Drowsiness Overview
Learn About Drowsiness
Drowsiness refers to feeling more sleepy than normal during the day. People who are drowsy may fall asleep when they do not want to or at times which can lead to safety concerns.
Sleepiness - during the day; Hypersomnia; Somnolence
Excessive daytime sleepiness (without a known cause) may be a sign of a sleep disorder.
Depression, anxiety, stress, and boredom can all contribute to excessive sleepiness. However, these conditions more often cause fatigue and apathy.
Drowsiness may be due to the following:
- Long-term (chronic) pain
- Diabetes
- Having to work long hours or different shifts (nights, weekends)
- Insomnia and other problems falling or staying asleep
- Changes in blood sodium levels (hyponatremia or hypernatremia)
- Medicines (tranquilizers, sleeping pills, antihistamines, certain painkillers, some psychiatric drugs)
- Not sleeping long enough
- Sleep disorders (such as sleep apnea and narcolepsy)
- Too much calcium in your blood (hypercalcemia)
- Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
You can relieve drowsiness by treating the cause of the problem. First, determine whether your drowsiness is due to depression, anxiety, boredom, or stress. If you are not sure, talk with your health care provider.
For drowsiness due to medicines, talk to your provider about switching or stopping your medicines. But, DO NOT stop taking or change your medicine without first talking to your provider.
Do not drive when drowsy.
Your provider will examine you to determine the cause of your drowsiness. You will be asked about your sleep patterns and health. Questions may include:
- How well do you sleep?
- How much do you sleep?
- Do you snore?
- Do you fall asleep during the day when you do not plan to nap (such as when watching TV or reading)? If so, do you awake feeling refreshed? How often does this happen?
- Are you depressed, anxious, stressed, or bored?
- What medicines do you take?
- What have you done to try to relieve the drowsiness? How well did it work?
- What other symptoms do you have?
Tests that may be done include:
- Blood tests (such as a CBC and blood differential, blood sugar level, electrolytes, calcium, and thyroid hormone levels)
- CT or MRI scan of the head
- Electroencephalogram (EEG)
- Sleep studies
- Urine tests (such as a urinalysis)
Treatment depends on the cause of your drowsiness.
Nuvance Health Medical Practice Ct Inc
Jose Mendez is a Pulmonary Medicine specialist and a Sleep Medicine provider in Danbury, Connecticut. Dr. Mendez and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Drowsiness. His top areas of expertise are Lung Metastases, Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, Drowsiness, Asthma in Children, and Gastrostomy.
Nuvance Health Medical Practice Ct Inc
Douglas Kahn is a Pulmonary Medicine specialist and an Intensive Care Medicine provider in Danbury, Connecticut. Dr. Kahn and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Drowsiness. His top areas of expertise are Lung Metastases, Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, Drowsiness, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Nuvance Health Medical Practice Ct Inc
Charles Guardia is a Neurologist and a Sleep Medicine provider in Danbury, Connecticut. Dr. Guardia and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Drowsiness. His top areas of expertise are Corticobasal Degeneration, Restless Legs Syndrome, Partial Familial Epilepsy, and Seizures.
Summary: This is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized withdrawal, multicenter study of the efficacy and safety of FT218. FT218 drug product is a once-nightly formulation of sodium oxybate for extended-release oral suspension. The study will enroll subjects who are diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia. Subjects will be eligible to enroll regardless of current treatment with oxybate therapy or sti...
Summary: Mind wandering is a state in which attention turns away from the external environment or current task to focus on internal thoughts (past experiences, future events, planned actions...). Humans are thought to spend at least one third of their waking lives in this state. Mind wandering can be assessed experimentally by investigating mental content during well-controlled tasks. In this case, task-un...
Published Date: July 08, 2023
Published By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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Mansukhani MP, Kolla BP, St. Louis EK. Sleep disorders. In: Kellerman RD, Rakel DP, Heidelbaugh JJ, Lee EM, eds. Conn's Current Therapy 2023. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier 2023:794-809.
Sharafkhaneh A, Hirshkowitz M. Evaluating sleepiness and fatigue. In: Kryger M, Roth T, Goldstein CA, Dement WC, eds. Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 207.