Sleep disorders are diverse, comprising issues from lack of sleep to excessive daytime sleep. In the US, around 50 to 70 million adults are prone to at least one type of sleep disorder.
Introducing the opposite of Insomnia
Usually, when people hear the term sleep disorder, they think of Insomnia. It is a condition in which patients face difficulty falling asleep and maintaining unhindered sleep throughout the night. However, have you ever thought what is the opposite of Insomnia? The answer to this question takes us to another medical condition called ‘Hypersomnia’. The following blog will take a closer look at the causes, treatments, and symptoms of the opposite of Insomnia.
What is Hypersomnia? Types, causes, and symptoms
Affecting more than 5% of the total population, hypersomnia is a sleeping disorder in which there is a spike in daytime sleepiness. Even when the night’s sleep is fulfilled, hypersomnia patients undergo an abnormal urge to fall asleep regardless of the time and venue. This condition is detrimental to daytime productivity as it may be difficult to complete the routine tasks timely and efficiently.
Types
Hypersomnia is broadly categorized into two domains; primary and secondary.
Primary hypersomnia
It stands as a distinct condition, not attributable to any underlying medical condition or external trigger. It has sub-categories, such as:
- Idiopathic hypersomnia: This is the most dubious form of primary hypersomnia because it has no pre-defined cause. In this condition, a person feels excessive sleepiness and wakes up drowsy despite an adequate 10-11-hour sleep.
- Narcolepsy: Narcolepsy is a persistent neurological condition that impairs the brain's regulation of the circadian rhythm. Individuals diagnosed with narcolepsy type 1 often suffer from significant daytime drowsiness, cataplexy—characterized by a sudden loss of muscle control in response to intense emotions—sleep paralysis, and hallucinations. Additionally, there exists a second form of narcolepsy, which presents similar symptoms to narcolepsy type 1, but does not include cataplexy.
- Kleine-Levin syndrome (KLS): During this condition, hypersomnia develops in episodes, alongside some physical, behavioral, and cognitive changes. Each episode may persist for a few days, but some can extend for several weeks or even months. Individuals with Kleine-Levin syndrome generally experience normal alertness and functioning during the intervals between episodes. The syndrome predominantly affects young males, and the frequency of episodes tends to diminish over a span of eight to twelve years.
Secondary hypersomnia
This is incidental to other external factors and conditions, such as:
- Medicines: Some medicines can trigger excessive sleep, resulting in hypersomnia. These can include sleep-inducing medicines like melatonin or drugs for treating other issues that can cause sleep as a side effect. Examples of such medicines are antidepressants, cough syrups, muscle relaxants, antihistamines, or anti-hypertensive drugs.
- Health conditions: Medical issues such as obesity, nutritional deficiency, pregnancy, epilepsy, tumors, and nervous system complications can disrupt the normal sleep cycle.
- Other sleep disorders: Other sleep disorders such as insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea can also result in hypersomnia. This is because patients with these sleep issues are deprived of good sleep at night. Therefore, they feel unusual daytime sleepiness and fall prey to hypersomnia.
- Drug or alcohol abuse: Unrelentless use of alcohol and illegal drugs such as opiates can also result in hypersomnia.
- Stress: Sometimes, people with depression, OCD, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and mood problems feel the need to sleep more than usual.
- Poor sleep routine: Hypersomnia can also simply be a result of poor routine and bad sleeping habits. For example, drinking caffeine before bed or scrolling through your phone in the sleeping hours. With poor quality sleep at night, a person is bound to feel extra sleepy during the day.
Causes
The definite cause of hypersomnia remains unexplored. However, medical researchers have traced a link to genetics when explaining the cause of this sleep disorder. This is because 39% percent of primary hypersomnia patients had a family member with the same condition.
Symptoms
Some symptoms of hypersomnia are listed as follows:
- Repetitive episodes of sleepiness throughout the day
- Difficulty in waking up from sleep despite optimal sleeping hours
- Falling asleep at unusual places and times such as while driving, at work, or during a social gathering
- Feeling irritated, confused, and fuzzy in daytime
- Anxiety, restlessness, and hallucinations
- Lack of memory, focus, and decrease in overall productivity
- Low energy, fatigue, and weakness in the body
- Headaches
Hypersomnia diagnosis
Before developing a well-designed treatment plan, your doctor may first understand the cause and type of your condition. To check whether it’s primary or secondary hypersomnia, they may perform a physical check-up, ask for your family history, and advise certain tests. These tests can include drug screening, blood tests, medical imaging, at-home sleep study, or biochemical screening. Other types of diagnosing strategies are sleep questionnaires, polysomnography, telemedicine appointments, and multiple sleep latency tests.
How to treat the opposite of Insomnia?
There are multiple treatment methodologies for hypersomnia in the medical realm, depending on the condition’s type and severity level. These usually include medicines like oxybates, stimulants, and other wake-promoting medicines. Apart from this, medical professionals can also advise cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for effective hypersomnia management.
Not only this but there are hypersomnia and insomnia treatment options online that allow you to resolve your sleep issues within the comfort of your home. These online platforms include video chats, online appointment reservations, home-based sleep studies, and telemedicine treatment options. Often, your healthcare advisor may suggest changes in sleep habits and daily routine to facilitate a balanced and peaceful sleep schedule.
Bottom line
Hypersomnia (excessive sleep) is the exact opposite of insomnia (lack of sleep), yet it has many connections to it. When insomnia patients encounter a lack of sleep at night, they are more prone to hypersomnia during the day. During hypersomnia, the patient loses track of their daily duties, and their social and work life gets disrupted drastically.
This condition can either be its own condition or fall under the category of primary insomnia. Or it can be a result of another health condition, making it a part of secondary insomnia. If you are facing symptoms of hypersomnia, it is best to look for a doctor or book a telehealth appointment to make your life easier.
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