Excessive Sleepiness And Mental Health: Is There A Link?

Do you often fall asleep during the day without wanting to, even though you also sleep a lot at night? This phenomenon is often referred to as excessive sleepiness. This condition can sometimes be a symptom of a sleep disorder, but did you know that it may also be a sign of a mental health condition? 

Below, we’ll look more closely at excessive sleepiness, including what it is, possible causes of excessive sleepiness, and how it relates to mental health. 

Improving your mental health may improve your sleep

Take the first step toward less sleepiness

What is excessive daytime sleepiness?

Sometimes also called “hypersomnia,” excessive sleepiness is more than feeling a bit groggy or fatigued. People with excessive sleepiness may repeatedly fall asleep during the day, even though they also get a lot of sleep at night. Excessive sleepiness may also make people nod off, struggle to concentrate, or take frequent naps and still feel tired.

Common symptoms of excessive sleepiness include:

• Falling asleep without trying to
• Experiencing difficulty paying attention
• Having blackouts or amnesia
• Having difficulty thinking clearly
• Struggling to make decisions or remember information
• Performing behaviors automatically or robotically

Because people with excessive sleepiness may fall asleep at inappropriate times, they may be at an increased risk of car crashes and workplace injuries. 

What are the causes of excessive sleepiness?

Sleep disorders are perhaps the most well-known cause of excessive daytime sleepiness. A sleep disorder is a condition that disrupts your sleep cycle or prevents you from getting enough healthy sleep. There are several different types of sleep disorders, including:

Sleep-disordered breathing: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a group of disorders that cause breathing problems during sleep. Two of the most common examples are obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. These conditions cause your breathing to stop and restart repeatedly during the night. People with SDB may snore loudly, cough, or gasp while they sleep. Excessive sleepiness is another possible symptom of SDB. 

Insomnia:Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders. When you have insomnia, you may find it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. You may also frequently wake up and fall asleep again during the night. As a result, you might struggle to get enough quality sleep. This may lead to excessive sleepiness in the day. 

Parasomnias: Parasomnias are unwanted behaviors that happen during sleep. Sleepwalking is a common example of a parasomnia, but there are various others. People with parasomnias may talk, eat, wet the bed, or do other complex activities while sleeping. These behaviors can result in poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness.

Sleep-related movement disorders: This group of disorders causes movements that, while less complex than parasomnia movements, can still interfere with sleep. For example, people with restless legs syndrome may feel uncomfortable sensations in their legs in the evening or at night. Meanwhile, periodic limb movement disorder can make people twitch, kick, or jerk their limbs repeatedly while asleep. Symptoms like these can interrupt sleep or make it harder to get to sleep. 

Circadian rhythm disorders: Your circadian rhythm is the pattern your body follows throughout the day, including the times you go to bed and wake up. Circadian rhythm disorders, or “sleep-wake cycle disorders,” often cause problems with this pattern. A common example is jet lag, which can cause daytime sleepiness and other uncomfortable symptoms when you travel to a new time zone. 

Central hypersomnia: Central hypersomnias are disorders that cause excessive sleepiness but aren’t due to other specific sleep problems. Narcolepsy, which can make you fall asleep unexpectedly, is one example. Another example is idiopathic hypersomnia, which is excessive sleepiness that starts suddenly without a clear cause. 

Even if you don’t have a sleep disorder, you may still experience daytime sleepiness if your sleep isn’t restful or restorative. Factors that may contribute to reduced sleep quality and daytime sleepiness include:

• Frequently needing to go to the bathroom at night
• Smoking or consuming caffeine late in the day
• Using electronics before bed
• Not getting enough exercise
• Using certain medications

Some medical conditions may also cause hypersomnia. Nocturnal asthma, chronic pain, heartburn, and thyroid conditions are a few examples. 

Is excessive sleepiness a mental health symptom?

Beyond the causes mentioned above, excessive daytime sleepiness may also have another cause: an underlying mental health condition. 

Mental illnesses can look different for different people. For some people, several mental illnesses may cause daytime sleepiness. For example, it can be common for people with depression to feel excessively tired during the day. This may be due to changes in levels of brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, which can affect sleep patterns, movement, and energy levels. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, approximately 75% of people with depression experience difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.  

Excessive sleepiness may also be a symptom of bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder can cause episodes of depression, leading to sleepiness, but it can also cause manic episodes. During manic episodes, people with BD may go days without sleeping. This may result in excessive sleepiness when an episode ends. In a 2018 paper, researchers analyzed data from 10 studies and found that 29.9% of patients with bipolar disorder experienced hypersomnia. 

Beyond depression and bipolar disorder, other mental illnesses and conditions affecting the brain may disrupt sleep, causing excessive sleepiness. Some examples include:

• Dementia
• Anxiety
• PTSD
• ADHD
• Autism spectrum disorder

Improving your mental health may improve your sleep

Take the first step toward less sleepiness

What to do if you’re experiencing excessive sleepiness

If you’re experiencing excessive sleepiness, you might consider talking to talk to a doctor, who may refer you to a sleep medicine specialist for further testing. Excessive sleepiness is often treatable, but finding the right treatment may depend on figuring out what’s causing it. For example, if you’re experiencing sleep apnea, you might benefit from a CPAP machine to regulate your breathing while you sleep. On the other hand, if insomnia is behind your sleepiness, then a prescription sleep medication may be more helpful. A doctor may also recommend making changes to your sleep habits, such as:

• Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day
• Using your bed only for sleep and sexual activity
• Avoiding stimulants, like caffeine and nicotine, late in the day
• Lowering the temperature in your room
• Eating dinner earlier in the evening
• Getting more physical exercise
• Developing a consistent, relaxing bedtime routine

Tackling the root cause of your sleepiness may also mean getting mental health support if you’re living with a condition like depression or bipolar disorder. Working with a therapist may allow you to identify and change the thoughts and behaviors that are affecting your sleep.

Building an ongoing relationship with your therapist may help you get the most out of therapy. However, finding the right therapist can sometimes take some trial and error. With online therapy, you can be matched with a licensed therapist and attend therapy from the comfort of your own home. You can also change therapists at any time, for any reason, at no extra cost. 

Research shows that online therapy may help treat mental illnesses that can lead to excessive sleepiness. For example, in 2017, researchers looked at data from over 300 studies of internet-based therapy. They found that online therapy was an effective treatment for depression, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder, among other disorders.