Sleep is a normal process in the human body that is designed to give the muscles and systems of the body a good rest. Normal healthy individuals usually sleep between seven and eight hours every night and feel refreshed after having this rest. Good sleep is a basic requirement for general good health. Individuals who do not get adequate sleep will not function at their normal efficiency. Over a period of time, bad sleep may invade many other areas of the life of an individual and can cause long term health problems. Normally, an individual is supposed to feel sleepy during the night time and should be awake and alert in the day time. This, of course, depends on the lifestyle of the individual and also on factors such as work schedule.
Sleeping problems may also be found in individuals who feel sleepy too often and tend to fall asleep at the slightest chance. The condition is known as excessive daytime sleepiness. Excessive daytime sleepiness is a fairly common problem that affects many people across the world. Individuals suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness will perform poorly. Cognitive functioning will also be impaired in an individual who is suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness. Some individuals may also have their lives threatened by excessive daytime sleepiness. This applies particularly to individuals who work with heavy machinery or who drive regularly during the day. A driver suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness is a recipe for disaster.
Excessive daytime sleepiness is sometimes difficult to diagnose. The condition is considered to be excessive when the individual suffers from sleepiness for many days in succession. Some individuals may suffer from the problem for years before seeking treatment. It is important to distinguish between occasional and excessive daytime sleepiness. Occasional daytime sleepiness may occur in individuals who have been suffering from poor sleep or poor health and should resolve itself once these conditions pass.
Some of the excessive daytime sleepiness causes include improper sleep at night, jetlag, drug abuse and even possible tumors in the head. There are some conditions that may be listed as excessive daytime sleepiness causes. Narcolepsy is one such condition. Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder which is one of the excessive daytime sleepiness causes. In this type of condition, the patient will achieve a deep stage of sleep within a few minutes of falling asleep, unlike the normal case where it may take up to two hours. Such individuals are capable of deep sleep within minutes of falling asleep and may have short bursts of deep sleep. Narcoleptic individuals usually suffer from improper sleep during the night as well which further compounds the problem.
Narcolepsy treatment is usually done using various types of stimulants that help to stimulate the central nervous system. Narcolepsy treatment depends hugely on the subject’s condition and may vary from case to case. Each doctor may adopt a different method of narcolepsy treatment as well. This makes it difficult to form a set procedure for narcolepsy treatment. It is important to note that the use of stimulants for narcolepsy treatment is a stop-gap measure for treating this condition. It is a form of treatment that corrects the symptoms without correcting the underlying cause of the condition. This type of treatment can be used to provide temporary assistance to a patient suffering from the condition. It is very important to detect the underlying cause of the condition so that it can be effectively sorted out without it continuing for too long. Alternative forms of treatment may be used to solve the problem of excessive daytime sleepiness. This would include narcolepsy remedies like the use exercise and an improvement of lifestyle. Doctors may also recommend the use of narcolepsy medication to keep the condition in control.