Hypersomnia

• Hypersomnia sufferers have difficulty staying awake during the daytime, falling asleep in inappropriate settings, taking multiple naps or suffering uncontrollable sleep attacks
• Hypersomnia can be caused by a variety of sleep disorders including sleep deprivation and sleep fragmentation disorders

Overview of Hypersomnia

Hypersomnia means excessive daytime sleepiness. People who suffer hypersomnia are unable or unwilling to get the sleep that the body needs. This can result in depression, poor quality of life and being excessively tired during the day.

Excessive daytime sleepiness can cause a variety of other problems. Sleepy people have trouble with concentration, learning and memory and their reaction times are slower than rested people. They are also prone to microsleeps, periods of 1 to 5 seconds where they are essentially asleep. Needless to say these can have severe consequences and are frequently associated with car crashes or work place accidents. 

Causes of Hypersomnia

The most common cause of hypersomnia is sleep deprivation – not getting enough sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation, getting less sleep than needed for long periods of time, can cause as severe sleepiness. Getting 1-2 hours less sleep than needed for 2-3 weeks can make you as sleepy as staying up 24 hours.

The symptoms of hypersomnia can also be caused by other sleep fragmentation disorders such as sleep apnea, or periodic limb movement disorder.

Hypersomnia is also one of the main symptoms of primary sleep drive disorders such as narcolepsy, a disorder due to an abnormality in the brain’s sleep/wake regulating center. 

Treatment for Hypersomnia

The first step is identifying the underlying cause of the hypersomnia. Treatment should be directed at the primary cause. For instance, hypersomnia due to sleep deprivation is treated by increasing sleep time to meet the body’s sleep needs. If the hypersomnia is due to a sleep disorder, the treatment is correcting the sleep disorder – i.e., treating sleep apnea with a CPAP machine. Stimulant medications may be helpful for the hypersomnia caused by the primary sleep drive disorders such as narcolepsy.