Hypersomnia is estimated to affect about 4 to 6% of the population. Is this a common complaint that is often not fully identified, not even by those who suffer from it? It is usually confused with tiredness or tiredness, and its origin can be very different, so that to achieve the objective of the intervention the best starting point is an accurate evaluation.
While many people have managed to normalize the presence of this excessive drowsiness in their lives, the consequences are significant, as concentration and memory problems often occur.
- In addition.
- There are mood swings and significant interference in daily activities.
- Next.
- We’ll try to find out more about this neurological disease and its possible causes.
Hypersomnia is also known as excessive daytime sleepiness, called a physiological condition that promotes sleep at inappropriate times or times of the day, so the person experiences a subjective feeling of sleep during the day, making it difficult to function normally. diagnosis of hypersomnia, this symptom needs to occur daily, for at least three months.
It’s not always easy to identify exactly what’s going on. A lot of people may think they’re too tired without knowing why. To facilitate the detection of hypersomnia, we need to think about how drowsy we feel in situations such as:
If in these situations you feel a strong feeling of sleep in general, you may have this syndrome, however, the causes are varied and can differ considerably from person to person, so it will be important to explore the source to prevent and mitigate its consequences.
To function properly during the day, we all need long and restorative periods of night rest. When we sleep chronically less than recommended, lack of sleep wreaks havoc. Therefore, hypersomnia can be found in those who tend to sleep five hours or less per night, continuously. .
This can occur due to insomnia problems arising from a lifestyle in which the person decides to restrict their sleep hours for professional or social reasons, allowing them to get up in the morning and may experience sudden episodes of daytime sleepiness.
Similarly, if nighttime sleep is interrupted or fragmented, it will not be repairing enough, as people with maintenance insomnia, restless leg syndrome or breathing problems can wake up at different times of the night, which favors the consequent decrease in sleep quality and the onset of hypersomnia.
Several disorders have hypersomnia as one of their main symptoms; for example, narcolepsy usually begins with excessive daytime sleepiness, to which other symptoms, such as cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnogic hallucinations, are subsequently added.
Likewise, this symptom presents disorders such as idiopathic hypersomnia and Kleine-Levin syndrome, in which there is a considerable increase in the total number of hours of sleep, as well as a more or less irresistible access to daytime sleep.
Many of the causes of excessive daytime sleepiness also include encephalopathy, trauma or dementia, which may even be a symptom of depressive episodes or caused by the use of certain medications.
In short, it is a common symptom of many organic, neurological and psychological disorders, its presence interferes with the functional and satisfying life of those who suffer from it, since their cognitive functions and emotional state may be affected.
If you think that you or someone close to you is in this situation, it is important to go to the doctor, in some cases this symptom will alert us to the presence of other conditions that require intervention, in others it will simply invite us to be more careful and regular with our sleep habits.