Getting too little sleep is bad for your health. But getting too much—as wonderful as it may sound to some—can be problematic too.
Getting too little sleep is bad for your health, but getting too much can be problematic. WSJ's Melinda Beck and Emory University sleep researcher Dr. David Rye have details on Lunch Break. Photo: Courtesy of Anna Sumner.
The powerful need to nap during the day can be a warning sign of many health issues, from diabetes to depression, low thyroid or obstructive sleep apnea. When doctors rule out such explanations, it is called "primary hypersomnia," an umbrella term for several conditions that make sufferers crave sleep, despite getting 70 hours or more per week. One of the best known is narcolepsy, a neurological disorder that causes sudden, irresistible bouts of daytime dozing. Other forms aren't well understood.
Recently, researchers at Emory University in Atlanta have begun to unravel the mystery of this often-debilitating condition. They've found that some sufferers have a substance in their cerebrospinal fluid that acts like a natural sleeping pill. They think as many as 1 in 800 Americans may have the substance and that it may be a factor in other conditions that involve excessive drowsiness.
Many people with hypersomnia go undiagnosed, experts say. The excessive sleep urges often begin in late adolescence, and are easy to confuse with typical teenage sleep issues. For more details visit [Link]
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