Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness: Causes, Test and Treatments

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Excessive daytime sleepiness is described as issues staying awake or alert, or a higher desire to sleep in the daytime. The feelings of sleepiness might be stronger when you’re sedentary, for example when driving or sitting down at work. Even though it’s normal to feel drowsy occasionally right after going short in sleep, it’s deemed excessive daytime sleepiness when this occurs nearly every day for around 3 months.

It’s easy to mistake sleepiness with fatigue, given that both problems are recognized by too little energy and could occur under identical circumstances, like getting awake for a long period. The main difference is that individuals with fatigue might be unable to fall asleep in spite of feeling tired and sluggish. It’s also possible to encounter simultaneous sleepiness and fatigue.

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness - Causes, Test and Treatments

Symptoms and Consequences of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

Sleep plays a huge role in consolidating memory, rebuilding the immune system, and also other essential processes. Consequently, deficiencies in quality sleep might cause a number of symptoms which you might not instantly link to sleep.

Even if you don’t knowingly feel sleepy, you might be experiencing excessive sleepiness in case you’re experiencing any of these:

  • Difficulty staying alert
  • Irritation
  • Memory issues
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Trouble keeping new concepts
  • Trouble making judgements
  • Slower response times
  • Risk-taking actions
Symptoms and Consequences of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

Getting sleepy could have wide-ranging consequences on well being and everyday life. Effects of daytime sleepiness include:

  • Greater danger of car and work incidents
  • Reduced work efficiency or academic performance
  • Worse quality of life
  • Difficulties controlling mood and emotions
  • Social and relationship issues
  • Extreme sleepiness might be particularly risky for young adults, shift employees, healthcare staff, and individuals who drive a lot.

Long-term sleep deprivation may be associated with a greater chance of getting diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, as well as other chronic problems. Daytime sleepiness in kids might impact development, while in older adults, daytime sleepiness raises the danger for falls and could be a risk factor for cognitive impairment, loss of memory, and earlier death.

What Can Cause Excessive Sleepiness?

There are lots of possible reasons for excessive daytime sleepiness. Probably the most common factors is a long-term deficiency of sleep, no matter whether because of long working hours, an irregular schedule, insomnia, or some other reasons.

Excessive sleepiness may also be brought on by getting fragmented or poor-quality sleep. Waking up many times every night to use the washroom, for instance, interferes with the natural development of the sleep stages and could minimize the percentage of restorative slow-wave sleep. Cigarette smoking, not working out enough, along with other lifestyle habits can also hinder sleep quality and bring about daytime sleepiness.

Numerous people who encounter excessive daytime sleepiness don’t look to have any difficulties sleeping enough. In these instances, sleepiness can be a sign of an underlying health problem or sleep issue.

When to Speak To Your Doctor

When to Speak To Your Doctor

You need to see a doctor in case you’re feeling exhausted at all times, if excessive daytime sleepiness has effects on your day-to-day life, or if you think it may be an indication of an underlying problem.

Your doctor will manage tests and inquire questions regarding your sleep habits to try to identify the reason behind your sleepiness. They might also inquire your bed companion whether you gasp, snore, or move your legs during sleep. In case they suspect a sleep problem, they might recommend you to a sleep specialist to perform additional tests.

Treatment methods for daytime sleepiness depend upon the cause. The doctor will probably begin by suggesting sleep hygiene tips and motivate you to have more sleep. They might modify the medicines you are taking, and they’ll also work along with you to come up a treatment plan for underlying issues, that should be treated in themselves.

Hypersomnia - Symptoms, Causes, Definition and Treatments

Hypersomnia: Symptoms, Causes, Definition and Treatments

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Hypersomnia, which is the term for either excessive daytime drowsiness or excessive time spent sleeping, is a state in which an individual has difficulty staying awake in the daytime. Those who have hypersomnia could fall asleep at any time — for example, at the office or while they’re driving. They could also have other sleep-related issues, such as less energy and difficulty thinking clearly. A few scientists categorize hypersomnia as either primary or secondary. Primary hypersomnia is a neurological ailment which takes place by itself and has no recognized underlying cause. Secondary hypersomnia happens because of an underlying medical problem.

Hypersomnia - Symptoms, Causes, Definition and Treatments

Based on the National Sleep Foundation, as much as 40% of people get some symptoms of hypersomnia every now and then. Hypersomnia symptoms and sign include:

  • Stress and anxiety
  • Loss of Appetite
  • Trouble Staying Awake In the daytime
  • Falling Asleep at Any Time
  • Easily annoyed
  • Very low Energy
  • Memory Issues
  • Slow Speech
  • Slow Thinking

Causes of Hypersomnia

Causes of Hypersomnia

There are numerous possible causes of hypersomnia, including:

  • The sleep issues narcolepsy (daytime sleepiness) and sleep apnea (disruptions of breathing while sleeping)
  • Not obtaining sufficient sleep during the night (sleep deprivation)
  • Becoming overweight
  • Drug or alcohol abuse
  • A head trauma or a neurological illness, like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease
  • Prescribed drugs, like tranquilizers or antihistamines
  • Genetics (relativeswith hypersomnia)
  • Depression

Diagnosing Hypersomnia

Diagnosing Hypersomnia

In case you frequently feel drowsy in the daytime, speak to your doctor. To make a diagnosis of hypersomnia, your doctor asks you regarding your sleeping routines, just how much sleep you have during the night, in case you wake up at night, and whether you get to sleep in the daytime. Your doctor will also need to know if you’re having any emotional troubles or are consuming any drugs which may be disturbing your sleep.

Your doctor could also order a few tests, such as blood tests, computed tomography (CT) scans, as well as a sleep test known as polysomnography. In some instances, a further electroencephalogram (EEG), that measures the electrical activity of the brain, is required.

A doctor might want you to keep a sleep diary for a number of weeks just before setting up these tests, as well as need to know the amount of time the excessive daytime sleepiness has affected you. A diagnosis of hypersomnia will most likely not be done unless of course the offending symptoms have been in existence for around 3 continuous months, and without any obvious cause.

Natural and Prescribed Treatments for Hypersomnia

Treatment will be based significantly on the underlying cause of hypersomnia and whether it’s a primary or secondary issue. At times, catching up on sleep will relieve the excessive sleepiness; nevertheless, most of the time, it’s more effective to manage the underlying cause than it is to treat the particular symptom. The majority of common treatments are the use of stimulant medicines such as amphetamines to aid the person stay awake during the day. Additionally, behaviour therapy, sleep hygiene, as well as education are often included with the treatment regimen.

Natural Treatments for Hypersomnia

Proper sleep hygiene is an essential behavioral change which should be carried out. This consists of setting a regular sleeping routine, developing a sleeping environment which is suitable to quality sleep, a comfy bed and pillow, and staying away from caffeine or other stimulants close to bedtime.

A few treatment plans might include an effort at avoiding naps totally by using daytime stimulants, others will try to eliminate naps systematically, while some will encourage naps in well-balanced amounts and at proper times and places. The way hypersomnia gets treated, and with what final goal(s) in mind is perfectly up to the affected person, and these must be ambitious yet realistic.

Sleep Apnea - Common Causes, Risk Factors, Treatments

Sleep Apnea: Common Causes, Risk Factors, Treatments

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Loud snoring – particularly when combined with daytime drowsiness or fatigue – can be a sign of sleep apnea, a typical yet serious disorder which has an effect on breathing. Here’s what you should know.

What is Sleep Apnea?

What is Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a sleep problem by which your breathing is repeatedly disrupted while asleep. These breathing breaks usually last in between 10 to 20 seconds and could occur from 5 to over 100 times each hour.

The deficiency of oxygen in a sleep apnea event jolts you awake – typically so briefly that you don’t even remember it. However these interruptions to your natural sleep rhythm imply that you spend more hours in light sleep and fewer in the deep, restorative sleep you have to be energetic, mentally sharp, as well as productive the following day.

Sleep apnea also can result in a lot of health problems – in certain cases lethal. Thus it’s vital that you take seriously. In case you or your bed partner suspect sleep apnea, speak to your doctor immediately.

Types of Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is among the most common type of sleep apnea. It happens when the muscles which support the soft tissues on the upper air passage relax while asleep and obstruct the normal flow of air inside and out of the nose and mouth. This generally leads to loud snoring and disrupted breathing.

Central sleep apnea is a a lot less common type of sleep apnea which involves the central nervous system. It happens when the brain briefly stops transmitting signals to the muscles which regulate breathing. It is usually due to an underlying health problem. Individuals with central sleep apnea rarely snore.

Complex or mixed sleep apnea is a very rare blend of obstructive sleep apnea as well as central sleep apnea.

Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

Sign and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

It could be difficult to detect sleep apnea all on your own, as the most prominent symptoms simply happen whenever you’re asleep.

However you could get around this problems by requesting a bed partner to watch your sleep habits, or by documenting yourself throughout sleep. If pauses happen when you snore, and when choking or gasping comes after the pauses, these are generally major sleep apnea indicators.

Main symptoms of sleep apnea:

  • Repeated, loud snoring
  • Choking, snorting, or gasping while in sleep
  • Day time drowsiness and fatigue, regardless of how long you would spend in bed

Other symptoms:

  • Getting up with a dry mouth or a sore throat
  • Daytime headache
  • Disturbed sleep, night time awakenings, or insomnia
  • Waking up at nighttime having shortness of breath
  • Going to the bathroom often throughout the night

Sleep Apnea Causes and Risk Factors

Sleep Apnea Causes and Risk Factors

Though anybody can have sleep apnea, specific factors raise the risk:

Sex – Men are more likely to have sleep apnea compared to women, though right after menopause, rate of recurrence in women rises.
Older age – While sleep apnea can happen at all ages, it’s a lot more common when you grow older.
Weight – The risk of sleep apnea is a lot greater in people who are overweight, and higher still in people who are obese.
Anatomical differences – Physical attributes which could bring about sleep apnea include a little upper airway, a tiny or receding jaw, a long soft palate, a high tongue position, a deviated septum, as well as enlarged tonsils and adenoids.
Smoking – Based on a study carried out by Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, University of Wisconsin, Madison, people who smoke are 3 times more prone to have sleep apnea compared to those who have never smoked.
Neck circumference bigger than 17 inches (43.2 cm) in males or 16 inches (40.6 cm) in females.
Allergies or other health conditions which bring about nasal congestion and blockage may also give rise to sleep apnea.