing as they make us feel refreshed and help us maintain productivity. However, when they are adapted excessively, they can be an unhealthy trait and it is always better to connect with a mental health professional to rule out the underlying mental health conditions affecting your mood.

PS: Trust but verify, everything shared on social media is not fact-checked or proven in psychology, therefore, always take the help of legit websites or mental health professionals working hard to raise awareness the right way!

I hope this blog helps you understand depression naps and their effect on mental health. Comment down and share your views on depression naps. For more such content, connect with us on all social media platforms.

Thanks for reading!

Stay safe!