Sleeping More in Winter and When It’s a Problem

Do you feel like cold winter days make you more tired and sleepy? You are not imagining it. 

Recent research on seasonal sleeping shows that people tend to sleep a bit longer in winter and get more REM sleep compared with summer, even in urban settings with artificial light. That means you might sleep a little longer and feel the pull toward bed earlier in the winter evenings.

We look at why sleeping more in winter is normal and when it might be a warning sign, as well as how to use this extra time for recovery.

Why Sleeping More in Winter Is Normal

Sleep is seasonal, studies confirm, and many of us sleep longer and get more REM sleep during winter compared to summer. This means you might:

• Take longer to get out of bed in the morning
• Get sleepy earlier in the evening
• Feel a stronger pull toward “just one more hour” in bed

Other seasons affect sleep, too. People tend to wake up earlier in spring and generally need fewer hours in summer. This can vary based on age, sex, and location.

Shorter days and longer nights

Your internal clock, or circadian rhythm, is influenced by light. In winter, the sun rises later and sets earlier compared with summer, which means you get less daylight to tell your brain to stay awake.

More darkness means more sleepiness

Melatonin is your main sleep hormone. Your brain produces it when it’s dark and stops making it in the morning when your eyes see bright light.

In winter, you spend more time in the dark and less in real daylight, so your melatonin stays higher for longer. That makes it more likely you feel groggy in the morning, even after a ‘full’ night of sleep.

Mood changes and seasonal depression

For some people, increased winter sleep is linked to mood disorders like seasonal affective disorder (SAD), rather than just 'winter sleepiness.'

A way to conserve energy

Before artificial lighting and heating, winter meant colder temperatures and fewer resources. Moving less and resting more was a way to conserve energy and survive. 

Today, when days are shorter and colder, your system expects you to lower the intensity a bit and give it more time to repair – and you should probably listen.

Do You Actually Need More Sleep in Winter?

Do we need more sleep in winter, or are we just giving in to excuses?

The answer is – you probably need a bit more sleep – but not hours and hours more.

How much extra sleep makes sense during winter

Seasonal sleep studies and wearable data suggest that winter sleep tends to be a little longer, usually by up to about an hour. 

For most adults, that means aiming for the upper end of the usual 7-9 hour range. If you feel good on 7-7.5 hours in summer, you might genuinely need closer to 8 hours in January.

Do we sleep better in the cold?

Another question is whether people sleep better in the cold, and the answer is yes, but only if:

• The room is cool, not freezing
• Your bedding is breathable
• You feel relaxed, not tense from shivering

Your core body temperature drops slightly at night to help you fall and stay asleep. A cooler bedroom helps that process, and sleep experts recommend bedroom temperatures around 60-67°F (about 16-19°C) as long as your bedding keeps you comfortable. Thick duvets, heavy pajamas and cranked-up heating can cancel that benefit and make you wake up hot, sweaty and restless, even in winter.

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When more hours don’t help you recover

If you are sleeping 9.5-10+ hours and still waking up feeling exhausted, the issue is probably not in the hours you’re getting, or the season you are in. You are probably getting low-quality sleep, which can be due to sleep fragmentation, sleep apnea, chronic stress, depression, or other medical issues.

In those cases, adding more hours just spreads the same low-quality sleep across more time.

When to take winter tiredness seriously

Consider talking to a professional if you notice a repeating pattern of:

• Long sleep times with no sense of rest
• Low mood or loss of interest in things you usually enjoy
• Strong daytime sleepiness or dozing off unintentionally
• Loud snoring, gasping, or choking during sleep

Those signs point beyond normal sleeping in winter and more into conditions that need actual treatment – not just another hour of sleep or a heavier blanket.

How To Sleep Better in Winter

Sleeping in winter can work in your favor if you don’t crash whenever you feel tired.

1. Keep a consistent sleep schedule

Instead of forcing yourself to keep a strict summer-style schedule, shift your bedtime slightly earlier and keep your wake time stable.

Give yourself permission to be at the higher end of your ideal sleep range, as long as you wake reasonably clear. Keep your routine predictable: similar sleep and wake times, similar meal timing, and a short wind-down period where you let your nervous system quiet down.

2. Use light and environment on purpose

Sleeping more in winter and still waking up tired can feel frustrating. Sometimes, it’s the lack of light in the morning that’s making you groggy. Get outside or sit by a bright window within the first hour after waking. This helps suppress leftover melatonin and strengthens your circadian rhythm.

At night, keep your bedroom cool and dark, and use breathable bedding.

You don’t have to chase a perfect number on the thermostat. You just need a room where you are not sweating, your nose is not dried out, and your body is not fighting the environment all night.

3. Move, but don’t overdo

Movement matters more in winter because most people’s default is to either sit or rest. Regular walking, some strength work, or anything that raises your heart rate a bit during the day will support your sleep and mood during colder days. Too little movement doesn’t build a strong sleep drive, but too much intensity in the evening can keep you alert when you should be slowing down and getting ready for bed.

When you are doing most things right and sleep still feels shallow or easily disrupted, it helps to have something in your corner that can quietly support calm while you rest.

How Kimba Improves Your Sleep Quality

Kimba is built to support the part of sleep you cannot control by force: how calm and safe your nervous system feels during the night. It uses scent-based limbic therapy to help you fall asleep more easily, stay asleep more consistently, and wake up feeling more recovered.

You place the Kimba diffuser by your bed and connect it to your wearable, whether you use Oura, WHOOP, Garmin, Fitbit, or Apple Watch. While you sleep, Kimba’s AI reads your biometric signals in real time: heart rate, heart rate variability, movement, and sleep patterns.

When your signals show rising stress, fragmented sleep, or shallow recovery, Kimba responds with short, targeted pulses of scent. These blends are formulated to work with the limbic system, the brain network that regulates stress, safety, and emotional state.

Because smell reaches the limbic brain quickly, these scent pulses act as precise cues toward calm. They help your body settle when you are trying to fall asleep, stabilize when your sleep is getting lighter, and ease you into a gentler wake-up instead of a jolt.

Kimba does not sedate you or run on a fixed timer. It listens to what is happening in your body and adjusts its support moment by moment. In winter, when you are already sleeping more and your system is under higher load, that difference matters: you are not just spending more hours in bed, you are getting more recovery out of each one.

Ready to experience how scent, science, and real-time support can change the way you sleep?

Get early access to Kimba and discover what it can do for your nights!