It is very important that your body gets the right amount of sleep as only if the body has rested well, will it be able to complete the tasks set out for it over the course of any new day. Inadequate sleep leaves a person with a number of problems such as a lack of focus, a lack of energy as well as a tendency to procrastinate throughout the course of the day. However, a number of people are unaware about the dangers about the opposite side of the spectrum – where a person tends to suffer from excessive sleep disorder. Before going into the causes of excessive sleep disorder, it is important to point out the criteria that need to be considered when the condition is being clinically diagnosed. Sleeping disorders and sleeping too much is known as hypersomnia. This is not normally the result of interrupted sleep or inadequate sleep, but will only be present in cases where the individual experience complete and proper rest in the night, but still feels extremely sleepy throughout the course of the day.
There are two main categories of hyeprsomnia – primary hypersomnia and recurrent hypersomnia. Some of the most prominent characteristics of suffering from hypersomnia include falling off to sleep while at work, in a meeting or even in the middle of a conversation. This condition is considered to be a disorder because even after dozing off to sleep at any time, the person will not feel fresh once the nap is over. This will therefore affect the personal and professional life of the affected person to a great extent. Some of the more common symptoms that one is likely to experience include a feeling of laziness and lethargy, an inability to stay focused for a sustained period of time as well as trouble building personal relationships with other individuals. The most significant causes of excessive sleep disorders will always be interlinked with the kind of lifestyle that we lead. Some of the externally prominent and common causes include prescription drugs that act like tranquilizers, genetics and even obesity.
Treatment
Before getting into the details of excessive sleepiness treatment, it helps to understand exactly how the condition is clinically diagnosed. Getting relevant data is the main criteria for diagnosis of the condition. The doctor is likely to ask you for a lot of information regarding your sleeping habits as well as emotional state in order to gauge if any emotional stress or troubles may be playing a part in the development of the condition. Some medical tests that are likely to be ordered in order to clinically diagnose the condition include a CT scan, a polysomnography and an EEG. Unlike most other medical conditions, excessive sleepiness treatment will see the medical focus primarily based on the symptoms rather than on the underlying condition. This is primarily because there is no known treatment for the root cause of the condition. Most doctors will choose to prescribe stimulants in order to boost the individual’s energy levels to try and help them stay awake through the course of the day.
One important aspect when dealing with excessive sleepiness in children as well as adults is to make sure you take some time during the diagnosis phase to identify the root cause of the condition. This is very often overlooked by a most doctors, thus making the treatment ineffective. Some psychological and physiological treatment approaches may need to be experimented with such as a variety of sleep hygiene and behavioral tweaking. Certain lifestyle changes may be suggested such as the timings that one should get into a habit with regarding sleep at night as well as rising in the morning. Given that the breakfast you consume plays a huge role in the amount of energy that one has during the course of the day, you might want to make sure that you choose healthy foods to boost your treatments effectiveness.