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Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

What is it?
Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is the feeling of tiredness during daytime hours. Individuals affected by EDS may doze off with little or no warning in various situations: in conversation, reading or watching television, or even more seriously, while driving.

People who experience EDS suffer from short-term effects, such as losing concentration during important activities. Long-term consequences such as poor self-esteem from inability to predict when sleepiness will interfere in social situations, and poor job performance, can also occur.

What are the causes?
There are three principal causes of EDS: not getting enough hours of sleep, poor quality sleep, or a neurologic disorder. Insufficient time for sleep is the commonest sleep problem in our society. The average adult needs seven or eight continuous hours of sleep per day; teenagers need eight or nine on average. Poor quality sleep occurs in a variety of ways. Examples are when a person doesn’t get proper breathing during sleep (sleep apnea) and frequent movements interfering with sleep (restless legs).
Neurologic disorders causing EDS include narcolepsy, stroke, and head injury.

What are the signs and symptoms?
The main sign that an individual has EDS is an inability to stay awake or lapses in attention (which are actually micro-sleeps) in situations when the person wants to stay awake. People with excessive daytime sleepiness also show a lack of energy during periods of alertness.

How is it diagnosed?
EDS can be diagnosed after a routine physical examination and discussion with a physician. Tests can be administered to analyze whether a low blood count or abnormal thyroid hormone levels could be causing the EDS. Tests conducted at Sleepcare Diagnostics can determine whether EDS is caused by an underlying sleep disorder.

How is it treated?
Metabolic causes of EDS such as anemia or hypothyroidism can be treated with medication. If the EDS is caused by an underlying sleep disorder, it will be identified and treated at Sleepcare Diagnostics; follow-up at the center will be arranged to make certain the EDS problem has been eliminated or significantly reduced.

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