Excessive Daytime Sleepiness is a term used in cases wherein the patient lacks the energy to be active during the day and feels constantly sleepy even after having had a good night’s sleep. This feeling of sleepiness can exist at work, driving while eating, or even during conversations.

Today at least 43% of people suffer from Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS), and 20% of adults experience daytime sleepiness at least a few days per week.

• Constant Fatigue
• Feeling sluggish
• Drowsy throughout the day

• Not having adequate sleep
• Inappropriate sleeping patterns such as in cases of night shifts, jet lag, etc
• Breathing disorders and periodic limb movements during sleep
• Medical conditions such as chronic pains, arthritis, spondylosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and fibromyalgia.
• Some underlying sleep disorders can be sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, idiopathic hypersomnia, or narcolepsy
• Atypical or clinical depression
• Overuse of drugs
• Genetic disorders
• Deficiency of vitamins like biotin
• Over the counter medication or taking own prescribed drugs

The first step is to perform the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) to assess the overall sleepiness and diagnosing the abnormalities in the sleep for any obvious causes of sleep disruption in the night that could affect the daytime symptoms. Post this test, the pharmacotherapy is achieved with the use of stimulants like amphetamine sulfate and methylphenidate and any alerting agents like modafinil.