Constant severe drowsiness. Increased sleepiness

Normally, physical or mental overwork leads to drowsiness. This signal of the body indicates to a person the need to take a break from the flow of information or actions. It is expressed in the form of a decrease in visual acuity, yawning, a decrease in the sensitivity of other external stimuli, a slowing of the pulse, dryness of the mucous membranes and a decrease in the activity of the endocrine organs. Such drowsiness is physiological and does not pose a threat to health.

However, there are a number of factors in which this signal of the body becomes a sign of disturbances in the functioning of internal organs and systems. In this article, we will introduce you to 8 reasons that are a sign of pathological sleepiness, and the reasons for the physiological conditions that cause lack of sleep.

Causes of physiological sleepiness

If a person does not sleep for a long time, then his body signals him about the need for sleep. During the day, he can repeatedly fall into a state of physiological drowsiness. This condition can be caused by:

• overstrain of pain or tactile receptors;
• the work of the digestive organs after eating;
• auditory stimuli;
• overload of the visual system.

sleep deprivation

Normally, a person should sleep about 7-8 hours a day. These figures may change with age. And with forced sleep deprivation, a person will experience periods of drowsiness.

Pregnancy

Drowsiness during pregnancy is a normal condition of the female body.

The period of bearing a child requires a significant restructuring of the woman's body, starting from the first months of pregnancy. In its first trimester, inhibition of the cerebral cortex by hormones leads to daytime sleepiness, and this is a variant of the norm.

Sleepiness after eating

Normally, for proper digestion of food, the body must be at rest for some time, during which blood must flow to the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. Because of this, after eating, the cerebral cortex experiences a lack of oxygen and switches to an economy mode, accompanied by physiological drowsiness.

Stress

Any stressful situation causes the release of cortisol and adrenaline into the blood. These hormones are produced by the adrenal glands, and constant nervous tension causes their depletion. Because of this, the level of hormones decreases, and the person experiences a breakdown and drowsiness.

Causes of pathological drowsiness

Pathological drowsiness (or pathological hypersomnia) is expressed in feelings of lack of sleep and fatigue during the day. The appearance of such symptoms should be a reason to see a doctor.

Reason #1 – severe chronic or infectious diseases

After suffering infectious diseases, the body needs to rest and recuperate.

After suffering from infectious and long-term chronic diseases, the body's forces are depleted, and the person begins to feel the need for rest. Because of this, during the day he has to experience drowsiness.

According to some scientists, the appearance of this symptom causes a malfunction of the immune system, and during sleep, processes associated with the restoration of T-lymphocytes occur in the body. According to another theory, during sleep, the body tests the performance of internal organs after an illness and restores it.

Reason #2 – Anemia

Reason #4 – Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is accompanied by bouts of irresistible drowsiness and bouts of sudden onset of sleep during the daytime, loss of muscle tone in the mind, sleep disturbances at night and hallucinations. In some cases, this disease is accompanied by a sudden loss of consciousness immediately after waking up. The causes of narcolepsy are still not well understood.

Reason #5 – idiopathic hypersomnia

With idiopathic hypersomnia, which is more common in young people, there is a tendency to daytime sleepiness. During falling asleep, moments of relaxed wakefulness occur, and the time of nighttime sleep becomes shortened. Awakening becomes more difficult and the person may become aggressive. Patients with this disease experience loss of family and social ties, loss of ability to work and professional skills.

Reason number 6 - intoxication

Acute and chronic poisoning always affects the subcortex and the cerebral cortex. As a result of stimulation of the reticular formation, a person develops severe drowsiness, and not only at night, but also during the day. Such processes can be caused by smoking, psychotropic substances, alcohol and drugs.

Reason number 7 - endocrine pathologies

Hormones produced by endocrine glands such as, and the adrenal glands affect many functions of the body. A change in their concentration in the blood leads to the development of such diseases that provoke drowsiness:

• hypocorticism - a decrease in the level of adrenal hormones, which is accompanied by a decrease in body weight, loss of appetite, increased fatigue, hypotension;
• - violation of insulin production, which is accompanied by an increase in blood sugar levels, leading to the appearance of ketoacidotic, hyper- and hypoglycemic conditions that negatively affect the state of the cerebral cortex and cause daytime drowsiness.

Reason #8 – brain injury

Any brain injury, accompanied by bruises, hemorrhages in the tissues of this important organ, can lead to drowsiness and signs of impaired consciousness (stupor or coma). Their development is explained by a violation of the functioning of brain cells or a deterioration in blood circulation and developing hypoxia.

You wake up - you want to sleep, you come to work - you want to sleep, you have lunch - you want to sleep ... Sometimes drowsiness overtakes even on weekends, when, it would seem, you have slept for a sufficient number of hours. Familiar? Drowsiness not only interferes with studying, working and relaxing, but can also be life-threatening - for example, if you drive a car. We understand why Morpheus wants to get you into his arms so much.

Look around you: a young guy is sleeping while standing on a bus, an office worker is taking a nap at a boring presentation, and a whole queue of sleepy citizens is lining up in a coffee shop for a latte! A modern person processes a huge amount of information, and drowsiness indicates that the brain needs a break. Here are the main signs of sleepiness:

• heavy awakening in the morning;
• lack of vivacity and energy during the day;
• an urgent need for daytime sleep;
• feeling irritable and restless;
• deterioration in concentration, memory;
• loss of appetite.

The reasons why you constantly want to sleep are different. Some of them are natural and can be dealt with on your own. In other cases, we can talk about serious disorders and diseases - here the help of a specialist is already needed. The main causes of drowsiness are:

• sleep disturbance;
• Unhealthy Lifestyle;
• overwork and stress;
• various diseases;
• poorly ventilated area.

Let's consider them in more detail.

The most common cause of sleepiness is the most obvious one: You simply don't get enough rest at night. Everyone needs a certain amount of time to sleep. As a rule, it is 7-8 hours, but there are exceptions. In addition, the feeling of drowsiness arises from a violation of sleep cycles: waking up in the middle of a cycle, a person feels overwhelmed, even if he slept enough.

You may not know how much sleep you need. And if you know, you can sacrifice sleep due to work or other duties. Intentional restriction of sleep is one of the most important problems in modern society. Many people think that in this way there will be more time for business, but this is not entirely true: for someone who “nods”, attention is scattered and motivation disappears. The body does not work at full strength and goes into reserve mode.

Drowsiness occurs not only due to lack of sleep, but also due to its poor quality. Insomnia can have a variety of causes, one of them is the presence of artificial light. For example, watching TV or reading a news feed on a smartphone before going to bed stimulates brain activity and does not contribute to good health in the morning.

The constant desire to sleep often worries people with sleep disturbances and flexible work schedules. Those who often travel on business trips, fly from one time zone to another, and also work the night shift are most prone to sleep problems.

Do you like to discuss interesting topics with friends over a cup of coffee or with colleagues in a smoking room? Then the cause of lethargy lies on the surface. Caffeine in moderate doses can improve focus for a short time, but overdose can have devastating effects. The adrenal glands produce the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, which "pump" the body and give us a feeling of cheerfulness. But if the adrenal glands work too hard and often, as happens with lovers of caffeinated drinks, then a new portion of hormones simply does not have time to form. And we know about the dangers of smoking from an early age. Nicotine causes a spasm of blood vessels, the brain receives less oxygen, and against this background, the smoker develops a feeling of lack of sleep. By stimulating the nervous system, both caffeine and nicotine can cause insomnia and other sleep disorders.

Some people like to have a hearty meal, thinking that a hearty meal will provide the necessary energy for the rest of the day. However, this is not quite true. Why do you always want to sleep after eating? After the body has spent a significant part of the energy on digesting food, it is difficult for it to maintain other activities: after all, to ensure normal digestion, blood from the brain flows to the stomach and intestines. So you should not overeat: in order to digest an excessively large amount of food, the body will need more strength.

In addition, the lack of breakfast is directly related to drowsiness. Many people get ready for work in the morning at a frantic pace, forgetting about the first - and most important - meal. Eating breakfast within an hour of waking up starts your biological clock. And when, on the contrary, you skip breakfast, the body has nowhere to take energy from.

Many people are faced with a situation where drowsiness manifests itself in winter. The reasons for this "winter hibernation" lie in the peculiarities of the season. In winter, daylight hours decrease, and in general the sun can be seen infrequently in winter. Due to the central heating in the apartments, the air becomes dry. To avoid this, it is advisable to use a humidifier. Also in winter you often want to sleep because of. We do not always get the right dose of nutrients from food, and we consume less vegetables and fruits in winter. Therefore, doctors advise taking vitamin and mineral complexes.

Sleepiness due to health problems

Some people feel sleepy due to taking certain medications that have a sedative (calming) effect. These are antidepressants, tranquilizers, antipsychotics, etc. In this case, it is worth discussing the existing problem with your doctor - perhaps he will advise another drug that causes less drowsiness.

Someone constantly sleepy because of cloudy and rainy weather. This is not surprising: melatonin, the hormone that controls our sleep, ceases to be produced only when exposed to daylight. Also, changes in atmospheric pressure in bad weather provoke a decrease in blood pressure, we get less oxygen and because of this we want to get to bed faster. Meteorological dependence is most clearly observed in hypotensive patients.

Drowsiness can be a sign of serious health problems: brain pathologies, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc. Therefore, if you cannot explain the causes of fatigue and drowsiness, you should consult a doctor.

Why else do you want to sleep during the day? Weakness and drowsiness can be reactions to stress or overwork - both physical and mental. If at the very beginning of the influence of a stressful situation on a person, his condition is accompanied by excitability and insomnia, then after prolonged stress the body wants to recover, and the most effective rest is sleep. In this case, it is recommended to sleep more than usual in order to make up for the lack of rest during the day. Depression, which often develops against a background of stress, also poses a danger to your health and sleep. Often depression is mistaken for a bad mood or bad temper, although in fact it is a very serious disorder. If you feel apathy, fatigue and unreasonable anxiety, you should definitely contact a specialist.
Sometimes the feeling of drowsiness is associated with chronic fatigue syndrome - it manifests itself in the form of lethargy, which does not disappear even after a long rest. Chronic fatigue syndrome often leads to significant deterioration in vital signs.

Sleepiness due to stuffiness

Stuffiness is another reason for constant drowsiness. High levels of CO2 in the air reduce alertness, worsen mood and cause fatigue. If the situation is not corrected in any way for a long time, mild discomfort will turn into severe and insomnia. the only way is to let in fresh air from the street. That's just the house you need right - then drowsiness as if by hand will remove. The easiest and most effective way to organize a good microclimate is a system. Getting rid of street noise and supplying fresh, clean air to the apartment will help.

Sleepiness in different people

Let's see who is more prone to drowsiness. Why does a woman always want to sleep? It is believed that in women drowsiness manifests itself more often due to hormonal fluctuations. However, men also often suffer from a breakdown: for example, low testosterone provokes muscle weakness and impaired attention.

The issue of drowsiness worries many. Sleepiness is especially characteristic of the first trimester. This happens because the body gets used to hormonal changes and switches to a new mode of operation. Also, during gestation, progesterone is produced, which causes drowsiness. Fatigue and malaise will come to naught when the body is completely rebuilt. Also, the occurrence of lethargy can be affected by the emotional background - unrest and anxiety. Therefore, during pregnancy, it is necessary to adhere to a clear sleep schedule and a calm lifestyle.

Preparing for future motherhood, many women are interested in: ? Usually, newborns and children under one year old spend most of their lives sleeping. The sleep pattern of the baby depends on the daily routine in the family, nutrition, the state of the nervous system, but on average, the allowable number of hours of sleep is 18 hours a day for children aged 1-2 months and 11-14 hours for children under one year old. A child spends so much time sleeping because his nervous system and brain have not fully formed by the time of birth. In a calm state, that is, in a dream, they develop most productively. However, if you notice excessive drowsiness and suspicious symptoms (for example, pallor, lethargy, lack of appetite) in your child, then you should definitely consult a doctor.

By the way, drowsiness in adults and infants can be caused by the same reason. We all know that parents rock their children to sleep. Therefore, there is no need to worry if drowsiness occurs in transport: the desire to sleep is a normal reaction to motion sickness, familiar to all of us from infancy.

A fast-paced lifestyle, hard work, stress, overwork adversely affect human health. As a result, weakness and drowsiness appear. Thus, adults adapt to the transferred moral and physical stress. The brain needs rest and "reboot". Doctors point to a variety of causes of weakness and drowsiness, ranging from banal overexertion to serious diseases. It is possible to alleviate the general condition of a person with the help of medicines, reflexology and other effective procedures.

Symptoms accompanying weakness and drowsiness

General weakness can be caused by various conditions, respectively, and complaints in adults can be different. Loss of strength, weakness and drowsiness are accompanied by the following symptoms:

• malaise when performing daily work;
• fast and frequent fatigue, lethargy;
• lethargy, fainting in case of a sharp drop in pressure, a change in body position;
• intolerance to loud speech, strong smell;
• irritability, sleep disturbance, nightmares, irascibility.

The causes of weakness and drowsiness can be various diseases, if a person makes the following complaints:

• headache, runny nose, sore throat;
• cough, aching muscles and bones, joint pain;
• constant thirst, weight loss, tinnitus and head noise;
• shortness of breath while walking, increased body temperature;
• redness of the eyes, pressure surges, abdominal pain, nausea.

The appearance of at least three symptoms at the same time indicates that a person is suffering from a certain disease. To establish an accurate diagnosis, you should consult a doctor.

Anemia and weakness

Anemia is a blood disease characterized by low levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells. The first symptom to be noticed is pale skin and extreme fatigue. In addition to these complaints, patients may indicate the following:

• headache, lethargy;
• fast and prolonged fatigue;
• palpitations, shortness of breath, rapid fatigue and fainting during physical exertion;
• seizures on the lips, distortion of taste, fragility of nails and hair increases.

Important! In anemia, hemoglobin values ​​are below 110 g/l

Most of the complaints in anemia appear due to hypoxia (decrease in the level of oxygen in the blood), as a result of which the tissues do not receive the necessary amount of O2 (oxygen).

The following diseases are accompanied by anemia:

• posthemorrhagic (after blood loss) anemia;
• ring cell anemia;
• Iron-deficiency anemia;
• B12 deficiency anemia, leukemia;
• oncology of any localization;
• condition after abdominal operations;
• helminthic invasions;
• malnutrition - limited intake of iron.

Adults with anemia should be careful, as the disease manifests itself at very low levels of hemoglobin. The first manifestation of the disease may be fainting and loss of consciousness at work. Therefore, as soon as pallor of the skin and constant weakness and drowsiness appear, it is necessary to visit a doctor.

Low blood pressure and drowsiness

Jumps in blood pressure can occur in both adults and young people. All this is connected with the instability of the nervous system, and in the older generation - with atherosclerosis of the vessels.

Symptoms of low blood pressure, in addition to severe drowsiness, are:

• severe pain in the back of the head, which gradually spreads to the entire head;
• spinning in the head with a sharp change in body position;
• severe drowsiness, especially in the afternoon;
• pain in the neck, lethargy and impotence, weakness in the muscles of the arms and legs.

Doctor's advice. If you are worried about severe fatigue, you should immediately measure blood pressure using a tonometer

Low blood pressure may accompany the following conditions:

• orthostatic collapse, when a drop in pressure occurs after a sharp change in body position;
• overdose of antihypertensive drugs, bleeding;
• osteochondrosis of the cervical spine;
• peritonitis (inflammation of the peritoneum), vegetovascular dystonia (VSD);
• scalene muscle syndrome, when the muscle complex in the neck compresses the vertebral arteries;
• heart failure.

Low blood pressure very often appears in people younger than 20-22 years old. The indicators in this case are kept at the level of 90/60 mm Hg. Art.

Hypothyroidism causes general weakness

The thyroid gland plays one of the main roles in maintaining body homeostasis. The disease of this important organ occurs as a result of autoimmune processes, virus damage, oncological pathology, iodine deficiency in food, and stressful situations.

Hypothyroidism is an insufficiency of the thyroid gland, characterized by low levels of thyroid hormones in the blood. Patients indicate the following signs of hypothyroidism:

• constantly want to rest and sleep;
• weakness and severe drowsiness, apathy;
• memory impairment;
• lack of familiar emotions - joy, anger, surprise;
• a person ceases to be interested in the outside world;
• asthenia, or impotence to do anything;
• low blood pressure, heart pain, obesity;
• swelling in the legs, hair loss and dry skin.

Important! If the hair on the head falls out for no reason, you need to take a blood test for thyroid hormones.

A reduced amount of thyroid hormones is observed in such conditions:

• after thyroid surgery, autoimmune thyroiditis;
• diffuse toxic goiter, thyroid cancer.

Thyroid hormones affect the heart, nervous system, and digestive tract. Patients with hypothyroidism suffer from hypersomnia, they want to sleep all day, it is very difficult to force themselves to work.

Weakness and drowsiness in diabetes

Diabetes mellitus mainly affects older people, when there is a lack of insulin production in the body. This hormone is synthesized by the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes, there is no insulin in the body.

Important! The normal blood sugar level is 3.3-5.5 mmol/l. In diabetes mellitus, indicators can rise to 10-15 mmol / l and above

The symptoms of diabetes are as follows:

• dry mouth;
• with a low blood sugar level, patients note rapid fatigue, lethargy, pre-syncope;
• drowsiness, fatigue, overwork;
• numbness of the limbs, blurred vision;
• frequent urination - up to 5-7 liters per day, constant thirst.

Diabetes can be accompanied by a sharp drop or rise in blood glucose levels. A person who does not know about his disease cannot understand why thirst, fatigue and drowsiness torment him all the time. These are signs of hyperglycemia.

With hypoglycemia, when blood glucose is below 3.3 mmol / l, patients complain of sudden general weakness, fatigue, increased sweating, trembling in the hands, tingling in the muscles. If you do not help a person, he faints and a coma may occur.

Other causes of weakness and drowsiness

Often the causes of drowsiness, weakness or overwork are infectious diseases. Sometimes symptoms appear due to malnutrition.

Doctors point to the following conditions, because of which you always want to sleep (described below).

1. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The disease occurs in people who live in big cities, prone to stress and overwork. A distinctive feature of the disease is the lack of relief even after a long rest.
2. Hypovitaminosis. Inadequate nutrition, a small amount of vitamins in the diet affects the functioning of the nervous system. At the same time, adults complain of moderate weakness, instability to overvoltage, and rapid fatigue.
3. Magnetic storms affect blood pressure. At the same time, I really want to sleep all the time, my head hurts, adults feel general impotence.
4. Stress can overtake a person after a long and hard working day, strong feelings. In this case, adults will want to sleep, feel headaches. For some time, a person will not be able to get rid of insomnia.

Important! Sound sleep is the key to health. This rule is applicable to combat stress and overwork.

Stressful conditions should not be treated casually, because this can lead to serious neurological problems. For example, a nervous breakdown often ends in depression and neurosis.

How to deal with weakness and drowsiness

First of all, in order to get rid of general weakness, you should change your lifestyle. A person must clearly answer the question: “Do I want to improve my health”? For this you need:

1. Stop smoking and drinking alcohol.
2. The diet should be saturated with vitamins, consist of fresh fruits and vegetables.
3. The last meal should be 2-3 hours before bedtime.
4. Take a contrast shower in the morning and evening. First, wash your face with very warm water for 10 minutes, then with cold water for 30 seconds.
5. When working at a computer, you need to rest for 5 minutes, look out the window and into the distance for 2-3 minutes. This relaxes the eyes and restores vision. Do procedures 4-5 times a day.
6. Every morning you need to force yourself to do light gymnastics. They begin with moderate circular movements of the head, then intensively raise straightened arms up and down along the body. Then they bend the torso back and forth, and finish with 15-20 squats. Each procedure lasts 2-3 minutes.

The doctor will accurately indicate exactly how to get rid of lethargy and fatigue. You can apply the following medicines:

	A drug	Application
Weakness, fatigue at low pressure	Citramon. Askofen. Pentalgin	1 tablet in the morning or afternoon, but not more than 1 week
	Ginseng tincture	20 drops per 50 ml of water. Consume twice in the morning
	Lemongrass tincture	Dilute 25 drops in 100 ml of water. Taken orally twice a day, the last dose no later than 16 pm
Weakness with anemia	Sorbifer Durules	1 tablet twice a day 30 minutes before meals for 1-2 months
Drowsiness, fatigue with hypothyroidism	L-thyroxine	1 tablet (100 mg) daily in the morning. This treatment can only be prescribed by a doctor, it is forbidden to use pills on your own
Headache	Paracetamol	1 tablet (325 mg) 1-2 times a day for 5-7 days
		Mix 1 sachet in 100 ml of water, take it inside twice a day for 3-4 days

Doctor's advice. Taking pills for diabetes and hypothyroidism should be carried out only after consulting a doctor

Only a doctor can tell an adult what to do with fatigue and drowsiness and what drugs to use.

Sleep is an important physiological process necessary for the functioning of the body. In a dream, all of its functional systems are restored and tissues are pumped with vital energy. It is well known that a person can live much less without sleep than without food.

The normal duration of sleep in an adult is 7-9 hours every day. A person's need for sleep changes with age. Babies sleep constantly - 12-18 hours a day, and this is the norm. Gradually, the duration of sleep decreases until it reaches an adult value. On the other hand, older people also often have an increased need for sleep.

It is also important that a person belongs to the type of representatives of the animal kingdom, for whom night sleep and daytime wakefulness are normal. If a person cannot spend the time necessary for proper rest in a dream every night, then such a syndrome is called insomnia or insomnia. This situation leads to many unpleasant consequences for the body. But the opposite situation brings no less problems - when a person wants to sleep more than the allotted time, including during the daytime, when wakefulness and an active lifestyle are prescribed by nature.

This syndrome can be called differently: hypersomnia, drowsiness or, in common parlance, drowsiness. It has many reasons, and it is very difficult to find among them the right one in each case.

First, let's define more precisely the concept of drowsiness. This is the name of the state when a person is overcome by yawning, heaviness presses on the eyes, his pressure and heart rate decrease, consciousness becomes less sharp, actions become less confident. The secretion of the salivary and lacrimal glands also decreases. At the same time, a person is terribly sleepy, he has a desire to sleep right here and now. Weakness and drowsiness in an adult can be a constant phenomenon, that is, to haunt a person all the time he is awake, or transient, observed only at a certain time.

Why do you always want to sleep?

First of all, it is worth noting that constant drowsiness adversely affects a person’s entire life. He sleeps on the go, cannot fully fulfill his work duties, do household chores, constantly coming into conflict with others because of this. This, in turn, leads to stress and neuroses. In addition, drowsiness can directly pose a danger to a person and others, for example, if he is driving a car.

Causes

It is not always easy to answer the question why a person wants to sleep. The main factors that cause drowsiness can be divided into those caused by the wrong way of life of a person or external causes, and those associated with pathological processes in the human body. In many cases of drowsiness, there are several causes at once.

natural factors

People react differently to natural phenomena. For some, they do not have a noticeable effect, while others are very sensitive to weather changes. If it rains for several days in a row, the pressure is low, then the body of such people react to these circumstances by lowering blood pressure and vitality. As a result, a person may experience drowsiness and weakness on such days, he can fall asleep on the go, but when the weather improves, his usual cheerfulness returns to him. Other people, on the contrary, may react in a similar way to extreme heat and stuffiness.

Also, some people are prone to a syndrome in which a decrease in the length of daylight hours causes the body to secrete the hormones necessary for sleep much earlier than planned. Another reason why a person constantly sleeps in winter is that in winter our body has access to a smaller amount of vitamins obtained from fresh vegetables and fruits, the use of which, as you know, improves metabolism.

Lack of night sleep

Constant lack of sleep is the reason that seems most obvious. And in practice, daytime sleepiness caused by a poor night's sleep is the most common. However, many people tend to ignore it. Even if you think you are getting enough sleep, you may not actually be. And if a person did not sleep well at night, then it is likely that his eyes will be closed during the day.

Night sleep can be incomplete, its phases can be unbalanced, that is, the period of REM sleep prevails over the period of slow sleep, during which the most complete rest occurs. In addition, a person can wake up very often at night, he can be distracted by the noise and stuffiness in the room.

Sleep apnea is a common disorder that often disrupts the quality of sleep at night. With this syndrome, the patient has a lack of oxygen supply to the tissues of the body, as a result of which sleep has an intermittent restless character.

It should also be taken into account that over time a person needs more and more sleep. Consequently, if at the age of twenty a person can sleep six hours a day, and this will be enough to make him feel vigorous, then at thirty the body is no longer so hardy, and it requires a more complete rest.

However, not always daytime sleepiness is a consequence of the inferiority of night sleep or insomnia. Sometimes there is a situation when a person cannot sleep at night, although he sleeps well. This means a general pathological increase in the daily need for sleep in the absence of night sleep disturbances.

Overwork

Our life passes at a frantic pace and is filled with everyday fuss, which we do not even notice. Household chores, shopping, car trips, everyday problems - all this in itself takes away our energy and strength. And if at work you still have to do the most difficult and at the same time the most boring things, sitting for hours in front of the monitor screen and looking at numbers and graphs, then the brain eventually turns out to be overloaded. And signals that he needs rest. This, in particular, can be expressed in increased drowsiness. By the way, brain overload can be caused not only by visual, but also by auditory stimuli (for example, constant work in a noisy workshop, etc.).

The drowsiness caused by this cause is relatively easy to eliminate - it is enough to take a break, day off or even go on vacation to put the exhausted nerve cells in order.

stress and depression

It is a completely different matter when a person is tormented by some problem that he cannot solve. In this case, at first the person will be full of energy, trying to overcome the life obstacle. But if he fails to do this, then apathy, weakness and fatigue roll over a person, which can be expressed, among other things, in increased drowsiness. The sleepy state is a protective reaction of the body, because in a dream it is more protected from the negative effects of stress.

Drowsiness can also cause depression - an even more severe defeat of the human psyche, when he is literally not interested in anything, and around him, as it seems to him, there is complete hopelessness and hopelessness. Usually depression is caused by a lack of neurotransmitter hormones in the brain and requires serious treatment.

Taking medicines

Many drugs, especially those used to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders, can cause drowsiness. This category includes tranquilizers, antidepressants, antipsychotics.

However, just because the drug you are taking does not fall into this category does not mean that it cannot cause drowsiness as a side effect. Drowsiness is a common side effect for first-generation antihistamines (tavegil, suprastin, diphenhydramine), many drugs for hypertension.

Infectious diseases

Many are familiar with the feeling of flu or acute respiratory infections, especially accompanied by high fever, when it is cold and you want to sleep. This reaction is due to the desire of the body to use all available energy in the fight against infection.

However, lethargy and drowsiness can also be present in infectious diseases that are not accompanied by severe symptoms, such as pathological respiratory phenomena or high fever. It is quite possible that we are talking about an inflammatory process somewhere in the depths of the body. This condition even has a special name - asthenic syndrome. And often the cause of drowsiness is asthenic syndrome.

It is characteristic of many serious diseases, both infectious and non-infectious nature. However, drowsiness is not the only sign of asthenic syndrome. It is also characterized by such symptoms as extremely fast fatigue, irritability and mood lability. Also, asthenic syndrome is characterized by signs of vegetative-vascular dystonia - jumps in blood pressure, pain in the heart, chilliness or sweating, discoloration of the skin, headaches, tachycardia, abdominal pain and digestive disorders.

Hormonal imbalances

Many of the hormones produced in the human body affect the activity of physiological and nervous processes. In case of their lack, a person will feel drowsiness, fatigue, weakness, loss of strength. At the same time, pressure can also decrease, immunity can be weakened. These hormones include thyroid hormones, adrenal hormones. In addition to drowsiness, these diseases are also characterized by symptoms such as weight loss and appetite, lowering blood pressure. Similar symptoms can appear in hypoglycemic form of diabetes.

The cause of somnolence in middle-aged and elderly men can also be a lack of the sex hormone - testosterone.

Diseases that cause a decrease in blood flow to the brain or intoxication of the body

In many diseases of the internal organs, the brain lacks oxygen. It can also cause such a phenomenon as daytime sleepiness. Such diseases include cardiovascular pathologies and lung diseases:

• ischemia,
• atherosclerosis,
• heart attack,
• hypertension,
• arrhythmias,
• bronchitis,
• asthma,
• pneumonia,
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In diseases of the liver and kidneys, various toxic substances can enter the bloodstream, including those that lead to increased drowsiness.

Atherosclerosis

Although this disease is considered to be characteristic of the elderly, nevertheless, relatively young people have also recently been affected by it. This disease is expressed in the fact that the vessels of the brain are clogged with lipids deposited on the walls of the vessels. Drowsiness in the case of this disease is just one of the symptoms of cerebrovascular insufficiency. In addition to drowsiness, the disease is also characterized by memory impairment, noise in the head.

Osteochondrosis

Recently, a disease such as osteochondrosis of the cervical spine has become widespread among people, especially those who are engaged in sedentary work. Every second person suffers from this disease in one form or another. Meanwhile, few people know that with this disease, not only pain in the neck is often observed, but also a spasm of the cervical arteries. It is well known that many people sitting at the monitor screen for a long time, especially in an uncomfortable position, cannot concentrate properly. However, they do not suspect that this disease is the cause of their problems. And from the inability to concentrate in the performance of their work duties, such consequences as rapid fatigue and the desire to quickly go to sleep, that is, drowsiness, follow.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the causes of drowsiness in women. During the first stage of pregnancy (up to 13 weeks), a woman's body experiences an increased need for sleep. This is a normal physiological reaction caused by its hormonal changes and the fact that a woman needs to gain strength for the upcoming birth process. So there is nothing surprising if a woman in position can sleep 10-12 hours a day. In the last two trimesters, drowsiness is less common. In some cases, it may indicate some deviations in the process of gestation - for example, anemia or eclampsia.

Anemia, beriberi, dehydration

Lack of blood in the circulatory system (anemia), as well as a lack of hemoglobin, also often lead to a deterioration in the blood supply to brain tissues. With anemia, a person often feels that he has heavy eyes, and he wants to sleep. But this, of course, is not the only symptom of the disease. With anemia, dizziness, weakness and pallor are also observed.

A similar situation is also observed with a lack of certain vitamins and microelements in the body, with dehydration. Dehydration results from the loss of water and electrolyte compounds. It is often the result of severe diarrhea. Thus, often the cause of drowsiness is simply a lack of certain substances in the body.

Drug use, alcohol and smoking

After taking a significant dose of alcohol, a person tends to sleep - this effect is well known to many. Less well known is that smoking can also lead to poor blood supply to brain tissue. Many drugs also have a sedative effect. This should be kept in mind by many parents who are concerned about the sudden onset of excessive sleepiness in their teenage children. It is possible that the change in their condition is associated with the use of narcotic drugs.

Mental and neurological diseases

Sleepy states are characteristic of many mental illnesses, as well as personality disorders. In what diseases of the nervous system and psyche can somnolence be observed? These diseases include:

• schizophrenia,
• epilepsy,
• apathetic stupor,
• vegetative seizures and crises,
• psychoses of various types.

Also, hypersomnia can be a side effect of the treatment of diseases with the help of pharmaceuticals. With impaired functioning of the brain associated with traumatic brain injuries, encephalopathies of various origins, increased intracranial pressure, this symptom can also be observed. The same can be said about infectious diseases of tissues associated with higher nervous activity - encephalitis, meningitis, poliomyelitis.

There are other types of hypersomnia predominantly of a neurological nature - idiopathic hypersomnia, Kleine-Levin syndrome.

How to get rid of drowsiness

With drowsiness, identifying the causes is not always easy. As is clear from the above, the causes of drowsiness can be varied - from an uncomfortable bed on which a person spends the night, to serious, life-threatening pathological conditions. Consequently, it is very difficult to find a universal recipe that would help a person cope with a problem.

The first thing to do is to start with a lifestyle change. Analyze whether you sleep well enough, whether you devote enough time to rest and relaxation, is it worth taking a break, taking a vacation or changing your occupation?

Primary attention should be paid to night sleep, because the reasons for constant drowsiness may also lie in its lack. The full value of night sleep largely depends on the biorhythms developed over the centuries, dictating to the body that you need to go to bed after sunset, and get up with its first rays. But, unfortunately, many people have learned to successfully ignore the instincts inherent in nature, and go to bed at a completely inappropriate time for this - well after midnight. This is facilitated by both the huge employment of the modern city dweller and the availability of various entertainment events (for example, television programs) in the evening. It is worth remembering that this is a bad habit that you should get rid of. The earlier a person goes to bed, the longer and deeper his sleep will be and, therefore, the less likely he will feel tired and sleepy during the daytime. In some cases, it is recommended to take sleeping pills or sedatives, but they should be used only after consulting a doctor.

In addition, there is a great way to increase your resistance to blues and stress - these are sports and physical education, walking and hardening. If you have a sedentary job, then you should take breaks in order to warm up or take a walk, do a set of physical exercises. Even daily morning exercises can increase your vitality so much that the constant desire to sleep during the day will pass by itself. Contrast showers, dousing with cold water, swimming in the pool are all great ways to always feel invigorated.

We must not forget to ventilate the room where you constantly sleep or work, because stuffy and hot air, as well as a lack of oxygen in it, contributes to a breakdown and lethargy.

You should also review your diet to include natural sources of vitamins and minerals, such as fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as products that stimulate the production of endorphins, such as chocolate. Natural drinks such as green tea also have an excellent refreshing effect.

What vitamins can be drunk with increased somnolence? First of all, it is vitamin B1, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is especially common during the winter months.

However, what to do if you have tried all the ways to overcome your drowsiness and failed? Perhaps the point is a metabolic disorder and a lack of neurotransmitters in the brain - serotonin, norepinephrine and endorphins, or a lack of production of thyroid or adrenal hormones, a lack of vitamins and microelements in the body, hidden infections. In this case, you can not do without passing thorough medical research. Depending on the detected pathology, various methods of treatment can be used - taking medications (vitamin complexes, antidepressants, antibiotics, trace elements, etc.).

Which specialist is best to contact if you are suffering from severe drowsiness? As a rule, such problems are solved by a neurologist or a neuropathologist. There are also doctors who specialize in sleep disorders - somnologists. In most cases, a specialist doctor will be able to figure out why you want to sleep during the day.

What not to do if you find excessive sleepiness

Self-administration of drugs is undesirable, as well as the constant intake of stimulants, such as coffee or energy drinks. Yes, a cup of coffee can cheer up a person if he has not slept well, and he needs increased attention and efficiency. However, constant stimulation of the nervous system with caffeine or other energy drinks does not solve the problem, but only eliminates the external symptoms of hypersomnia and forms the dependence of the psyche on stimulants.

“I fall asleep on the go”, “I sit at a lecture and sleep”, “I struggle with sleep at work” - such expressions can be heard from many people, however, as a rule, they cause more jokes than compassion. Sleepiness is mainly due to lack of sleep at night, overwork, or simply boredom and monotony in life. However, fatigue after rest should pass, boredom can be dispelled by other methods, and monotony can be diversified. But for many, drowsiness does not go away from the measures taken, the person sleeps enough at night, but in the daytime, constantly holding back his yawn, he looks where it would be “more convenient to nestle”.

The feeling when you feel an irresistible desire to sleep, but there is no such possibility, frankly, disgusting, capable of causing aggression towards those who interfere with this, or in general towards the whole world around. In addition, problems do not always arise only in the daytime. Imperative (irresistible) episodes during the day create the same obsessive thoughts: "I'll come - and immediately go to sleep." Not everyone succeeds, an irresistible desire can disappear after a short 10-minute sleep, frequent awakenings in the middle of the night do not give rest, nightmares often come. Tomorrow, everything will start all over again...

The problem can become the butt of jokes

With rare exceptions, watching a lethargic and apathetic person day after day, striving to constantly “take a nap”, someone seriously thinks that he is not healthy. Colleagues get used to it, perceive it as indifference and indifference, and consider these manifestations more of a character trait than a pathological condition. Sometimes constant drowsiness and apathy generally become the subject of jokes and all sorts of "jokes".

Medicine "thinks" differently. She calls excessive sleep duration hypersomnia. and its variants are named depending on the disorders, because constant drowsiness during the day does not always mean a good night's rest, even if a lot of time has been spent in bed.

From the point of view of experts, such a condition requires research, because daytime sleepiness that occurs in a person who seems to have slept enough time at night can be a symptom of a pathological condition that is not perceived by ordinary people as a disease. And how can one regard such behavior if a person does not complain, says that nothing hurts him, he sleeps well and, in principle, is healthy - just for some reason he constantly wants to sleep.

Outsiders here, of course, are unlikely to help, you need to delve into yourself and try to find the cause, and, possibly, contact a specialist.

It is not difficult to detect signs of drowsiness in oneself, they are quite “eloquent”:

• Fatigue, lethargy, loss of strength and constant obsessive yawning - these signs of poor health, when nothing hurts, prevent you from plunging into work;
• Consciousness is somewhat dulled, surrounding events do not particularly excite;
• The mucous membranes become dry;
• The sensitivity of peripheral analyzers drops;
• The heart rate is reduced.

We should not forget that the norm of sleep - 8 hours, is not suitable for all age categories. In a child up to six months, constant sleep is considered a normal state. However, as he grows and gains strength, priorities change, he wants to play more and explore the world, so there is less and less daily time for sleep. In the elderly, on the contrary, the older the person, the more he needs not to go far from the sofa.

Still fixable

The modern rhythm of life predisposes to neuropsychic overloads, which, to a greater extent than physical ones, can lead to sleep disorders. Temporary fatigue, although manifested by drowsiness (the same temporary), but quickly passes when the body rests, and then sleep is restored. M It can be said that in many cases people themselves are to blame for overloading their bodies.

When does daytime sleepiness not cause concern for one's health? The reasons may be different, but, as a rule, these are transient personal problems, periodic "hands on work" at work, a cold, or a rare stay in the fresh air. Here are a few examples where the desire to organize a “quiet hour” is not considered a symptom of a serious illness:

• Lack of night sleep due to banal reasons: personal experiences, stress, caring for a newborn, a session with students, an annual report, that is, circumstances to which a person devotes a lot of time and energy to the detriment of rest.
• Chronic fatigue, which the patient himself speaks of, implying constant work (mental and physical), endless household chores, lack of time for hobbies, sports, outdoor activities and entertainment. In a word, a person was dragged into a routine, he missed the moment when the body recovered in a couple of days, with chronic fatigue, when everything has gone so far, perhaps, in addition to rest, long-term treatment will also be needed.
• Fatigue makes itself felt faster with insufficient oxygen supply to the body, Why does the brain begin to experience starvation ( hypoxia). This happens if a person works for a long time in unventilated areas, there is little fresh air in his free time. What if he smokes too?
• Lack of sunlight. It's no secret that cloudy weather, the monotonous tapping of raindrops on the glass, the rustle of leaves outside the window greatly contribute to daytime drowsiness, which is difficult to cope with.
• Lethargy, loss of strength and the need for longer sleep appears when "the fields are compressed, the groves are bare", and nature itself is about to fall asleep for a long time - late autumn, winter(it gets dark early, the sun rises late).
• After a hearty lunch there is a desire to bow the head to something soft and cool. This is all the blood circulating through our vessels - it tends to the digestive organs - there is a lot of work, and at this time less blood flows to the brain and, along with it, oxygen. So it turns out that when the stomach is full, the brain is starving. Fortunately, this does not last long, so the afternoon nap passes quickly.
• Fatigue and drowsiness during the day may appear as a protective reaction of the body with psycho-emotional stress, stress, prolonged excitement.
• Taking medicines in the first place, tranquilizers, antidepressants, antipsychotics, hypnotics, certain antihistamines that have either direct action or side effects of lethargy and drowsiness can cause similar symptoms.
• mild cold, which in most cases is carried on the legs, without a sick leave and drug treatment (the body copes on its own), is manifested by rapid fatigue, therefore, during the working day, it does not faintly fall asleep.

• Pregnancy in itself, of course, the state is physiological, but the changes taking place in the body of a woman cannot be ignored, primarily regarding the ratio of hormones, which are accompanied by sleep disturbance (it is difficult to fall asleep at night, and during the day it is not always possible).
• Hypothermia- a decrease in body temperature as a result of hypothermia. From time immemorial, people have known that, being in unfavorable conditions (blizzard, frost), the main thing is not to succumb to the temptation to rest and sleep, and from fatigue in the cold it tends to sleep incredibly: often there is a feeling of warmth, it begins to seem to a person that he is in a good place. heated room and warm bed. This is a very dangerous symptom.

However, there are conditions that are often included in the concept of "syndrome". How to perceive them? In order for the presence of such a disease to be confirmed, it is necessary not only to pass some tests and go to some fashionable examination. A person, first of all, must himself identify his problems and present specific complaints, but, unfortunately, in most cases people consider themselves healthy, and doctors, to be honest, often dismiss the “insignificant claims” of patients to their health.

Disease or normal?

Lethargy, drowsiness, daytime fatigue can give various pathological conditions, even if we do not consider them as such:

1. Apathy and lethargy, as well as a desire to sleep at the wrong time for this, appears when neurotic disorders and depressive states, which are within the competence of psychotherapists, it is better for amateurs not to meddle in such subtle matters.
2. Weakness and drowsiness, irritability and weakness, loss of strength and decreased ability to work, often in their complaints are noted by people suffering sleep apnea(breathing problems during sleep).
3. Loss of energy, lethargy, weakness and drowsiness are symptoms , which at the present time is often repeated by both doctors and patients, but few people have seen it recorded as a diagnosis.
4. Often, lethargy and a desire to sleep during the day are noted by patients whose outpatient card contains such a “semi-diagnosis” as or , or whatever else is called such a state.
5. I want to stay longer in bed, sleep at night and during the day for people who have recently had infection - acute, or having it in a chronic form. The immune system, trying to restore its defenses, requires rest from other systems. During sleep, the body inspects the condition of the internal organs after the disease (what damage has been caused by it?), in order to correct everything if possible.
6. Keeps you awake at night and makes you sleepy during the day "restless leg syndrome". In such patients, doctors do not find any specific pathology, and night rest becomes a big problem.
7. Fibromyalgia. Due to what reasons and circumstances this disease appears, science is not known for certain, since, apart from excruciating pain in the whole body, disturbing peace and sleep, doctors do not find any pathology in a suffering person.
8. Alcoholism, drug addiction and other abuses in the status of "former" - in such patients, sleep is often disturbed forever, not to mention the states after withdrawal and "withdrawal".

The already long list of causes of daytime sleepiness that occurs in people who are considered to be practically healthy and able to work could be continued, which we will do in the next section, designating officially recognized pathological conditions as causes.

Cause in sleep disorder or somnological syndromes

The functions and tasks of sleep are programmed by human nature and consist in restoring the body's strength spent in the process of daytime activities. As a rule, an active life takes 2/3 of the day, about 8 hours are allotted for sleep. A healthy body, in which everything is safe and calm, life support systems are working normally, this time is more than enough - a person wakes up alert and rested, goes to work in order to return to a warm soft bed in the evening.

Meanwhile, the order that has been established since the birth of life on Earth can be destroyed by problems that are invisible at first glance, which do not allow a person to sleep at night and force him to fall asleep on the go during the day:

• • (insomnia) at night very quickly forms signs indicating that a person is not doing well: nervousness, fatigue, impaired memory and attention, depression, loss of interest in life and, of course, lethargy and constant sleepiness during the day.
  • Sleeping Beauty Syndrome (Kleine-Levin) the reason for which is still unclear. Almost no one considers this syndrome to be a disease, because in the intervals between attacks, patients do not differ from other people in any way and do not resemble patients. This pathology is characterized by periodically occurring (intervals from 3 months to six months) episodes of prolonged sleep (on average, 2/3 days, although it can be a day or two, or even longer). The most interesting thing is that people wake up to go to the toilet and eat. In addition to prolonged sleep during exacerbations, patients also notice other oddities: they eat a lot without controlling this process, some (males) show hypersexuality, become aggressive towards others if they try to stop voracity or hibernation.
  • Idiopathic hypersomnia. This disease can haunt people up to 30 years old, so it is often mistaken for a healthy sleep of young people. She is characterized by drowsiness during the day, which occurs even in situations that require high activity (study, for example). Without looking at a long and full night's rest, awakening is difficult, a bad mood and anger do not leave a person who "got up so early" for a long time.
  • Narcolepsy- a rather severe sleep disorder that is difficult to treat. It is almost impossible to get rid of drowsiness forever, having such a pathology, after the symptomatic treatment has been carried out, it will again declare itself. Surely, most people have not even heard a term such as narcolepsy, but such a disorder is considered by sleep experts to be one of the worst variants of hypersomnia. The thing is that it often does not give rest either during the day, causing an irresistible desire to fall asleep right at the workplace, or at night, creating obstacles to uninterrupted sleep (inexplicable anxiety, hallucinations when falling asleep that wake up, frighten, provide a bad mood and a breakdown over the next day).

• Pickwick syndrome(specialists also call it obese hypoventilation syndrome). The description of the Pickwickian syndrome, oddly enough, belongs to the famous English writer Charles Dickens (“The Posthumous Notes of the Pickwick Club”). Some authors argue that it was the syndrome described by Ch. Dickens that became the founder of a new science - somnology. Thus, having nothing to do with medicine, the writer unwittingly contributed to its development. Pickwickian syndrome is predominantly observed in people who have an impressive weight (grade 4 obesity), which puts a huge strain on the heart, presses on the diaphragm, makes it difficult to breathe, resulting in blood clotting ( polycythemia) and hypoxia. Patients with Pickwick's syndrome, as a rule, already suffer from sleep apnea, their rest looks like a series of episodes of stopping and resuming respiratory activity (the starving brain, when it becomes completely unbearable, makes you breathe, interrupting sleep). Of course, during the day - fatigue, weakness and an obsessive desire to sleep. By the way, Pickwick's syndrome is sometimes observed in patients with less than the fourth degree of obesity. The origin of this disease has not been clarified, perhaps a genetic factor plays a role in its development, but the fact that all sorts of extreme situations for the body (craniocerebral trauma, stress, pregnancy, childbirth) can become an impetus for a sleep disorder is already, in general , proven.

A mysterious disease, also coming from a sleep disorder - hysterical lethargy(lethargy) is nothing more than a protective reaction of the body in response to a strong shock, stress. Of course, for drowsiness, lethargy, slowness, you can take a mild course of a mysterious illness, manifested by periodic and short-term attacks that can catch you anywhere in the daytime. Lethargic sleep, which slows down all physiological processes and lasts for decades, certainly does not fit the category we are describing (daytime sleepiness).

Is sleepiness a sign of a serious illness?

Such a problem as constant drowsiness accompanies many pathological conditions, so there is no need to postpone it for later, perhaps it will turn out to be the symptom that will help find the true cause of the ailment, namely, a specific disease. Complaints of weakness and drowsiness, loss of strength and bad mood may give reason to suspect:

1. - a decrease in the content, which entails a drop in the level of hemoglobin - a protein that delivers oxygen to cells for respiration. The lack of oxygen leads to hypoxia (oxygen starvation), which is manifested by the above symptoms. Diet, fresh air and iron supplements help to get rid of this kind of drowsiness.
2. , , some forms - in general, conditions in which cells do not receive the amount of oxygen necessary for full functioning (basically, erythrocytes, for some reason, cannot carry it to their destination).
3. below normal values ​​​​(usually blood pressure is taken as the norm - 120/80 mm Hg). Slow blood flow through dilated vessels also does not contribute to the enrichment of tissues with oxygen and nutrients. Especially under such circumstances, the brain suffers. Patients with low blood pressure are often dizzy, they cannot stand attractions such as swings and carousels, they are motion sick in the car. Blood pressure in hypotensive people decreases after intellectual, physical and psycho-emotional overstrain, with intoxication, lack of vitamins in the body. Hypotension often accompanies iron deficiency and other anemias, but people suffering from it are most prone to it. (VSD of hypotonic type).
4. Thyroid diseases with a decrease in its functional abilities ( hypothyroidism). Insufficiency of thyroid function naturally leads to a drop in the level of thyroid-stimulating hormones, which gives a rather diverse clinical picture, including: rapid fatigue even after slight physical exertion, memory impairment, absent-mindedness, lethargy, slowness, drowsiness, chilliness, bradycardia or tachycardia, hypotension or arterial hypertension, anemia, damage to the digestive system, gynecological problems and much more. In general, the lack of thyroid hormones makes these people quite sick, so you can hardly expect them to be very active in life, they, as a rule, always complain of a breakdown and a constant desire to sleep.
5. Pathology of the cervical spine vowel (, hernia), which leads to feeding the brain.
6. Various hypothalamic lesions, since it contains zones that take part in regulating the rhythms of sleep and wakefulness;
7. respiratory failure with(decreased oxygen levels in the blood) and hypercapnia(blood saturation with carbon dioxide) is a direct path to hypoxia and, accordingly, its manifestations.

When the reason is already known

Chronic patients, in most cases, are well aware of their pathology and know why symptoms periodically occur or constantly accompany symptoms that are not attributed to direct signs of a specific disease:

• , which disrupts many processes in the body: the respiratory system, kidneys, and brain suffer, as a result, a lack of oxygen and tissue hypoxia.
• Diseases of the excretory system(nephritis, chronic renal failure) create conditions for the accumulation in the blood of substances that are toxic to the brain;
• Chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, dehydration due to acute digestive disorders (vomiting, diarrhea), characteristic of the pathology of the gastrointestinal tract;
• Chronic infections(viral, bacterial, fungal) localized in various organs, and neuroinfections affecting brain tissue.
• . Glucose is a source of energy for the body, but without insulin, it will not enter the cells (hyperglycemia). It will not get it in the right amount and with normal insulin production, but low sugar intake (hypoglycemia). Both high and low glucose levels for the body threaten with starvation, and, therefore, poor health, loss of strength and a desire to sleep more than the allotted time.
• Rheumatism if glucocorticoids are used for its treatment, they reduce the activity of the adrenal glands, which cease to provide the patient with a high vital activity.
• Condition after an epileptic seizure epilepsy) the patient usually falls asleep, waking up, notes lethargy, weakness, loss of strength, but he absolutely does not remember what happened to him.
• Intoxication. Stunning of consciousness, loss of strength, weakness and drowsiness are often among the symptoms of exogenous (food poisoning, poisoning with toxic substances and, most often, alcohol and its surrogates) and endogenous (liver cirrhosis, acute renal and liver failure) intoxication.

Any pathological process localized in the brain, can also lead to oxygen starvation of its tissues, and, therefore, to a desire to sleep during the daytime (which is why they say that such patients often confuse day with night). Difficulty blood flow in the GM, bringing it into a state of hypoxia, diseases such as head vessels, hydrocephalus, traumatic brain injury, dyscirculatory, brain tumor and many other diseases, which, along with their symptoms, have already been described on our website.

Sleepiness in a child

Many of the conditions listed above can cause weakness and drowsiness in a child, however you can not compare newborns, infants up to a year and older children.

Almost round-the-clock hibernation (with breaks only for feeding) in babies up to a year is happiness for parents, if the baby is healthy. During sleep, he gains strength for growth, forms a full-fledged brain and other systems that have not yet completed their development until the moment of birth.

After six months, the duration of sleep in an infant is reduced to 15-16 hours, the baby begins to be interested in the events taking place around him, shows a desire to play, so the daily need for rest will decrease every month, reaching 11-13 hours by the year.

Abnormal drowsiness in a small child can be considered if there are signs of the disease:

• Loose stools whether its prolonged absence;
• Dry diapers or diapers for a long time (the child has stopped urinating);
• Lethargy and desire to sleep after a bruise on the head;
• Pale (or even cyanotic) skin;
• Fever;
• Loss of interest in the voices of loved ones, lack of response to affection and stroking;
• Prolonged reluctance to eat.

The appearance of one of the listed symptoms should alert the parents and force them to call an ambulance without hesitation - the child must have been in trouble.

In an older child, drowsiness is unnatural if he sleeps normally at night and nothing, as it seems at first glance, does not get sick. Meanwhile, the body of children better feels the influence of invisible adverse factors and responds accordingly. Weakness and drowsiness, loss of activity, indifference, loss of strength, along with “adult diseases” can cause:

• Worm infestations;
• Traumatic brain injury (), which the child preferred to keep silent about;
• poisoning;
• Astheno-neurotic syndrome;
• Pathology of the blood system (anemia - deficient and hemolytic, some forms of leukemia);
• Diseases of the digestive, respiratory, circulatory organs, pathology of the endocrine system, occurring latently, without clear clinical manifestations;
• Lack of trace elements (iron, in particular) and vitamins in food;
• Permanent and prolonged stay in unventilated rooms (tissue hypoxia).

Any decrease in daily activity, lethargy and drowsiness in children are signs of ill health, which should be noticed by adults and become a reason for going to the doctor, especially if the child, due to his infancy, cannot yet formulate his complaints correctly. You may only have to enrich the diet with vitamins, spend more time in the fresh air or "poison" worms. But is it still better to be safe than to overlook?

Sleepiness treatment

Treatment for drowsiness? It may be, and is, but in each specific case - a separate one, in general, this treatment of the disease that causes a person to struggle with sleep during the day.

Given the long list of causes of daytime sleepiness, there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for how to get rid of daytime sleepiness. Perhaps a person just needs to open windows more often to let in fresh air or walk outside in the evenings and spend weekends in nature. Maybe it's time to reconsider your attitude to alcohol and smoking.

It is possible that you will need to streamline the regime of work and rest, switch to a healthy diet, take vitamins or conduct ferrotherapy. And, finally, to pass tests and undergo an examination.

In any case, you don’t need to rely too much on medications, but it’s human nature to look for the easiest and shortest ways to solve all issues. So it is with daytime sleepiness, because it is better to get some kind of medicine, take it when your eyes start to stick together, and everything will pass. However, here are a few examples:

Let's say drowsiness is caused by low blood pressure (), that is, a person knows exactly the reason for his constant falling asleep. Such people, undoubtedly, more than others can afford to love coffee or strong tea, which, in general, hypotensive people do. I drank coffee - there was cheerfulness and a desire to work, but the main thing is not to overdo it. Even for patients with low blood pressure, excessive doses of these drinks and taking them in the evening may not give a very good effect. In addition, people suffering from hypotension can turn to herbal pharmaceutical products. These are tinctures of Eleutherococcus, lure, ginseng. They increase pressure and performance, give a surge of vitality and relieve daytime sleepiness.

Another common cause of drowsiness is low. In this case, we can advise you to buy only a vitamin complex in a pharmacy, and iron, if it turns out that there is indeed iron deficiency anemia, the doctor will prescribe. But first, you will have to undergo an examination and establish the specific cause of the decrease in hemoglobin levels.

Or, say, hypoxia. What kind of person can be prescribed treatment if his body requires a medicine called "oxygen"? Of course, it happens that professional activity and leisure are somehow structured in such a way that a person does not get much fresh air and is overwhelmed by drowsiness for days. The only advice is to take care of the nutrition of your brain yourself. In connection with hypoxia, one cannot ignore such a bad habit as smoking. And what can be recommended in this case? Of course - quit smoking, sleep in the daytime, for sure, will be less.

It is difficult to give one recipe that satisfies everyone to combat daytime sleepiness for people with completely different problems: thyroid disease, cardiovascular pathology, respiratory or digestive diseases. It will also not be possible to prescribe the same treatment for those suffering from depression, sleep apnea or chronic fatigue syndrome. Everyone has their own problems, and, accordingly, their own therapy, so you can’t do without an examination and a doctor.

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