Try an Unexpected Technique a Sleep Doctor Swears By
What Is Sleep Hygiene, Exactly?
It could be excessive daytime sleepiness.
People will have to fight to stay awake and experience inappropriate sleep during periods of wakefulness.
Who does excessive daytime sleepiness primarily affect?
There are two different types of EDS: primary and secondary.
Some examples of primary EDS disorders include narcolepsy andKleine-Levin syndrome(sometimes called sleeping beauty syndrome).
board-certified pediatric neurologist with interest in sleep medicine, and director of pediatric neurology atGeisinger Medical CenterPennsylvania
Everything is a medical cause because something is biologically causing the need to sleep, she explains.
Some secondary causes of EDS include the following, per AAFP:
Its important not to normalize sleepiness.
Its not normal, its just common.
Anne Marie Morse, DO
How is it different from simply being tired?
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EDS can also affect your life beyond bouts of tiredness.
EDS invades all aspects of life, says Dr. Morse.
board-certified pediatric neurologist with interest in sleep medicine, and director of pediatric neurology atGeisinger Medical CenterPennsylvania
You may be more irritable, depressed, or anxious.
Driving with EDS has the same reaction-time risk and legal consequences as driving under the influence of alcohol.
If you wouldnt let your friend leave buzzed, dont let your friend leave tired, she adds.
Likewise, EDS can also take a toll on your health.
This information can help your doctor and sleep specialists determine the root cause of your EDS.
Sleep and wakefulness are intimately connected, says Dr. Morse.
General medicine often dismisses sleep, and sleep medicine often dismisses when youre awake.
How EDS is then treated will depend on whats causing it, says Dr. Morse.
It is really a unique treatment for everyone.
Its a call to action if a person is experiencing sleepiness chronically or episodically.
Have a conversation with your doctor, says Dr. Morse.
Its important not to normalize sleepiness.
Its not normal, its just common.
Dont give a shot to do it yourself, she says.
EDS has immediate and long-term effects if not treated.
reviewed byAngela Holliday-Bell, MD
Gandhi, Kriti D., et al.
Excessive daytime sleepiness.Mayo Clinic Proceedings, vol.
5, May 2021, pp.
12881301, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2020.08.033.
Bollu, Pradeep C et al.
115,1 (2018): 85-91.
24, 19 Dec. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1161/jaha.122.030568.
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