Archive for the 'Hypersomnia' Category

Hypersomnia is less common than insomnia and it is one-fourth increase of sleep in total sleep time.

There are many factors that can cause hypersomnia.

Hypersomnia characteristics vary from person to person depending on the age, lifestyle and other underlying causes.

Factors that can lead to hypersomnia condition:

• Environmental factors can disturb your sleep and can lead to hypersomnia. Factors such as snoring of your partner, outside noise, uncomfortable mattress, waking up of your baby, heat and cold conditions can disturb your nighttime sleep and increases excessive sleep during daytime.
• Mental condition like anxiety can keep you awake at night and makes you to sleep during daytime. Depression also disturbs your night time sleep.
• Medications such as sleeping pills, antihistamines, and tranquillizers can also disturb your sleeping patterns. Alcohol and caffeinated drinks also disturb your sleep.
• Overtime or long working hours at office can disturb your sleep patterns. Teenagers stay until early morning hours during weekends which make their sleep patterns disturbed.
• Medical conditions like gastro esophageal reflux disease, hypothyroidism, nocturnal asthma and chronic pain can disturb your sleep during night time and increases daytime sleepiness.

Hypersomnia means excessive sleepiness or being overly sleepy.

People with hypersomnia usually experience excessive sleep during the day.

This symptom is called excessive daytime sleepiness or EDS.

Causes of Hypersomnia

Inadequate nighttime sleep is the main cause of hypersomnia. For every 24 hours, our body requires a certain amount of sleep. For most people, that means about 8 hours of sleep. Your body tries to catch up on the sleep during the day when that sleep is not obtained at night.

The bigger question becomes, why is your body not getting enough sleep at night? Are you sleep-deprived because you are going to bed too late and getting up too early? Are you sleepy during the day because of problems with insomnia at night?

Sleep Disturbing Factors

• Sleep may be disturbed by particular sleep disorders such as sleep-disordered breathing, periodic limb movements in sleep, or narcolepsy.
• Certain medications also have the side effect of causing day time sleepiness or hypersomnia.
• Withdrawal from other medications such as caffeine also can cause sleepiness.
• Medical illness or psychiatric illness can also cause daytime sleepiness.

Hypersomnia can cause difficulties with memory and concentration, thus affecting overall performance. This can become particularly dangerous when poor performance resulting from sleepiness results in accidents.