Excessive sleepiness ( hypersomnia ) is a symptom that can appear with a variety of medical conditions. It is often accompanied by increased sleep duration. This condition cannot always be adequately assessed by the patient himself, therefore, special testing is used to identify it.
Causes of Excessive Sleepiness
The mechanism of development of hypersomnia is based on functional disorders of the wakefulness-sleep system, as well as disturbances in the very structure of sleep and the processes of changing its different phases.
Chronic drowsiness and fatigue can be manifestations of:
- obstructive sleep apnea syndrome ;
- hypotension;
- idiopathic hypersomnia ;
- narcolepsy;
- depressive and astheno -neurotic conditions;
- limb movement syndrome during sleep;
- taking medications that cause daytime sleepiness;
- delayed phase sleep syndrome;
- brain injuries and organic diseases;
- jet lag syndrome;
- chronic sleep deprivation.
The patient talks about increased daytime sleepiness due to sleep apnea syndrome.
What is the danger of drowsiness
Quite often, complaints of increased daytime sleepiness occur when patients have respiratory disorders and movement disorders during sleep, in particular, with sleep apnea syndrome. This disease, in addition to severe drowsiness during daylight hours, is manifested by intermittent loud snoring with occasional pauses in breathing during sleep, as well as “daytime” symptoms: morning headaches, irritability, lethargy, weakness, loss of strength, fatigue and decreased performance, constant fatigue , dizziness, apathy. With further progression of the disease, personality changes develop that further reduce the quality of human life.
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Rapid fatigue and unmotivated drowsiness of patients are often the cause of traffic accidents. Sometimes patients fall asleep while talking or reading literature. Patients with hypersomnia are also characterized by increased drowsiness after eating.
Sometimes the cause of poor health and loss of strength is a change in the weather – a change in the composition of the air, humidity, atmospheric pressure, brightness of daylight. These factors sometimes have a negative effect on the body. So, drowsiness in the spring is often due not only to a decrease in immunity, but also to a change in weather.
Diagnosis and treatment of hypersomnia
The multicausal nature of the manifestations of increased fatigue and drowsiness during the day requires a systematic search for the factors that caused the disease. The main diagnostic methods include:
- polysomnographic examination;
- cardio-respiratory monitoring;
- objective methods for assessing daytime sleepiness;
- video-EEG monitoring
If you have a feeling of constant fatigue and a desire to sleep, you should consult a somnologist.