Hypersomnia is one of the many types of sleep disorders that can greatly affect a person’s life, especially when left undiagnosed and untreated. Hypersomnia is a sleep disorder that has symptoms that are somewhat opposite from symptoms of insomnia. In hypersomnia, people find it hard to sleep just the right amount during the night, and tend to sleep for overly long periods without feeling refreshed and well rested the next day. Aside from sleeping for overly long hours during the night, people suffering from hypersomnia also suffer from excessive and uncontrolled sleepiness during inappropriate times in the day.

Treating Hypersomnia

Before coming up with treatment plans or remedies for hypersomnia, it will be of great importance to correctly diagnose the problem. There will be a series of diagnostic tests and assessments done to know whether the patient is suffering from hypersomnia or other medical conditions. Once diagnosis of hypersomnia is already definite, treatment options and plans can now be done by the patient and the doctor.

Causes and Treatments for Hypersomnia

There are different treatments for hypersomnia according to the exact cause or causes of the sleep disorder. There are a lot of different factors that can possibly cause hypersomnia. If underlying medical condition/s is the root cause of the patient’s hypersomnia, the underlying medical condition will be first treated to improve and/or get rid of the hypersomnia problems.

1. Sleep apnea – sleep apnea can possibly lead to hypersomnia. If the underlying medical condition for the hypersomnia is sleep apnea, treatments for sleep apnea will be done to effectively treat hypersomnia. Sleep apnea is commonly managed through the use of CPAP or continuous positive airway pressure.
2. Medications – there are some medications that can cause excessive daytime drowsiness and/or the need for a person to sleep for overly long periods during the night. If the doctor finds out that the hypersomnia is caused by a certain medication, he or she will recommend to stop taking the medication and give you another medication with the same action, to get rid of hypersomnia.
3. Caffeine and Alcoholic Beverages – These substances can worsen symptoms of hypersomnia. Totally eliminating the consumption of caffeinated beverages, such as coffee, soda, and tea, and alcoholic beverages can help in improving and even totally eliminating symptoms of hypersomnia. Caffeine does not only cause and worsen hypersomnia, it can even cause insomnia, another type of sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulties in falling asleep and staying asleep.