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How often do you fall asleep during work? Does it happen more often than you would like to acknowledge? If such is the case, finding the ways to deal with excessive daytime sleepiness can actually help in countering the problems for the better.
If you have been encountering drowsiness accompanied by excess sleepiness, chances are that your body is either running on two hours of sleep or there is something very serious going around.
By the end of this article, you will have a clear idea about the ways that can help combat the problems associated with the excessive daytime sleepiness.
What is Excessive Daytime Sleepiness?
We all have those days where all we want is to not leave the bed and that is normal.
The problem arises when the condition is persistent and you are encountering signs of extreme fatigue and constant needs of naps during the day. This is what we term as Excessive daytime sleepiness.
If you are facing a problem in keeping yourself awake during the day or even struggling to pull yourself out of the bed after a night’s sleep, chances are that you are suffering from this condition.
While this is most definitely something that could be a life threatening condition, it can often hinder with your general quality of life and lessen your productivity through the day.
Alternatively, if the condition is caused because of any of the underlying health condition, chances are that you are going to end up suffering with this problem and can even have negative impacts on your health.
This is the last thing that you want to witness or experience.
What conditions can cause excessive daytime sleepiness?
When it comes to pointing out one reason for excessive daytime sleepiness, there isn’t just one.
For the most part, there are multiple reasons behind this condition which you need to keep account of.
It is very important that you seek immediate doctor’s advice if the symptoms are very persistent and lasts for weeks at end.
It is best suggested that you look through the possible causes which can further help you get a better outlook on the kind of precautions and treatment options you can opt for.
Some of the most common causes behind excessive daytime sleepiness include:
Restless leg syndrome
This is a type of disorder which is often characterized by a weird and unpleasant feeling around the limbs which provoke you to move them constantly every 20 to 30 seconds through the night.
Apart from the limbs, this condition can often end up affecting other parts of the body as well.
Owing to the fact that one experiences such a restless night, the same ends up disrupting one’s normal sleep cycle which is one of the primary reasons why you could be experiencing the drowsiness during the day.
Even though this isn’t technically for everyone, if you suffer from RLS, chances are that you could be suffering from the condition of excessive daytime sleepiness as well.
Sleep Apnea
This is yet another one of the disorder which is characterized by the sudden blockage in the upper respiratory tract for a few seconds which tends to jerk someone out of their sleep.
Given that the condition almost ends up making you feel choked in your sleep, many people tend to have a very hard time falling back asleep which further ends up lessening the hours of quality sleep that you get in a day.
If that is a condition you are suffering from, it is best suggested that you consult a doctor and seek immediate medical attention to ensure that it doesn’t get worse than it already is.
Anemia
Yet another one of the possible reasons why you have been experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness could very well be because of the condition of anemia.
The lack of proper levels of red blood cells in the body does have the capability to end up lessening the levels of oxygen in the body which can cause cell and tissue damage that further end up making you feel tired.
If this is the condition affecting your health and the reason for excessive daytime sleepiness, it is best suggested to ensure that you do consult a doctor and get the condition checked out for good.
Proper supplementation with iron is necessary in this case.
[ Also Read: Potent Natural Cures and Remedies For Anemia For a Healthier Life ]
Improper thyroid functions
Yet another possible cause that could be contributing to this condition could be your thyroid and the improper functions of it.
It is very important that you find the root cause behind it and if it comes out to be hyper or hypothyroidism, it is very important that you consult a doctor and get the necessary medical help required to keep your thyroid hormones in the body in balance.
Any kind of imbalance in the thyroid hormones can actually end up disrupting your body’s metabolism and make you feel tired and drowsy and unproductive all throughout the day.
[ Also Read: Best Yoga Poses For Thyroid Treatment ]
Depression
Mental health disorders, especially depression, are encountered as one of the most common causes behind the condition of the daytime sleepiness that you might have been experiencing throughout.
It is very important to ensure that if the condition is persistent, you do look into the necessary causes and even get therapy to lead a normal life in no time.
The path to recovery isn’t that easy but if you do it right, it isn’t impossible either.
Owing to the fact that depressive episodes often take a toll on one’s overall health, the same can have very negative repercussions that you have no possible idea of, the condition of excessive daytime sleepiness being one of the most common ones.
[ Also Read: 10 Efficient Ways to Avoid Depression For Better Mental Peace ]
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Last but not the least that we would definitely like to discuss on has to be the chronic fatigue syndrome that you just can’t miss out on.
This is a condition that needs to be a medical diagnosis for the necessary treatment.
If you are experiencing signs of fatigue and tiredness consistently, consult a doctor. See to it that the problem is diagnosed and is under treatment too.
It is necessary and beyond words when it comes to the causes behind this condition. If you have been experiencing such chronic signs, it itself is a signal that you need immediate help to bring your life back on track.
Symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness
When it comes to the signs of excessive daytime sleepiness, the options are quite extensive. It isn’t just you straight up feeling sleepy and having the constant urge to sleep through the day, the condition packs in a lot of other symptoms as well that you do need to pay close attention to.
If you have been struggling with this condition, it is quite important that you either make immediate changes in your lifestyle or seek medical attention for the condition involved.
Some of the common symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness include:
- Constant feeling of being sleepy
- Drowsiness
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Lack of will to get out of bed
- Passing out any time through the day
- Drooping eyelids
- Constant yawning
How to diagnose excessive daytime sleepiness?
As farfetched as it sounds, excessive daytime sleepiness is a medical condition that does require immediate changes to one’s lifestyle or seeking out the necessary medical help.
It is important that you consider either of the two based on the kind of symptoms that you are showcasing.
If you are experiencing any of the above mentioned symptoms, chances are that the same could be a contributing reason why you need proper diagnosis for its persistence.
For the most part, these symptoms are prevalent in every person occasionally. If it becomes a matter of daily habit for you, which is when you need to see a doctor and then the doctor will check through the symptoms to diagnose you with the condition.
If you are self diagnosing, ensure that you don’t reach out for any kind of prescription medication without doctor’s consultation. In such cases, opt for the tips to avoid daytime sleepiness that involves your eating habits and lifestyle in general.
Tips to treat excessive daytime sleepiness
If you have been finding yourself sleeping a lot in your work hours, chances are that you are doing something wrong to your body. The best way to combat that is by ensuring that you opt for some of the natural ways to deal with excessive daytime sleepiness.
The condition can affect your progress and your overall quality of life, which is why it is important that you do find constructive ways to get rid of it for good.
Let us take a look at some of the best ones around, shall we?
1.Eat small bites throughout the day
Not many know this but eating healthy snacks in small portions throughout the day can actually come a lot in handy for you to overcome the problems associated with this condition.
The lack of proper sleep is one of the primary reasons behind excessive drowsiness.
It is quite important to ensure that you do keep yourself recharged throughout the entire day and grabbing small bites of snacks throughout the day can actually help in recovering from the condition for the better.
This doesn’t mean that you eat something unhealthy and that too within a time frame of every half an hour. It is best to space out the snacking every 3-4 hours for the best energy refueling.
[ Also Read: 15 Easy Tips on How to Stop Food Cravings for a Healthier Body and Mind ]
2.Get tested for underlying health issue
Your condition of excessive daytime sleepiness can stem from a number of reasons, the possible health issues being one of the most common ones.
If you have been suddenly experiencing the signs and symptoms associated with this condition and have been looking around for tops to avoid sleepiness at the office, there are a number of ways in which you can do so.
Opt for a complete body checkup.
There are possibilities that there could be no possible health condition. Tests are better for your own sanity.
After all, prevention is always better than cure.
3.Focus on your overall diet
When we are talking about a balanced diet, we don’t technically mean that you have to live off of salads and greens. That is a complete misconception.
A balanced diet means consuming a healthy diet filled with the optimal levels of carbs, proteins as well as the healthy fats that the body needs.
It is very important that you do keep an eye out on the kind of food that you mean to consume.
Don’t just focus on one macronutrient, instead, balance it out.
[ Also Read: Elimination Diet – Benefits, Tips, Foods And Side Effects ]
If you are eating more protein in the breakfast, balance it out by eating more carbs and fiber in the next two meals or even snacks that you munch on throughout the day.
It goes without saying that your diet plays a very crucial role on the kind of progress that you want to make with your body.
If possible, include more of fibers, anti-inflammatory foods and even proteins to keep your energy sustained throughout the day. Skip out on simple carbs and switch to the complex carbohydrates which keep you fueled through the day.
4.Exercise more
You can’t necessarily feel the energy within your body if you don’t even take the initiative to work through the shortcomings. One of the most common yet underrated reasons for excessive daytime sleepiness is when you lead a very sedentary lifestyle.
If you need to keep things aligned for yourself, it is quite important that you do indulge in leading a more active lifestyle.
It is not necessarily important that you indulge in hard core exercise right off the bat because that is not the primary important factor.
The only thing that you need to keep in mind is to ensure that you lead an active lifestyle instead of the sedentary lifestyle that you have been leading all through.
If exercises or gym isn’t your cup of tea, yoga poses do get the job done well too. So, that is something you can look into for the best results. If possible, get a yoga trainer till you have learnt everything through.
In a conducted study with 135 men, the researchers reported that the participants who indulged in regular yoga for an extended period of time did find a better energy level in their body at the end of everything.
[ Also Read: 10 Best Free Weight Workout – Complete Guide and Exercises ]
5.Keep the hydration in check
If you didn’t know, science and medical findings suggest that dehydration is one of the most common reasons behind the condition of excessive daytime sleepiness.
In order to successfully administer the excessive daytime sleepiness treatment, it is important that you do keep an eye out on your hydration levels in the body.
It goes without saying that your hydration levels do have negative impacts on your mind and body if they aren’t in their optimal levels.
Lack of hydration has also been reported to have impacts on one’s overall mental health and such which is why it is important that you keep an eye out on the hydration levels all through without any kind of compromise at all.
[ Also Read: 17 Remedies For Dehydration For Immediate Relief ]
In a conducted study (R), it was found that increasing the consumption of the water has been further associated with the conditions of better energy levels in the body.
6.Work on losing weight
Yet another one of the tips to avoid daytime sleepiness is to work on your weight loss goals. The primary reasons why they do work is because of the fact that they have beneficial impacts in boosting the energy levels in the body.
Not only is being overweight bad for your energy levels, it has been witnessed to have negative impacts on the heart health as well which is why you need to work on bringing your body back to a healthy weight.
[ Also Read: 12 Mental Tricks To Lose Weight – Ways To Think Thin ]
The best way to get yourself on track to a healthy weight is to ensure that you work on your diet as well as indulge in some form of exercise for the best impacts altogether.
7.Get proper sleep
One of the best ways to remove excessive daytime sleepiness is to have a healthy sleeping cycle.
It is important that you go to sleep early the night before. Get the optimal hours of sleep which is 8-9 hours every day.
[ Also Read: Proper Sleep Can Reduce Risks Of Cardiovascular Diseases, New Study Suggests ]
A well maintained circadian rhythm has amazing impacts on helping excessive daytime sleepiness.
It is important that you do keep certain prospects in mind and not rush through the process. Let the sleep come naturally to you instead of depending on the medications and artificial methods.
8.Cut down on the caffeine from your diet
Even though any form of caffeine is believed to be an energy booster, it doesn’t impose beneficial impacts when it comes to the energy levels in the body in the long run.
This is the primary factor why it is important and necessary that you cut down or at least reduce the intake of the caffeine rich products that can end up being a bad thing for you in the long run.
It is important that you slowly wean yourselves away from it. Avoid going cold turkey with the same because that is not going to end up well in your favour. It is best that you do take the time out with this and not rush through.
If you drink coffee or tea every 2 hours, start by making it one cup every 4 hours, and then so on and so forth.
[ Also Read: Coffee And Its Impacts On Obesity – Is It A Possible Cure? ]
9.Stress management
You might not realize this but your stress levels in the body could be a contributing reason for excessive daytime sleepiness.
The high levels of cortisol in the body hinders with the normal secretion of the other hormones in the body. This ends up causing an abrupt change in one’s energy levels in the body.
Look out for the signs and symptoms of the stress that you have been encountering. If possible, opt for the various ways to manage stress and see if it works.
You can listen to music and get yourself some break to get a good outlook on the stress management.
10.Consume more fish
Fish is yet another natural cure for excessive daytime sleepiness that can help in getting rid of the problem associated with excessive daytime sleepiness.
Fish has omega-3 fatty acids that keeps your heart and overall health in the best condition.
With a properly functioning body and organ system, it prevents the risks and problems of the drowsiness.
A conducted study found that the participants who consume fish oil for 21 days straight have a better mental reaction time which is unlike anything else.
11.Cut down the alcohol
Alcohol has been found to cause an imbalance in the overall body function, especially impacting the overall functioning of the body. The same has negative impacts on the sleeping patterns that you experience.
Compensating dehydration with alcohol is worse.
Simply get rid of the alcohol consumption for good to get rid of daytime sleepiness.
12.Consume more iron rich foods
As we did mention before, anemia is one of the most common reasons behind the condition of fatigue and lack of energy that you might be experiencing with your body.
Consume foods rich in iron.
The condition of anemia is common in women than in men. This is why women should have a high iron intake in their diet.
[ Also Read: 13 Foods To Increase Stamina And Energy In The Body ]
Leafy green vegetables, meat, fortified bread and cereal, liver, nuts etc. have iron.
When it comes to the ways to deal with excessive daytime sleepiness, the possibilities surrounding the same are quite extensive. There could be a number of conditions making you drowsy through the day. It is why it is important that you keep an eye out on the diagnosis first. Then opt for better ways to treat the condition for the better.
