Do you walk around in a constant state of sleepiness, ready to take a nap should any opportunity present itself? This may be a result of continually working long hours, stress and anxiety, or uneasy sleep during the night. Other possibilities include frequent jet lag or reactions to medications. But if you feel that you have been getting adequate sleep at night yet you are still always tired, than you may have a sleep disorder known as Hypersomnia.
Hypersomnia can occur as a result of other sleep disorders such as restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea which can cause your sleep at night to be less than fulfilling, or lifestyle changes such as a shift change at work or a new baby. Symptoms of hypersomnia include feeling overwhelmingly sleepy during the day, and/or sleeping for extended periods of time. This feeling of sleepiness can persist even with frequent naps, and can cause you to have difficulty concentrating.
Hypersomnia can usually be cured by making simple adjustments to your lifestyle, but first you should be aware that there are actually three levels of hypersomnia, and properly diagnosing hypersomnia will help you to treat the sleep disorder better.
The World Sleep Foundation defines Recurrent Hypersomnia as feeling extreme levels of sleepiness and requiring excessive levels of sleep, sometimes as much as 16-20 hours a day.
Idiopathic Hypersomnia results when sufferers typically sleep an average to above-average length of time, but their sleep includes repeated episodes of non-REM sleep, causing the sufferer to continually feel sleepy during the day.
Post Traumatic Hypersomnia is the result of a physical injury, usually affecting the nervous system in some way.
Hypersomnia should not be confused or misdiagnosed as narcolepsy, which is a characterized by sudden feelings of sleepiness, rather than a constant feeling.
If you feel you are suffering from hypersomnia, you can try these few suggestions to help you revert back to a normal sleeping pattern and dispel the daytime sluggishness and sleepiness that is interfering with your life.
Firstly, try to follow a regimen of exercise and eat healthy foods, making sure to get a proper daily value of recommended vitamins and nutrients. Try to stick to a regular sleep schedule, and avoid naps during the day, as this will inhibit your body from adjusting to a regular sleeping time. Try to sleep comfortably, and avoid anything with caffeine or alcohol and cigarettes before going to bed. Proper exercise, nutrition, and a comfortable sleeping environment all play an important role in the quality of our sleep and how we feel the next day.
If none of these simple steps help to alleviate the problem of hypersomnia, then you can turn to professional treatment. Doctors can discuss different methods of treatment, and will typically prescribe some sort of pharmaceutical treatment.
Extensively long episodes of hypersomnia are known as Kleine-Levin Syndrome, referred to as KLS. Sufferers often feel flu-like symptoms before a bout of KLS, which can often be associated with other disorders and diseases. KLS is rare, and studies on this disorder are still undergoing.
Long periods of sleep can also be associated with Bipolar Disorder, and should be considered as a possible diagnosis if you are also feeling mood swings or depression, and changes in eating habits and trouble concentrating.
