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Hypersomnia - Hypersomnia Symptom, Cause, Treatment
Hyperthermia is characterized by an unchanged (normothermic) setting of the thermoregulatory center in conjunction with an uncontrolled increase in body temperature that exceeds the body's ability to lose heat. Hypersomnia means excessive sleepiness. There are many different causes, the most common in our society being inadequate sleep. This may be due to shift work, family demands (such as a new baby), study or social life. Other causes include sleep disorders, medication and medical and psychiatric illnesses. Hypersomnia can be helped or cured with a few adjustments to lifestyle habits.
Symptoms of Hypersomnia
Depending on the cause, the symptoms of hypersomnia may include:
- Feeling unusually tired all the time.
- The need for daytime naps.
- Feeling drowsy, despite sleeping and napping.
- Difficulty thinking and making decisions: the mind feels 'foggy'.
- Apathy.
- Memory or concentration difficulties.
- An increased risk of accidents, especially motor vehicle accidents.
Causes of Hypersomnia
Excessive daytime sleepiness can be caused by a wide range of events and conditions, including:
- Insufficient or inadequate sleep - long working hours and overtime can be tolerated for months or years before the symptoms of sleepiness take effect. Teenagers may stay out until the early hours of the morning on weekends and be tired during the week.
- Environmental factors - broken sleep can be caused by a variety of things, such as a snoring partner, a baby that wakes, noisy neighbours, heat, cold or sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress.
- Shift work - It is very difficult to get good sleep while working shift work, especially night shift. As well as the problem of trying to sleep, there is also the effect of being out of synchronisation with the body’s internal clock (the circadian rhythm).
- Mental states - anxiety can keep a person awake at night, which makes them prone to sleepiness during the day. Depression saps energy.
- Medications - such as alcohol, caffeinated drinks, tranquillisers, sleeping pills and antihistamines can disrupt sleeping patterns.
- Medical conditions - like hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland), oesophageal reflux, nocturnal asthma and chronic painful conditions.
- Changes to time zone - such as jet lag or working night shift. Sleep is regulated by an internal biological clock that responds to light.
- Sleep disorders - such as sleep apnoea, restless legs syndrome, sleep walking, narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia and insomnia.
Treatment of Hypersomnia
Treatment for hyposomnia is based upon the symptoms a person has. Some treatment of Hypersomnia are includes:
- Many people with hypersomnia can be helped or cured with a few adjustments to lifestyle habits.
- Sleep disorders need to be diagnosed and treated at a sleep disorders clinic.
- Drug-induced hyperthermia may be caused by monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, and amphetamines and by the illicit use of phencyclidine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), or cocaine.
- Other drugs used to treat hypersomnia include clonidine, levodopa, bromocriptine, antidepressants, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors.
- A machine that delivers a continuous flow of air into the nostrils is hooked up to the mask. The pressure from air flowing into the nostrils helps keep the airways open.
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