A heavy sleeper can sleep through loud noises or disturbances that typically wake others.

The effects of being a heavy sleeper can linger even after waking up.

Sleeping next to a heavy sleeper can also be challenging.

heavy sleeper lying in bed with sun pouring through the window

Iuliia Burmistrova / Getty Images

Loud or multiple alarms may be unwelcomeespecially if your sleep partner wakes up earlier than you.

Patience, understanding, and compromise can go a long way.

Support your partner in seeking treatment for any underlying conditions contributing to heavy sleeping.

Daniel Combs, MD

Heavy Sleep vs.

Deep sleep is essential to your health.

How to Wake a Heavy Sleeper

There are various options for waking a heavy sleeper.

Choosing the right one for you (or your sleeping partner) may take trial and error.

Being a heavy sleeper is not permanent.

There are ways to address health concerns and improve sleep quality naturally and with medical treatment.

Being overweight may also increase your risk of having obstructive sleep apnea.

However, even short-term sleep deprivation can become serious if sleepiness while awake poses a safety risk.

In addition to the safety risks ofdaytime drowsiness, there are medical concerns that cause heavy sleeping.

These conditions often require a diagnosis and treatment.

For example,insomniamay seem like a condition associated with light sleep, and it can be.

However, it can also lead to heavy sleep when it shortens sleep time.

One of the first steps is to improve sleep hygiene, which is vital to enhancing sleep quality.

Treatment can improve or patch up the symptoms.

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