Descripción general
La hipersomnia idiopática es un trastorno poco frecuente del sueño que causa mucha somnolencia durante el día, incluso después de haber dormido bien durante toda la noche. Se desconoce la causa. Además, suele causar dificultad para despertarse después de haber dormido. Cuando duermes una siesta no sueles sentir que hayas descansado y quizá te despiertes confundido y desorientado.
La necesidad de dormir puede aparecer en cualquier momento, incluso cuando conduces un automóvil o trabajas, lo que hace que la hipersomnia idiopática sea potencialmente peligrosa.
La afección a menudo se desarrolla progresivamente. Para diagnosticar la hipersomnia idiopática, se deben descartar trastornos más comunes del sueño. El objetivo del tratamiento es controlar los síntomas con medicamentos.
Síntomas
The main symptom of idiopathic hypersomnia is being very sleepy during the day. Symptoms begin slowly over several weeks or months and may include:
- Having a strong need to sleep.
- Not being able to stay awake and alert during the day.
- Sleeping more than 11 hours at night.
- Having trouble waking up in the morning.
- Being confused, moving slowly and having trouble with coordination after waking up.
- Feeling anxiety after waking up.
People with idiopathic hypersomnia may need to set several loud alarms to wake up in the morning.
People with the condition also may:
- Take naps longer than an hour.
- Not feel refreshed after naps.
- Have trouble with memory and attention.
Rarely, idiopathic hypersomnia can cause someone to fall asleep suddenly during the day.
Some people with idiopathic hypersomnia may experience automatic behavior when they are very sleepy. This can include staring, or they may drive without purpose and later realize that they are miles from home. Automatic behavior also may include writing or saying things that don't make sense. Afterward, people with idiopathic hypersomnia don't remember the behavior.
Causas
The cause of idiopathic hypersomnia is not known.
Factores de riesgo
Experts don't know what causes idiopathic hypersomnia, so risk factors are not known. But symptoms usually appear at a younger age, between ages 10 and 30. And women may be more likely to have idiopathic hypersomnia than are men.