Excessive sleeping | Is it Bad or good for health?

What is excessive sleeping or oversleeping?

The normal nighttime sleep from 7-9 hours cannot be considered as excessive sleeping for adults. Similarly, the children sleep hours change with their age and growth. However, in some cases we see the people sleeping beyond the normal sleep hours. Even some people cannot control their sleep while on work. After sufficient sleep during the night, they seem to be feeling sleepy during the daytime. You may have noticed people sleeping while traveling on a bus, train or airplane. Let us differentiate the condition of excessive sleeping from usual sleep.

5 Probable causes of excessive sleeping

There are different causes of excessive sleepiness during the daytime. However, the main reason behind the prolonged daytime sleep is deprivation during the night. The night is best for sleep. 6-8 hours quiet night sleep refreshes the body systems. The daytime or extended sleep is mostly due to lack of sleep during the night. The probable causes of excessive sleep are as under:-

1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is one of the major causes of sleep deprivation which results in excessive sleepiness during daytime. Obstructive sleep apnea causes a disturbance in sleep but the individual does not know about the condition. However, a roommate or spouse sleeping next to the bed can notice the condition. We will discuss sleep apnea in another post.

2. Sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivations may also lead to excessive sleeping. However, the individual can recover with rest. The repeated exposure to sleep deprivation can aggravate the condition followed by other symptoms like headache, nausea, lethargy, apathy, and fatigue.

3. Sedating medicines

Uses of sedating medicines also cause an increase in sleep. Even the patient sleeps more during the daytime. The sedative medicines prescribed by a doctor are given for a specific period. Continuous use of sedating drugs can cause other complications. So, it is recommended that the use of sedating medicines beyond medical advice should be avoided.

4. Certain medical and psychiatric conditions

Some particular medical and psychiatric conditions also cause excessive sleep. The patient sustaining concussion feels drowsiness during the daytime. Some of the Neurological conditions like Parkinsonism also lead to excessive daytime sleepiness. Psychiatric illness like depression and anxiety may lead to daytime sleep. The patients suffering from depression/anxiety either sleep too much or feel sleeplessness.

5. Unbalanced lifestyle

The smartphone has brought a change in the lifestyle of a common person. This change also affected the natural sleep of the people. The easy, uninterrupted and portable access to social media and other platforms has made the people too busy that they don’t care about the sleep and rest hours. Especially, the young generation has become the target of this access. Connecting with the mobile phone keeps the user awake unnecessarily during the night. This irregular sleep also causes excessive sleep during the daytime.

How to control excessive sleeping?

Once you know about the cause of excessive sleep during the daytime, you can easily manage it except medical and psychiatric conditions. The individual or his roommate/partner can understand the reason for excessive sleepiness. For any medical and psychiatric cause immediately consult the physician. However, for self-imposed causes like voluntary awaking during the night and use of sedative drugs can be controlled with motivation.

Sleep Disorders and Seizures

Connection between sleep disorders and seizures

The connection between sleep disorders and seizures is still unknown. The studies conducted in different regions and age groups showed the dissimilar results. Even the percentage of females and males suffered sleep loss due seizures varies in different researches. A detailed study carried out in Oman between 2011 and 2012, does not show the clear link between sleep disorders and seizures. During this study, 100 people with epilepsy were selected to find out the relation between seizures and sleep. Another study showed 10% adults and 20% children with epilepsy were found with obstructive sleep apnea which is known a serious sleep disorder. Moreover, 30% of the patients with drug-resistance epilepsy were found with obstructive sleep apnea.

Factors showing links between sleep disorders and seizures:

Obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of cardiovascular disorders. Moreover, OSA (Obstructive sleep apnea) also causes metabolic disorders. Although, the direct connection between sleep disorders and seizures is undefined; however, the complications caused by OSA may lead to sleep issues. The cardiovascular and metabolic disorders may increase the risk of seizures in already developed epileptic patients. Sleep deprivation and intermittent hypoxia caused by obstructive sleep apnea may also increase the frequency of seizures. The increased frequency of seizures also leads to sleep disorders.

Precautionary measures for the patients

The solid connection between sleep disorders and seizures is unknown. Whether there is no specific study to link the sleep disorders and fits or I could not find the reasonable material. However, the above mentioned possibilities prove that increased frequency of seizures can cause sleep problems in the patients. Usually, the epileptic patients suffer a lot due to irregular fits. The sleep deprivation and fragmentation may further aggravate the condition of the patients. Therefore, it is recommended that the epileptic patients should be given regular medication to prevent the seizures. It will helpful for the patients to improve his/her sleep.

How does snoring while awake impair your health?

Although it looks strange and unbelievable, it is a fact that some people have been found snoring while awake. The ratio of the snoring while awake is negligible as compared to the snoring during sleep. It is a general concept that the people only snore during sleep. Therefore, everyone knows the causes and adverse effects of snoring during sleep on the physical and mental health. Even, if there is no health risk, it looks a personality issue when you snore in public. The situation may be insulting and embarrassing for you as well. Here we are concerned with the topic of snoring while awake; therefore, we try to understand its causes and management.

The probable causes of snoring while awake

The phenomenon of snoring is the same in both the cases (sleep and awake). The obstruction of the airway causes vibration in the throat muscles which further produce snoring. If you see a case of snoring while asleep, it is not necessary that he/she might snore while awake. But, the every individual snoring while awake will also be suffering from snoring while asleep. The people who snore while awake have been found with any of the following health problems.

Allergies and infection:

Allergies and infection of upper respiratory tract cause snores. Sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, and infection of throat muscles and nasal cavity cause inflammation of the muscles. The patient feels difficulty in breathing which also produces snoring sound. The presence of secretions in the nostrils and air passage also causes vibrating sound during inhalation and exhalation. Usually, it happens during sleep; however, some people have been found snoring while awake as well.

Deviated Nasal septum

The snoring during awake has also been noted in some of the deviated nasal septum cases. When you inhale the air forcefully due to DNS issue, it produces snoring sound. Even, the patients snore unavoidably while awake.

Sleep apnea

Along with many other symptoms, the sleep apnea also causes difficulty in breathing. The snoring sound is observed in the patients because of a pause in breathing in and breathing out. The patient takes a long gasp of breath after the pause which may generate snoring sound.

How to prevent the problem of snoring while awake?

As compared to snoring while sleep, the management of snoring while awake is easy. The causes of developing this issue are always known; however, many people are unaware of the cause. Here are some useful tips that can help you to avoid snoring while awake problem.

Ø                  Usually, the secretions produced in the throat and airway due to URTI (upper respiratory tract infection). You can resolve the issue by treatment and care. Your physician can recommend proper medication to localize the infection. Once the infection is controlled, the snoring issue will also subside.

Ø                  The allergies also produce secretions and inflammation in throat and nostrils. The control of allergies is bit difficult because of unknown and unspecified origin. However, you can control the sneezing and snore by symptomatic treatment. The consultation by a physician is always mandatory.

Ø                  The DNS (deviated nasal septum) is a treatable issue. The treatment of DNS is surgical. So, you can get rid of snoring within few days.

Ø                  The sleep apnea leaves adverse effects on your physical and mental health. The snoring is one of the signs of this sleep disorder issue. Once the sleep apnea has been diagnosed, it must be cured on the priority basis.