What is the reason for feeling sleepy?
And what diseases do they cause?
What is the difference between sleep and sleepiness?
What is the difference between drowsiness and fatigue?
What is sleepiness and what is the reason for feeling it?
Drowsiness is the strong feeling of wanting to sleep, or the feeling a person experiences before going to sleep.
Hence, sleepiness is a mechanism by which the body tells a person that he needs to sleep, but it may be an indication of certain diseases or conditions.
What is the difference between sleep, sleepiness and fatigue?
Drowsiness is the result of a lack of sleep, and is a separate state between sleep and wakefulness, in which a person's attention and alertness are reduced.
Everyone goes into a drowsy state on their way to sleep.
Fatigue differs from sleepiness.
Sleepiness is the feeling of needing sleep, and fatigue is a lack of energy and motivation, according to the National Library of Medicine in the United States.
Causes of daytime sleepiness
Excessive daytime sleepiness is not a disease in itself, but rather a symptom caused by an underlying problem. The following are the most prominent causes of daytime sleepiness:
Lack of sleep at night.
Insomnia.
Not getting enough deep sleep.
Pain. Any disease that causes pain, including arthritis, fibromyalgia, or herniated discs, can complicate sleep and make a person vulnerable to drowsiness.
Frequent nocturia, where a person has to get out of bed during the night to urinate.
Medications. Drugs, especially sedatives, can make a person feel drowsy and disoriented during the day.
Over-the-counter antidepressants, pain medications, and antihistamines are just a few of the other types of medications that can cause drowsiness.
There are diseases that cause drowsiness, which we will discuss in the next paragraph.
Diseases that cause drowsiness
Obstructive sleep apnea, also known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a breathing disorder characterized by short pauses in breathing during the night.
It causes intermittent sleep that usually causes daytime sleepiness and may affect up to 20% of adults, according to the US Sleep Foundation.
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) This condition causes a strong sensation of needing to move the extremities, especially the legs, and has a known risk of disrupting the total sleep time and quality.
Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders, in which a person's sleep schedule is inconsistent with the day-night cycle, and then his sleep is short and dispersed.
Examples include jet lag and sleep problems caused by shift or shift work.
Mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder are associated with sleep problems that may lead to episodes of excessive sleepiness.
Narcolepsy is a neurological condition in which the brain cannot properly regulate the sleep-wake cycle.
It affects about one in every 2,000 people and makes them prone to falling asleep quickly, including at inappropriate times.
Dementia and Parkinson's disease are linked to sleep difficulties and daytime sleepiness.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often causes sleep problems.
Brain tumors or brain lesions.
Neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affect millions of children and adults.
Diabetes.
Hypothyroidism.
Anemia.
An imbalance of electrolytes (a group of salts and minerals) in the blood.
Medication to treat drowsiness
There are several approaches to dealing with persistent sleepiness, including:
If the insomnia is mild, doctors may suggest:
Go to bed and get up at the same time every day (even on holidays), according to the MSD Guidelines
Follow a specific bedtime routine.
Keep the bedroom quiet and dark.
Spend some time under bright light during the day.
Do regular exercises.
Avoid taking naps during the day (this makes it more difficult to fall asleep at night).
Limit your caffeine intake and avoid overeating before going to bed.
If these simple changes don't work:
In this case, the doctor may recommend prescription or over-the-counter medications (such as sleeping pills).
There are many types of sleeping pills, most of which are safe as long as the doctor helps choose the right type for the patient and alerts him to its side effects.
When is drowsiness dangerous?
Many people don't see a problem with being sleepy during the day or at different times of the day, but many professionals warn that it can be a source of accidents in and of itself.
Writer Anne Pregent says, in a report published by the French newspaper "Le Figaro", that although sleepiness may be normal when it occurs in the evening, when it is time to sleep, or even after a very short night, it may also become satisfactory.
And it quoted Dr. Marc Sabin, a pulmonologist in Purdue and president of the Sleep Apnea Alliance, as saying that this condition may occur daily and at any time, and it may occur during the practice of daily activities, and “therefore it is necessary to take it seriously and not take it lightly.” Because drowsiness can be a sign of diseases, and it may have serious consequences in itself, especially as it may increase the risk of road accidents or occupational accidents.
Drowsiness and road accidents
And the author stated that - according to road safety data - drowsiness is responsible for a third of fatal road accidents.
"Even before an accident happens, we must not neglect small incidents that are alerts, for example when we accidentally cross the white line, we miss the usual motorway exit," says Professor Damien L. ".
He adds that drivers who suffer from such accidents are almost 6 times more likely to be victims of drowsiness-related accidents.
sleep debt
One of the causes of sleepiness is what can be called “sleep debt”, as Prof. L. Erger explains, “We lack sleep when we sleep less than 6 hours per 24-hour period.” He added, “The percentage of adults in sleep debt is increasing and relates to all ages, as it is estimated today at 35% ".
There are many reasons for this, we live more and more away from our place of work, which forces us to leave early in the morning, and sleep is sacrificed due to the busyness between work, children and entertainment.
The writer added that what shortens our nights in particular are new technologies and social networks, as we stay connected to them all the time.
Pay off sleep debt
The author mentioned that there are solutions to reduce sleep debt, including:
Turn off the phone.
Take especially short naps during the day to try to get 7 hours of sleep per 24-hour period.
Can sleep in public transport.
Drowsiness after eating
Causes of drowsiness after eating include:
Digestion takes energy, which can make a person feel sleepy.
Eating too much fat and carbohydrates at a meal may increase the chances of feeling drowsy.
A person may have diabetes but not know it, so blood glucose rises quickly after eating and this may cause drowsiness.
Eat a heavy meal and in large quantity.
The effect of morning caffeine is gone, as caffeine usually lasts 3 to 5 hours after drinking your coffee.
Therefore, the reason you feel tired after lunch may be the timing of your morning cup of coffee, not what you ate.