November 7, 2008, Newsletter Issue #196: The Three Kinds of Hypersomnia
Tip of the Week
There are three types of hypersomnia: Recurrent Hypersomnia, Idiopathic Hypersomnia and Posttraumatic Hypersomnia. Here is the difference between the three, courtesy of the World Sleep Foundation:
Recurrent Hypersomnia:
Sufferers have repeated extreme sleepiness and big sleep requirements. They've been known to sleep as much as 16 to 20 hours a day.
Idiopathic Hypersomnia:
Sufferers complain of excessive sleepiness and prolonged sleep at night. The difference between this disorder from normal long sleepers and narcoleptics is these individuals suffer numerous episodes of non-REM sleep that can last for up to two hours. That is why this disorder is sometimes called non-REM narcolepsy. However, it is different from narcolepsy in that idiopathic hypersomnia does not involve suddenly falling asleep or losing muscle control associated with strong emotions as in narcolepsy.
Posttraumatic Hypersomnia:
Excessive sleepiness that develops as the result of physical injury or disease in the central nervous system. For example, a brain injury, neurosurgery, infection, or spinal cord injury can cause this. Typcially, this type of hypersomnia usually goes away over weeks or months.
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