Idiopathic hypersomnia is a class of serious sleep disorders in which the sufferer can fall asleep at any time. Most people with this illness complain of excessive sleepiness for at least one month and experience prolonged sleep episodes or daytime sleep episodes that occur almost daily. These episodes can be embarrassing and even hazardous if it occurs when driving or working. However, there are treatments available. In this article, we’ll discuss the symptoms of hypersomnia and how to cope with the condition.

Patients suffering from hypersomnia often lose the ability to function in family, social and occupational settings. The condition most commonly impacts teenagers, young adults and people who are overweight. This can exacerbate their weight problems, as their excessive sleep patterns means that they will use less energy. In addition to excessive sleepiness and long nighttime sleeping, symptoms include irritability, mild depression and difficulty concentrating.

For this reason, people with hypersomnia should be cautious when driving or operating machinery. Kleine-Levin syndrome is a form of hypersomnia that features slightly different symptoms. Sufferers may sleep for eighteen or more hours a day and are irritable, uninhibited, and make indiscriminate sexual advances. People with Kleine-Levin syndrome often eat uncontrollably and rapidly gain weight. However, this form of recurrent hypersomnia is very rare.

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