How to deal with excessive sleep, from sleep hygiene to medicine

Various tricks to overcome excessive sleep

Hypersomnia can be caused by many factors. Starting from lack of sleep, drug side effects, to certain diseases that make you often sleepy.

In order for treatment to be more effective, you need to know the cause first.

Here are some ways to deal with excessive sleep problems based on the cause:

1. Implement healthy sleep measures

This is the simplest method, but it requires a strong commitment so that you can overcome excessive sleep.

Sleep healthy or sleep hygiene consists of a number of ways that need to be done regularly in order to restore a normal sleep cycle.

Quoting National Sleep Foundation There are several ways that can be done, namely:

Get used to sleeping and waking up at the same time.
Limit naps to no more than 20-30 minutes a day.
Do not consume caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, soft drinks and fried, spicy, high-fat, and acidic foods before bed. These foods and drinks can stimulate the digestive system during sleep.
Ensuring the bedroom environment is supportive for sleeping. For example, by dimming the lights, using soft pillows and bolsters, and adjusting the room temperature so that it is not too hot or cold.
Doing relaxing things before bed. For example, take a warm bath, read a book, or stretch.

2. Cognitive and behavioral therapy (cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT)

This one method can be used to deal with excessive sleep due to psychological problems.

This therapy aims to change thought patterns, emotions, responses, and behaviors that make patients prone to hypersomnia.

CBT is done in several sessions with a therapist. The therapist will help the patient break down the problem into several parts and work together to find a solution.

The agreed solution is expected to provide progress in the next counseling session.

3. Take stimulant drugs

Stimulants are a class of drugs that speed up the transmission of signals between the brain and body.

This drug can keep you awake, energized, and even feel more confident. Examples of the most common stimulant drugs are methylphenidate and modafinil.

This method is very commonly used to treat excessive sleep problems, whether the cause is known or not.

Although effective, stimulant drugs should not be taken in the long term because they have side effects on teeth, heart and behavior.

Back again, to be safe, first consult a doctor before drinking it.

4. Take non-stimulant drugs

Several other classes of drugs can also make you more awake even though they don't work as stimulants.

The exact mechanism is not known, but these drugs are believed to increase the production of dopamine compounds in the brain.

When dopamine production goes up, melatonin production will decrease. As a result, you don't feel sleepy easily.

5. Take sodium oxybate medication

Another way that is considered effective in overcoming excessive sleep is taking the drug sodium oxybate.

This drug is usually used to treat narcolepsy, which is a severe sleep disorder characterized by excessive drowsiness, hallucinations, and sudden sleep while on the move.

The efficacy of sodium oxybate for treating hypersomnia has not been fully proven.

However, a study in the journal Sleep Medicine found that sodium oxybate reduced drowsiness in 71 percent of hypersomnia patients.

Hypersomnia can generally be relieved by adopting healthy sleep measures.

However, drowsiness and excessive sleeping habits due to other medical causes require more serious treatment.

If sleep hygiene and enough hours of sleep do not work, try to consult a doctor. Mainly in the consumption of the drugs above.

Further tests will determine the most appropriate way to deal with the excessive sleep problem you are currently facing.