Idiopathic hypersomnia is a rare sleep disorder that can be of 2 types:
- Idiopathic hypersomnia of prolonged sleep, where the person can sleep more than 24 hours in a row;
- Idiopathic hypersomnia without prolonged sleep, where the person sleeps on average 10 hours of sleep followed, but needs several small naps throughout the day to feel invigorated, but can still feel tired and sleepy all the time.
Hypersomnia has no cure but has control, it is necessary to go to the specialist sleep doctor, to make the appropriate treatment, which may include the use of medicines and adopt strategies to schedule a good night's sleep.
Main symptoms of idiopathic hypersomnia
Idiopathic hypersomnia manifests itself through symptoms such as:
- Difficulty waking up, not hearing the alarm;
- Need to sleep on average 10 hours a night and need several naps during the day, or sleep more than 24 hours in a row;
- Tiredness and intense fatigue throughout the day;
- Exhaustion;
- Need to take naps throughout the day;
- Disorientation and lack of attention;
- Loss of concentration and memory that affects work and learning;
- Yawning constantly throughout the day;
- Irritability.
For diagnosis, the symptoms must be present for more than 3 months. It is necessary to go to the sleep specialist and perform tests to confirm this change, such as polysomnography, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Other tests, such as blood tests, may be required to evaluate whether there can be other diseases, such as anemia, for example.
What Causes Idiopathic Hypersomnia
The causes of idiopathic hypersomnia are not fully understood, but it is believed that a substance that acts at the brain level is among the causes of this disorder.
Excessive sleep can also occur in case of sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and use of anxiolytic medications, antidepressants or mood stabilizers, which have as their main side effect excessive drowsiness. Thus, eliminating all these hypotheses is the first step in whether idiopathic hypersomnia really is.
What are the consequences
Hypersomnia greatly impairs a person's quality of life because performance at school and job profitability are compromised due to lack of concentration, memory lapses, reduced ability to plan, and decreased attention and focus. Coordination and agility are also diminished, which impairs driving ability. And in addition, family and social relationships are also affected by the need for frequent sleeping, or simply by not being able to wake up in time for commitments.
How to treat idiopathic hypersomnia
Treatment for hypersomnia should be done with the use of stimulant medicines, such as Modafinil, Methylphenidate or Pemoline, for example, always recommended by your doctor. The main effect of these medications is to decrease sleep time, increasing the time that the person stays awake, so that the person can feel more disposed during the day, having less drowsiness, in addition there should be a significant improvement of mood and decrease of irritability.
In addition, to live with hypersomnia is necessary to adopt some strategies like using several alarm clocks to wake up and always schedule a good night's sleep.
