Hypersomnia is a disease characterized by excessive sleep. People with the disease often have episodes when faced with too much sleep. A person suffering from the disease can sleep while doing any activity. For example, the person may fall asleep while talking, eating, or working. This disease is very dangerous as someone can even fall asleep while driving a vehicle. This puts the life of the driver and other motorists at risk. Despite all the time spent sleeping, the person usually wakes up tired as if they had not rested at all.
Hypersomnia has been found to begin in adolescence and early adulthood. Symptoms of the disease include; anxiety, irritability, slow thinking, lack of energy, memory loss and overacting among other symptoms. The disease is usually the result of many factors, these could include;
• Brain injury, head injury, or head tumor
• Depression
• Alcohol and other substance abuse
• Taking medication for illnesses such as depression and anxiety
• Being overweight
• Suffer from diseases such as multiple sclerosis or epilepsy
Hypersomnia causes weight gain because the person uses minimal energy to burn fat and their metabolism rates are reduced. Some people who suffer from recurrent hypersomnia are known to overeat. This, combined with a lack of exercise, makes them overweight, which further triggers the problem of sleeping too much. Therefore, it is necessary for a person suffering from the disease to ensure that they dedicate a minimum of thirty minutes per day to exercise. This will help increase your metabolism rate and will also help burn fat to reduce weight.
The disease is usually treated with prescription medications. Medications are usually prescribed after a person has shown symptoms for a period of a month or more. The doctor will prescribe the medication and at the same time try to address the underlying causes. However, one also needs to take control of their eating habits. They need to eat healthier foods that do not cause the body to gain weight. They also need to eat the amounts that the body requires. They should also establish a regular sleep routine so their bodies know when it’s time to sleep and when to wake up. These changes will help ensure that you get fewer hours of sleep and have time to participate in daily activities. Exercises, healthy eating and also regular sleeping patterns will help to solve the problem of inactivity and thus help in weight loss.