Idiopathic Hypersomnia

Could Idiopathic Hypersomnia be the reason you are struggling with sleep?

One of the things that makes sleep issues such as Idiopathic hypersomnia such a challenge is that there can be so many causes that affect any age group, from lifestyle to illness, mental health issues and more. Not only that, but if you have suffered from sleep problems, you know that it can be challenging to get the help you need. It can be difficult for friends and family to understand how serious a problem can be, never mind isolating the cause.

If you are struggling with sleep issues but don’t know what the problem is, this sleep disorder is a possibility. It is one of the rarer sleep afflictions in Australia, with somewhere between .005% and .3% of the population suffering from it. Exact numbers are complex to establish simply because Idiopathic hypersomnia symptoms can often be attributed to other conditions. However, knowing what it is and what it does can be helpful if you do have sleep issues.

What is Idiopathic hypersomnia?

One of the rarer sleep disorders, Idiopathic hypersomnia symptoms consist of excessive sleep, especially during the day. It can have a dramatic impact on your life, disrupting your ability to work and form social relationships and can even become a barrier to driving as the condition worsens.

Idiopathic hypersomnia is considered uncommon, but with just 1 in 6 cases resulting in remission, it is a chronic issue for anyone who suffers from it. As the condition develops, sufferers may sleep as much as 16 hours daily, impacting everything they do.

How does this sleep disorder develop?

Unlike many sleep disorders, the causes of Idiopathic hypersomnia remain primarily unknown. However, because many who develop the condition have relatives who also have Idiopathic hypersomnia symptoms, some researchers believe it to be a genetic issue.

Nevertheless, other theories involve nervous system dysfunction, which results from an autoimmune response to a viral infection or issues with nerve cells. Only continued research will reveal the correct answer.

How does Idiopathic hypersomnia affect you?

Idiopathic hypersomnia impacts how the brain regulates sleep patterns, so if you are affected by it, you will need to sleep during the day. As the condition progresses, the amount of additional sleep needed will grow, with some sufferers sleeping more than sixteen hours daily.

What are some of the symptoms?

The key part of Idiopathic hypersomnia symptoms is the excessive need for sleep. The most obvious manifestation of this is a need to sleep more frequently during the day. However, you will still feel tired and lacking energy despite taking long naps during the day, often for over an hour at a time. No matter how much you sleep, you never get that refreshed feeling after you wake up from a quality sleep period.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

But it is not just the time you spend sleeping that impacts you. Unlike some sleep disorders, some Idiopathic hypersomnia symptoms change your focus, too. You constantly feel tired and think about sleeping, but most of the time, you are awake. After some time with Idiopathic hypersomnia, you may even begin to crave sleep like a drug and do so almost from the moment you wake up.

This can leave you feeling disoriented and lead to issues with memory loss and an inability to focus on what you are doing, sometimes called sleep drunkenness. You may find yourself operating on autopilot, eating meals and so on, but then be unable to remember doing them.

How is Idiopathic hypersomnia diagnosed?

Sleep disorders such as these are relatively rare and notoriously difficult to diagnose. If you think you need treatment for Idiopathic hypersomnia, you first need to analyse whether you have it or some other form of sleep problem.

With several other conditions causing a need for sleep during the day, Idiopathic hypersomnia is challenging to isolate as a cause of sleep issues. To begin with, as with most issues around sleep, a physician will ask you to maintain a sleep diary that tracks not just when you sleep but the quality of sleep and how you feel afterwards. A comprehensive sleep study, such as a polysomnography, may be requested to dig deeper into your sleeping ailment.

These specialists will also examine your lifestyle and medical history, among other factors. Their goal is to eliminate various common causes of daytime sleepiness until they are left with the most likely diagnosis. This is known as a diagnosis of exclusion and can be an extremely long process. Some sufferers can spend years looking for answers.

The final diagnosis of Idiopathic hypersomnia comes when other options have been eliminated after extensive data collection about your specific symptoms.

What types of Idiopathic hypersomnia treatments are there?

As with quite a few rarer sleeping disorders, there is no specific treatment that is known to be ultimately successful. There have been many options tried. These include:

• Amphetamines
• Methylphenidate
• Anti-depressants

However, while these can offer some relief for the condition, you may see that reduction over time, needing greater dosages to get the same effect until you need more medication than is safe to see a change.

Research is ongoing, though, and by getting closer to understanding the causes of the condition, better and more effective Idiopathic hypersomnia treatments are hopefully not too far away. In the meantime, combining one or more medicines and lifestyle changes can help manage the problem and improve the quality of life.

Conclusion

If you believe you are suffering from symptoms, seeing your GP as soon as possible is essential. Proper care can dramatically improve your quality of life, but that requires accurate diagnosis and the application of appropriate Idiopathic hypersomnia treatment.

With the condition worsening over time and having such an influence over daily life, correct diagnosis and treatments are difficult but essential. Suppose you experience sleeping problems of this nature. In that case, you should seek medical help and talk to your family doctor about this affliction so you can take measures that will help you deal with Idiopathic hypersomnia in the best way possible.