Can you sleep too much?
By Andrea Markowitz
You’ve probably heard of insomnia — the inability to sleep. But did you know that some people have difficulty staying awake?
Hypersomniacs experience excessive sleepiness. Klein-Levin Syndrome, a recurrent form of hypersomnia, is characterized by unpredictable sleeping episodes that can continue through the day and night for up to several weeks. The excessive sleepiness may be accompanied by binge eating and hypersexuality, plus feeling spacey, confused, disoriented, lethargic, apathetic and childlike. This form of hypersomnia usually appears in adolescents.
Head injuries
Another type of hypersomnia results from head injuries and is usually accompanied by headaches, difficulty concentrating and memory impairment. The excessive sleepiness typically begins immediately after the injury, but in some cases doesn’t manifest for six to 18 months.
“Idiopathic” hypersomnia refers to excessive daytime sleepiness that has no known cause.
Some people naturally need 10 or more hours of sleep to feel rested. This isn’t considered a problem unless it interferes with their daily plans. Other individuals feel rested after fewer than eight hours of sleep. It all depends on your genetic makeup.
