Are there days when you feel so sleepy that it gets difficult even to complete your tasks on time? Does daytime sleepiness often bother you and keep you from matching your productivity? If so, then it is possible that you might have excessive daytime sleepiness. Basically, it is a condition when people fall or feel like falling asleep repeatedly during the day. One must note here that almost everyone suffers from bouts of daytime sleepiness once in a while. However, it becomes a cause of concern only if it happens regularly. So, to help people learn more about this situation, we have provided more information in the next section. Have a look!
Explain excessive daytime sleepiness
Patients who have excessive daytime sleepiness report feeling immensely sleepy in the daylight hours. It is not a disorder but rather a sign of a deeper problem interfering with your sleep. Therefore, patients need to reach the root cause of the issue. Only then can you find an effective solution for this problem that can otherwise have a negative impact on different aspects of your life, including work, daily life activities, and relationships. According to experts, the most common causes responsible for this condition are:
- Irregular sleep schedule
- Not enough opportunities to rest
- Sleep disorders like sleep apnea
- Medications that can interfere with your sleep like corticosteroids, headache meds, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
- Medical conditions like gastrointestinal disorders, multiple sclerosis, depression, and Parkinson’s disease.
Based on these causes, you should look for effective ways of treating this problem, as feeling excessively sleepy can increase your chances of making a mistake. Also, it can impair your ability to enjoy or fully take part in things you usually like.
Signs suggesting sleep apnea is causing excessive sleepiness
The most common causes of excessive daytime sleepiness are disorders like obstructive sleep apnea. It is a sleep problem where people experience repeated pauses in breathing when resting. This happens as the muscles located at the back of the throat collapse and obstruct the way of passing air. It leads to a loud snoring noise and causes the person to wake up from his slumber gasping or choking for oxygen. It prevents the patient from resting peacefully and leads to excessive daytime sleepiness.
So, if you suspect sleep apnea to be the cause of extra sleepiness, you should go see a doctor. He will ask if you are experiencing signs like loud snoring, pauses in breathing, and a choking sensation during the night. He will check for other factors if you are old, male, or obese. Still, if he believes that you are a patient of sleep apnea, he may enquire about associated complications like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, concentration problems, heart diseases, or metabolic conditions. After all the tests, it is determined that you indeed have this problem, then you should immediately seek sleep apnea treatment.
So, excessive daytime sleepiness is not a disorder but a sign of a more significant sleep issue. It can be caused by sleep apnea, medical condition, irregular sleep schedule, and medication.