Hypersomnia

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Under the category of hypersomnia are grouped diseases manifesting excessive daytime sleepiness as a unifying and common symptom. The subjects showed an inability to stay awake during the day and an uncontrollable tendency to sleep in any given situation. One way to determine the degree of the severity of these diseases is to quantify the symptoms interfering in everyday circumstances. The American Association of Sleep Disorders defines three levels of intensity of daytime sleepiness.

• Mild hypersomnia: The trend uncontrolled sleep occurs in monotonous situations or semi-rest: watching television, passenger transport, in which the subject does not drive, in lectures or conferences.
• Moderate hypersomnia: It occurs, when the subject performs activities requiring a level of attention and active involvement.
• Severe Hypersomnia: Any daily activity is modified by intense episodes of uncontrollable sleepiness. This level implies an absolute dependency and the quality of life is considerably reduced as the daily acts are subjected to the whims of sleep attacks.