What is the disease of “unable to wake up during the day and unable to fall asleep at night”?

Excessive daytime sleepiness refers to the inability to stay awake or sleeping too long during non-main sleep periods, which affects daily work, study, and social activities. The incidence rate among the population is over 10%. Common diseases that cause daytime sleepiness include sleep apnea syndrome, narcolepsy, insomnia, etc.

Narcolepsy: a sudden and unbearable urge to sleep

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by sudden, irresistible daytime sleep episodes. The cause of the disease is still unclear, but it is related to mental psychology. It is a disease of children and adolescents. Adults may also suffer from this disease, but it is rare. One of the most common clinical manifestations of this disease is the sudden onset of daytime sleepiness. Some children will feel sleepy no matter they are in class, eating, talking, exercising, reading, doing homework, or taking exams. Although the child tries hard to avoid falling asleep, he or she will eventually fall asleep after a minute or two because he or she cannot resist. The sleep time lasts about 10-15 minutes, and after waking up you feel clear-headed and refreshed.

The second main symptom is general muscle weakness that is often accompanied by a transient sudden onset. In mild cases, the patient may involuntarily drop his head, while in severe cases, the patient may fall suddenly but remain conscious. This is clinically called "cataplexy." This type of cataplexy usually occurs only once a day, lasting only a few seconds each time, and often occurs in emotional situations such as laughing, being frightened, or being angry. Narcolepsy itself does not pose a serious threat to life and generally does not cause other organic diseases, but it can cause many accidents.

Sleep apnea: snoring at night and sleepiness during the day

Sleep apnea syndrome is a common disease with potential harm, but it has not yet attracted widespread attention. According to domestic and foreign statistics, the incidence rate among adults is about 1%-4%, and the incidence rate among the elderly is about 20%-40%.

Snoring while sleeping is one of the most typical symptoms of patients with sleep apnea syndrome. Usually, the patient's snoring is loud but irregular, intermittent, and the sound is high and low. It often becomes quiet after a few "whooshes", and a loud snoring sound occurs after dozens of seconds. Patients with severe conditions will snore loudly whether they are lying on their side or back, or even in a meeting or while riding in a car, and the snore will continue throughout the night, but patients often are unaware that they are snoring.

The patient's sleepiness is mainly manifested as uncontrollable dozing off during the day, regardless of time and place. He or she will fall asleep involuntarily while in meetings, watching TV, reading, or listening to lectures. The most serious cases can even fall asleep while talking to people. About 2/3 of patients with sleep apnea syndrome will experience varying degrees of excessive sleep, often sleeping for more than ten hours, or even being drowsy all day. The reason why patients often doze off is that although they sleep for a long time, the quality of their sleep is poor. A normal person's sleep goes from light to deep. Only deep sleep can eliminate fatigue and keep the mind clear during the day. However, patients with sleep apnea syndrome often wake up from sleep due to frequent apnea and seldom enter deep sleep.

Insomnia: Can’t fall asleep at night and can’t wake up during the day

According to the latest sleep survey results released by the China Sleep Research Society, the incidence of insomnia among Chinese adults is 38.2%, higher than 32% in the United States, 10% in the United Kingdom, 20% in Japan and 30% in France. The personality traits of insomniacs are often sensitive, suspicious, indecisive, subjective, stubborn, they like to pursue perfection in everything, and have a strong sense of urgency. People with insomnia are also prone to feeling sleepy during the day, but it is recommended to take fewer naps during the day. Even if you take a short nap, it is best not to exceed 30 minutes, otherwise it will more easily affect normal sleep at night.

In addition to sleep-related diseases, physiological factors such as hypoglycemia and reduced immunity may also cause drowsiness. The brain needs to absorb sugar as a source of energy, so low blood sugar can easily cause symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, drowsiness, and inability to concentrate. Fever or cold caused by infection can make the body drowsy due to the immune response. When the body is infected, immune cells such as white blood cells and lymphocytes will immediately take effect. At the same time, in order to avoid rising body temperature and energy consumption by muscles and brain, people will feel like resting.

In addition, some living and working habits are also the reasons why people love to doze off, and everyone should learn to self-regulate. Dozing off is closely related to eating habits and nutritional status. People who often overeat, especially those who eat too much sugar and fat, are more likely to feel sleepy due to a lack of B vitamins.

In addition to eating habits, people who engage in monotonous work for a long time are also prone to burnout and sleepiness. Since people are familiar with the work procedures, it is natural for them to relax. When a person is doing monotonous work, he or she will fall asleep once every 11 minutes on average. On the contrary, if the work is exciting, you will become energetic under the constant stimulation of neurotransmitters such as adrenaline and dopamine.