Narcolepsy And Sleep Apnea: Two Important Sleeping Disorder

Although we rarely identify it as a negative condition, many people actually get too much sleep.  Most of these people often complain that they have not gotten enough sleep on any given night. Example, college students drink copious amounts of caffeine in order to stay awake and finish that paper. Many times, they compensate for a lack of sleep at night by taking naps after (and sometimes during) their classes. This behavior might be recognized as "normal" by many teenagers and young people. However, many college-aged people suffer from sleep disorders. The most commonly recognized among these is insomnia, or the inability to obtain an adequate amount of sleep. A disease potentially harmful and yet  often is hypersomnia.

Hypersomnia is defined as excessive daytime sleepiness and/or nighttime sleep. Humans sleep for an average of eight hours a night. Those with hypersomnia may find themselves sleeping for over ten hours at a time.  The most common symptoms are napping at inappropriate times, difficulty waking up, anxiety, irritability, restlessness and fatigue. Some more serious symptoms may include hallucination, loss of appetite, memory loss, or the inability to hear, see, taste, or smell things accurately. The disorder can have a profound effect on one's ability to cope in social situations.  There is a range of possible causes for the condition, but the primary cause is described as abnormalities that occur during sleep or abnormalities of specific sleep functions.

Those with hypersomnia are generally diagnosed in one of four categories by a polysomnogram, which monitors a patient during one night of rest.

Post-traumatic Hypersomnia is caused by trauma to the central nervous system, such as a head injury or a traumatic accident. This kind of hypersomnia may last for a span of a few days or an entire lifetime following such an incident.

Recurrent Hypersomnia consists of episodic periods of extended sleep followed by periods of normal sleep. These episode's length varies. Recurrent hypersomnia is caused by dysfunction of the hypothalamus.
Idiopathic Hypersomnia has no known cause and is the diagnosis most closely associated with the sleep disordernarcolepsy.

Normal Hypersomnia is seen in people who are commonly referred to as "long sleepers," those who require more than ten hours of sleep per night as a result of genetic predisposition.

Hypersomnia shares some common symptoms with other sleep disorders: narcolepsy and sleep apnea. Narcolepsy makes one suffer from "sleep attacks" in daytime notwitstanding the sleep at night time. It resembles hypersomnia in the respect that many experience onset during teenage and young adult years. Sleep apnea is a condition which causes intermittent shortness of breath during sleep. It affects people of all ages but bears a resemblance to hypersomnia in that it is caused by an abnormality of respiratory function during sleep. Like normal hypersomnia, it also tends to run in families.

Lifestyle conditions may add to the habit of sleeping excessively. Hypersomnia may be a symptom of some medications or withdrawal. Drug abuse, alcohol, caffeine are some substances which play a role in extending sleep.  It is estimated that approximately five percent of the population can be diagnosed with some form of hypersomnia.

However, the condition is greatly underreported because so many who have it do not realize that their excessive sleeping or napping behavior is abnormal. What is more, many do not realize what detrimental implications getting too much sleep can have for one's life. The primary symptom of hypersomnia is serious interference with normal schedule. One might miss large amounts of work, school, or other important activities. Secondly, many of the side effects of hypersomnia such as decreased concentration, anxiety, and memory loss all contribute to a diminished work or academic performance. Treatments for those diagnosed for hypersomnia may include the prescription of stimulant or antidepressant medications. Also, it is advised to maintain a regular bedtime/waking time, and to avoid intake of alcohol and caffeine.