Parasomnia: What is Excessive Daytime Sleepiness?
It’s fairly normal for most people to hit a daytime crash at some point during the work day, but for some, these bouts with sleepiness in the middle of your day can be more serious. Some people find that they become so tired that they lose entire stretches of time right in the middle of the day. Has this ever happened to you? If so, then you could be experiencing a type of parasomnia. The next few paragraphs have been written to inform you about types of parasomnia that can cause you to be tired through the day.
Intense Nightmares
Many people who experience forms of parasomnia will report nightmares, and some of these may even extend themselves into waking moments. When a person has nightmares, they will often wake up in the middle of the night and find a great deal of trouble falling back asleep. This can cause you to stay up to face the day without the appropriate amount of rest that you need to perform your daily tasks. This can also affect a relationship to a person close to you.
Sleepwalking
This far from benign source of sleep disturbance can cause people to put themselves or others in danger. When a person is in the middle of a sleepwalk, they can find themselve waking up outside of their home or while driving, which can obviously be a very frightening experience. The old stories of avoiding waking up people with this disorder have been proven to be false in that allowing a person with this particular disorder could put them and others at greater risk than harm, but it’s important to note that it’s possible that they might react with violence during these situations.
Behavioral Outbursts During Sleep
Though not as dangerous as sleepwalking entirely, some people are prone to vocal or behavioral outbursts during sleep times. These can result in danger to others around them as they might flair their limbs around causing injury to others, or knocking things over and bumping into objects that could cause injury. While certainly not the most polite to some, this is another situation where it might be better in the long run to simply wake the individual before they can cause anymore disturbance or injury to themselves and others.
What Can Be Done
For a small number of people, finding a good sleep regimen can be enough to help cut back on these episodes. It may also be important to take a look at what kind of habits or substances are being put in to the body. Every person is different, and some drugs can have side effects that produce unpredictable results. Knowing your body, and how things affect you can save you a good deal of trouble.
When you struggle with sleeping issues or think you might have a problem with insomnia, talking to your doctor should always be your first step. It might seem like a normal condition to have, and sometimes it can be, but sleep deprivation may also have lasting effects on your health and wellbeing.
