Is it normal if you’re gonna wanna sleep all the time?
Hypersomnia is excessive sleepiness when wakefulness is expected.
Its also known asexcessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).
Illustration by Cindy Chung, Verywell
Hypersomnia can be a symptom of depression.
There are several causes of hypersomnolence.
This article lists the symptoms of hypersomnia and hypersomnolence, explains the causes, and addresses diagnosis.
Illustration by Cindy Chung, Verywell
What Are the Symptoms of Hypersomnia and Hypersomnolence?
It can begin during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood.
However, other symptoms of the condition may not be so obviously related to sleep.
For this reason, many people do not seek medical attention for hypersomnia.
Causes of Hypersomnia and Hypersomnolence
There are a number of causes of excessive sleepiness.
Hypersomnolence is considered the cause of hypersomnia when no medical explanation is identified.
Certain rare medical conditions directly affect the sleep cycles in the brain, causing hypersomnolence.
Your description of your own experience is by far the most important aspect of your diagnosis.
Your healthcare provider may also order blood tests or a sleep study.
In general, there are many components to your diagnostic evaluation.
Sleep Scales
There are a few well-established sleepiness assessments that are based on self-report questionnaires.
TheEpworth Sleepiness Scaleand the Stanford Sleepiness Scale are among the most commonly used measures of sleepiness.
Hypersomnolence, however, is often confused with other similar medical conditions.
Sleep Deprivation
It can be difficult to distinguish hypersomnolence fromsleep deprivation.
Nevertheless, brief sleep disruptions can have an effect on whether you achieved enough restorative sleep at night.
It triggers when your airway becomes temporarily blocked during sleep, briefly interrupting your breathing for a few seconds.
This is usually associated with weight gain and snoring.
Central sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep.
Often, diagnosis and adequate treatment of thyroid disease can reduce sleepiness and fatigue.
In turn, it can result in daytime sleepiness.
In addition, alcohol and some drugs can cause excessive sleepiness.
This may affect some people differently than others.
How Do You Fix Hypersomnia and Hypersomnolence?
The treatment of your daytime sleepiness depends on the cause.
If you are sleep-deprived, your healthcare providers may recommend changing your lifestyle habits.
If you have hypersomnolence or idiopathic hypersomnia, there are some treatment approaches that your healthcare providers will recommend.
Treatment for hypersomnia and hypersomnolence includesmodifying your sleeping habitsand potentially taking a prescription medication.
Consistent Sleep Habits
Maintaining regular sleep habits is often helpful if you have hypersomnia.
In turn, these methods can help to prevent excessive tiredness.
These medications have potentially serious side effects, even when they are used as directed for a medical reason.
It can have a number of causes including lifestyle habits, hypersomnolence, medical conditions, and medication.
Talk to a healthcare provider if you think you are experiencing hypersomnia.
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