Have you ever experienced uncontrollable sleepiness during the day that you couldn't even relieve with a nap? Have you slept for more than ten hours without waking up? Be careful, these could be symptoms of hypersomnia .
Also known as excessive daytime sleepiness, excessive daytime sleepiness, or prolonged sleepiness, hypersomnia can cause us to feel very sleepy during the day and make it difficult to stay awake. It can even cause us to sleep more hours than usual at night.
Is suffering from hypersomnia a negative thing? Yes, and it is, to a significant degree. If we don't address it, it can interfere with our emotional, social, and work relationships, preventing us from enjoying both everyday and non-day activities. It also increases the risk of accidents when driving, working, or handling objects.
Below, we'll tell you a little more about what hypersomnia is, its causes, and how we can successfully treat it to return to a normal rhythm of life.
What is the difference between fatigue and hypersomnia?
It is very important to differentiate between tiredness or fatigue caused by work, exercise, or after a tiring day, and depression or hypersomnia.
It's important to keep in mind that excessive sleepiness can have causes that aren't associated with an illness or due to external factors, such as lack of sleep, jet lag, overexertion, overeating, pregnancy, or alcohol or drug use.
In the case of a depressed person, they will be unable to get out of bed or will suffer from insomnia , even if they take a nap to alleviate their depression. The feeling of sadness will force them to sleep, but this is a very different emotional and chemical affliction from hypersomnia .
Those who suffer from hypersomnia experience such a high level of sleepiness throughout the day that they are forced to take a nap. They also fall asleep during a movie, while working, while eating, or even during a conversation, because they simply cannot help but stay awake .
What are the consequences of hypersomnia?
In people with hypersomnia, their personal routine, nighttime sleep cycle, work life, and emotional life can all be affected. Symptoms associated with this prolonged sleepiness include irritability, mild depression, eventual memory loss, poor concentration, and impaired daily performance.
Hypersomnia can cause accidents, so people who suffer from it should exercise extreme caution if they must operate heavy machinery, drive vehicles for extended periods, perform precision work, or if the lives of others depend on them, such as infants, the elderly, or the sick.
How many types of hypersomnia are there?
There are two types of hypersomnia:
- Idiopathic hypersomnia (also called primary hypersomnia) and;
- Recurrent hypersomnia (also known as primary recurrent hypersomnia ).
Idiopathic hypersomnia is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness over a prolonged period, accompanied by difficulty waking up. It is very similar to narcolepsy , except that it lacks cataplexy or sleep paralysis . Its symptoms also do not include rapid eye movement when the patient falls asleep.
In the case of recurrent hypersomnia , the condition involves periods of excessive daytime sleepiness, which can last from one to several days and can be repeated over a year or more.
What is the difference between idiopathic hypersomnia and recurrent hypersomnia?
The main difference between idiopathic and recurrent hypersomnia is that people who experience recurrent hypersomnia will go through periods where they do not show any symptoms of sleepiness .
In contrast, patients with idiopathic hypersomnia will be affected by the consequences of this disorder for almost the entire time.
A person suffering from hypersomnia may sleep up to twelve hours at a time , yet still need frequent naps during the day.
What are the causes of hypersomnia?
There are several causes that can cause hypersomnia , including:
- Sleep disorders such as narcolepsy (daytime sleepiness) or sleep apnea (which is the interruption of breathing while sleeping).
- Nervous system dysfunction, drug or alcohol abuse.
- A physical problem such as a tumor, head trauma, or central nervous system injury.
- Due to not getting enough sleep at night due to insomnia or lack of sleep.
- Due to excess weight or obesity.
- Due to alcoholism or drug addiction.
- Due to a head injury or a neurological disease, such as multiple sclerosis.
- Certain prescription medications or withdrawal from medicine can also cause hypersomnia.
- Due to genetic causes, having a relative with hypersomnia.
6 symptoms of hypersomnia you should know
In addition to sleeping abnormally long hours at night, people with hypersomnia have trouble waking up in the morning and have difficulty staying awake during the day.
But there are also some more symptoms, and these include:
- Excessive sleepiness causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, and other important activities.
- It also generates anxiety and increased irritation.
- It decreases energy and generates restlessness.
- It causes slow thinking and speech.
- It causes loss of appetite, sometimes hallucinations and memory problems.
- Some patients lose the ability to function in family, social and/or occupational settings.
In patients with Kleine-Levin syndrome, a rare disorder that typically occurs in the second decade of life and is characterized by episodes of hypersomnia, hyperphagia (uncontrolled eating), and indiscriminate hypersexuality , the individual has symptoms distinct from hypersomnia and may sleep for 18 hours or more per day.
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How to deal with hypersomnia?
Within the limits of possibilities, hypersomnia should be addressed first with diagnosis, and then with treatment of its underlying cause. Strategies that can be taken to help manage hypersomnia include:
- Get a few extra hours of sleep at night to avoid excessive sleepiness during the day.
- Exercise every day in the morning or early afternoon.
- Engage in pleasurable activities that require full attention or concentration, such as spending time with friends, writing, or playing with a pet.
- Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
- Avoid consuming foods, drinks, and heavy meals that can cause drowsiness during the day.
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine.
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Was this information helpful? Remember that this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical diagnosis. If you experience any of the aforementioned symptoms, we recommend consulting a healthcare professional so they can evaluate and diagnose ways to improve your quality of life.
