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Disorder that makes you sleepy during the day is more common than scientists first thought
Do you feel unusually sleepy during the day? Scientists now think that this once-rare sleeping disorder could be impacting millions worldwide.
Whether you are at work, school, or at the wheel of a vehicle, feeling sleepy during the day can have dangerous and far-reaching consequences for you and the people around you. Recently, a new study has revealed that a relatively unknown sleep disorder might be impacting millions more people than first believed.
Daytime fatigue sleep disorder more common than first thought
Idiopathic hypersomnia is a disorder that can leave you feeling extremely sleepy during the day, even if you have had an excellent night’s sleep. Once thought to be a relatively rare disorder, a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has found that it could be far more common than first thought; potentially impacting millions around the world.
Dr David Plante, author of the research paper explained that It has been difficult to determine the prevalence of idiopathic hypersomnia because expensive and time-consuming sleep testing is required to make a diagnosis.
To address this, the scientists analyzed sleep data from 792 people and found that 12 individuals (around 1.5% of the sample) had probable cases of Idiopathic hypersomnia.
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These participants were far more likely to fall asleep while sitting down, talking, and even at a red light stop in their car than those without the disorder, even when they had a good nights sleep previously.
Our results demonstrate that idiopathic hypersomnia is relatively common, more prevalent than generally assumed, so there is likely a sizable difference between the number of people with this disorder and those who seek treatment.
In fact, this sleep disorder might be so common that it could be as prevalent as some other common neurologic and psychiatric conditions such as epilepsy, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
The researchers also noted that their study only sampled employed individuals and that the rate of idiopathic hypersomnia could be far higher in the unemployed.
Further efforts to identify, diagnose and treat those impaired by idiopathic hypersomnia are needed. Additional research may also clarify the causes of idiopathic hypersomnia and lead to new treatments.
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Light color could be less important for your internal clock than first thought
Interestingly, there was another study published recently in the Nature Human Behaviour journal that suggested that light color is far less important to your internal clock than first thought too.
This refers to the notion that before you go to sleep, you should avoid blue light that is typically emitted from phone or computer screens.
“A study in mice in 2019 suggested that yellowish light has a stronger influence on the internal clock than blueish light. However, there is reason to believe that the colour of light, which is encoded by the [specialized ganglion cell] cones, could also be relevant for the internal clock.”
Here, the team of scientists from the University of Basel found no evidence that the variation of light colour along a blue-yellow dimension plays a relevant role for the human internal clock or sleep.
In laymans terms, its indicated night mode on mobile phones or tablets (modes that give a screen a yellow tint) might not lead to better sleeping patterns, as many of us were led to believe. �
Technologically, it is possible to reduce the short-wavelength proportions even without colour adjustment of the display, however this has not yet been implemented in commercial mobile phone displays , argue the researchers.
Always consult your local doctor if you are having trouble sleeping at night or find yourself becoming sleepy during the day.
