Not many know what this disorder called hypersomnia is all about. It is no wonder that most people do not take over-sleepiness during the day too seriously, thinking it to be a common outcome of consecutive late nights, too much work at home or office, etc.
However, the kind of sleepiness that is associated with this condition is way different from the feelings experienced after late nights, etc,. This is chronic in nature and can put the patient to sleep, no matter what time of the day it is or which place. It could be during meals, during phone calls or even while driving.
Officially, the condition has been identified as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Less than 200,000 people in the US are currently suffering from it.
Setting in when the victim is between 15 and 30 years of age, early signs are apparent to almost 40% of those affected. But they are largely left unattended, according to National Sleep Foundation. The reason for this is mass ignorance about the significance of the signs and the aftermath of onset of the disorder.
How does the illness show up?
- The most identifiable sign of this illness is excessive daytime sleepiness. This chronic condition needs medical attention when it appears for more than a month on a continuous basis.
- Sleeping for unusually long hours, some times more than 10 hours
- Repeated daytime naps, where each bout lasts for about 30 minutes. These naps are never refreshing.
- Irritability, anxiety, depression, impaired speech and slow thinking.
- Feels confused and disoriented on waking up.
- Low vigor
- Focusing problems
- Reduced appetite, hallucinations, forgetfulness, restlessness.
Chances of wrong diagnosis
There are several features of this illness that are also present in other sleep disorders. This usually leads to wrong diagnosis. For example, daytime drowsiness may be misconstrued as a sign of sleep apnea or it may appear to be one of the narcolepsy symptoms. The right approach to clear such dilemma is to study characteristic features of other sleep disorders.
How to differentiate the different illnesses?
- Study the age at which the illness has set in. If it is around 50 years it is sleep apnea as other illnesses set in earlier.
- Treatment modalities: Devices, change of sleeping posture and even surgery are the possible options for treating a disorder; whereas, another sleep disorder is treated with the help of stimulants and anti-depressants.
- Cause of onset: Neglected snoring, inevitable outcome of obesity is one of the main reasons for the onset of obstructive sleep apnea. The illness is characterized by recurrent pauses in breathing and happens when there is a complete blockage and collapse of the upper airway tract. Likewise, deviated septum and sleep apnea is a common health condition. Here, septal deviation causes airway blockage leading to snoring, which worsens into sleep apnea.
- Daytime sleepiness could be a result of sleep deprivation or it could also be a result of low hypocretin levels in the brain.
- At times dysfunction of the neurological system is the cause behind the onset of a condition. For hypersomnia though, the causes are unknown and the condition is idiopathic in nature.
However, the kind of sleepiness that is associated with this condition is way different from the feelings experienced after late nights, etc,. This is chronic in nature and can put the patient to sleep, no matter what time of the day it is or which place. It could be during meals, during phone calls or even while driving.
Officially, the condition has been identified as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Less than 200,000 people in the US are currently suffering from it.
Setting in when the victim is between 15 and 30 years of age, early signs are apparent to almost 40% of those affected. But they are largely left unattended, according to National Sleep Foundation. The reason for this is mass ignorance about the significance of the signs and the aftermath of onset of the disorder.
How does the illness show up?
- The most identifiable sign of this illness is excessive daytime sleepiness. This chronic condition needs medical attention when it appears for more than a month on a continuous basis.
- Sleeping for unusually long hours, some times more than 10 hours
- Repeated daytime naps, where each bout lasts for about 30 minutes. These naps are never refreshing.
- Irritability, anxiety, depression, impaired speech and slow thinking.
- Feels confused and disoriented on waking up.
- Low vigor
- Focusing problems
- Reduced appetite, hallucinations, forgetfulness, restlessness.
Chances of wrong diagnosis
There are several features of this illness that are also present in other sleep disorders. This usually leads to wrong diagnosis. For example, daytime drowsiness may be misconstrued as a sign of sleep apnea or it may appear to be one of the narcolepsy symptoms. The right approach to clear such dilemma is to study characteristic features of other sleep disorders.
How to differentiate the different illnesses?
- Study the age at which the illness has set in. If it is around 50 years it is sleep apnea as other illnesses set in earlier.
- Treatment modalities: Devices, change of sleeping posture and even surgery are the possible options for treating a disorder; whereas, another sleep disorder is treated with the help of stimulants and anti-depressants.
- Cause of onset: Neglected snoring, inevitable outcome of obesity is one of the main reasons for the onset of obstructive sleep apnea. The illness is characterized by recurrent pauses in breathing and happens when there is a complete blockage and collapse of the upper airway tract. Likewise, deviated septum and sleep apnea is a common health condition. Here, septal deviation causes airway blockage leading to snoring, which worsens into sleep apnea.
- Daytime sleepiness could be a result of sleep deprivation or it could also be a result of low hypocretin levels in the brain.
- At times dysfunction of the neurological system is the cause behind the onset of a condition. For hypersomnia though, the causes are unknown and the condition is idiopathic in nature.
About the Author:
Want to know more about sleep apnea treatment, be sure to visit Douglas Kidder's site and learn everything you want to know about obstructive sleep apnea.
1 comment:
Thanks for your sharing. My friend have same trouble with Hypersomnia. Waiting new your articles.
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