Sleepy in daytime? Here are the possible reasons

Sleep is also considered the nutrition of our brain. Just as food is essential for our body to work, sleep is also vital for our brain to work correctly. Sound asleep at night is necessary. It is as such so that we do not feel sleepy in the daytime.

We feel we have a feeling of sleepiness during the daytime due to various reasons, including sleeping disorders caused by certain medicines. The medicines may include medications for depression and reducing stress levels, sleep apnea, and insomnia. These are certain diseases affecting the brain and causing excessive sleep.

Most people with night shift work, adolescents, and aged people feel sleepy in the daytime.

Excessive sleep is observed mainly in drivers. While working the whole day, it is observed that most of the time, drivers may drop their heads and doze off to sleep while driving, and an accident might occur. It is found that most two-wheelers are crashed on a highway road by truck drivers just because truck driver was feeling sleepy in the daytime.  

• Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation is probably the first cause of feeling sleepy in the daytime. If a person sleeps continuously for six to seven hours a day and wakes up a bit earlier than usual, he is said to be sleep-deprived for a single day. Hence, he needs excessive sleep for the rest of the day to fulfill the requirements to nourish the brain. 

• Medication and Drug effects

Excessive sleep is a common cause of the drugs and medicines prescribed. We do not have proof of which chemical leads to excessive sleep. That is why we say that the entire pharmacologic agents lead to excessive sleepiness, especially when we feel sleepy in the daytime. 

• Increased Weight

It is observed that obese people need excessive sleep as well as they feel sleepy in the daytime. Obesity may change metabolism. A change in metabolism changes the sleep and wake-up routine. It may also bring a difference in the quality of sleep.

• Failure to prioritize sleep

It is all about priorities that matter. Watching a late-night series, partying late at night, getting up early for a gym, or some other work shows that sleep hardly matters. The next day we need to complete the sleep either by daytime or short naps as we may feel sleepy in the daytime. 

Excessive sleep may spoil our entire day and night schedule. This problem shall accumulate over a long time, known as insufficient sleep. It is also considered one of the well-known reasons for excessive sleep.

• Insomnia

Insomnia is a disease in which the person either sleeps a lot or does not go to sleep due to certain drugs or diseases affecting the brain. The person who has insomnia feels sleepy in the daytime as well as is struck by excessive sleep. 

• Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea is a breathing pause at night causing a disturbance. Sleep Apnea causes disturbed sleep, which leads to feeling sleepy in the daytime. Sleep Apnea can be a cause of disturbed sleep in adults more than 20%.

• Restless Leg Syndrome

An unusual leg movement causes restless leg condition, particularly to moving one’s extremities. It is a risk factor for disrupting the total sleep time and quality of sleep. This symptom is the reason behind being sleepy in the daytime.

• Poor quality sleep

Quantity of sleep does not mean sleeping for exact hours. It means quality sleep. People who may get disturbed sleep also affect the number of hours, leading to insufficient sleep. It may lead to drowsiness the entire day, leading to being sleepy in the daytime.

• Pain

 Any pain in the body, for example, pain due to arthritis, can lead to a night of disturbed sleep and spoiling the other day by being sleepy in the daytime.

• Frequent Nighttime Urination

Waking up from the bed frequently for urination is called nocturia. It may be due to a particular disease or excess water intake causing disturbed sleep. We observe it in adults also. This reason leads to tiredness, frustration, and anxiety leading to being sleepy in the daytime.


Also Read: Kidney Stone Ayurveda-The Only Care Tips You Need to Know

EXCESSIVE SLEEP

Excessive sleep is the feeling of being tired and exhausted the entire day. Excessive sleep interferes with our work also, especially with people working at the office, school schoolchildren and excessive sleep even hampers your relations too. To remove this problem of excessive sleep, we need to know the exact cause. Reasons for excessive sleeping include the following:

1. Depression

Noticeable change in sleeping patterns is the first symptom of early depression. Depression may be due to several other causes, but sleep is important for excessive sleep. It may be due to certain traumas or other hectic issues related to our life. 

1. Medication side effects

Some medications create drowsiness leading to excessive sleep. Medications that include excessive sleep are

1. Medications treating high blood pressure
2. Medications that treat nasal blockages
3. Medications that treat nausea and vomiting
4. Epilepsy medications
5. Antipsychotics
6. Aging

We observe that it is generally the aged people who are affected by excessive sleep. They are mostly found in bed sleeping almost the whole day and get a very disturbed sleep at night as they sleep the whole day idle. Thus, the age factor contributes to the reasons for excessive sleeping.

3. Idiopathic Hypersomnia

If you cannot find a proper cause of excessive sleep, it may be idiopathic Hypersomnia. In this disease, the person suffers from waking up from bed despite several alarms and wake-up calls. It causes excessive sleep no matter whether the person may be sleeping for hours before some time. 

4. Autonomic Dysfunctions

Autonomic Dysfunctions are caused by some issues related to the nervous system. Some sleep disorders include obstructive sleep apnea, hypoventilation syndrome, and cardiovascular and respiratory control. It is listed as one of the reasons for excessive sleeping. 

-Drug and alcohol

Drinking alcohol may create blockages for sleep and restores itself, leading to feeling sleepy in the daytime. By consuming alcohol, you get a poor quality of sleep. Drugs and alcohol are also featured as reasons for excessive sleeping.

5. Mental Well Being 

An excellent mental condition is essential for a night of proper sleep. If we suffer from anxiety or depression, we feel sleepy in the daytime. Due to inadequate sleep at night, we have issues related to excessive daytime sleepiness disorders, which are also encountered as reasons for excessive sleeping.

6. Time Zone

Jet lag is an example type of circadian rhythm sleep disorder. It is a problem created by a change in different time zones. When we change the time zones, our body is not easily adapted to the particular zone. It is also pointed out as one of the reasons for excessive sleeping.

7. Environmental Factors

Uncomfortable mattresses and pillow lights may prove to have disturbed sleep. It would be best if you had all the perfect conditions in the environment for a sound sleep. If not fulfilled, it may lead to being sleepy in the daytime. It is also counted as another reason for excessive sleeping.

8. Physical Injuries 

Physical problems and mental disorders such as trauma, tumor or any other traumatic injuries in the brain, fatigue, or any other complaints in the brain lead to other leading reasons for excessive sleeping 

9. Intake of caffeine

Intake of caffeine is one of the most common reasons for excessive sleeping. Caffeine blocks the brain nerves from absorbing adenosine. Adenosine is a substance that promotes sleep. Lack of adenosine leads to excessive sleep. Caffeine has a short span of three to five years, yet its effect on our body stays for a long time.

10. Insufficient sleep due to change

Insufficient sleep might be because of extra workload or irregular sleeping schedule due to some guests, during vacations, attending family get-together functions. Insufficient sleep may be one of the biggest reasons for being sleepy in the daytime. It is one of the biggest reasons for excessive sleeping.

11. Hypersomnia

Hypersomnia is a clinical term used for people with excessive sleep. They can sleep anywhere at any time. You feel a bit awkward and embarrassed too. Hypersomnia is generally caused to drivers who do not need sleep hygiene or a sleeping schedule. They can drop their head anytime, making them sleepy in the daytime as they are always on driving duty. 

12. Lifestyle and sleep

You need to exercise and have a proper diet for sleep. Exercise correctly and work out heavily so that you can concentrate on your work ideally with focused attention and have a healthy sleep; it reduces feeling sleepy in the daytime. Lack of it may lead to excessive sleep causes.

13. Reduced bedroom distractions

Try to avoid keeping any electronic items in your bedroom. Electronic items like mobile phones and televisions might distract your sleep, causing excessive sleep, and you can feel sleepy in the daytime. This sort of distraction may also be featured as the most common reason for excessive sleeping among all the other reasons for excessive sleeping.

CONCLUSION

Distractions, medications, age, etc., can lead to excessive sleep causes. We can treat these sleeping disorders in several ways, including sleep in the daytime. Once we know the reasons for excessive Sleeping, we will get the proper solution.

Authored By: Poorvi Chhajer

About the Author: Poorvi is a psychology graduate with a knack for writing and a belief in Ayurveda.