I Fall Asleep Throughout the Day: Do I Have Narcolepsy?

It’s completely normal to experience daytime sleepiness from time to time. In fact, it’s to be expected after a long night, a disrupted sleep schedule, or periods with increased activity.

However, if you consistently struggle to stay awake during the day, it can be a sign of a problem.

In many cases, people who fall asleep throughout the day assume it’s due to narcolepsy. However, that’s a rare condition. In reality, more common issues usually trigger this problem.

Dr. Nehal Mehta and Dr. Prashant Patel have the specialized skills you need to get to the bottom of your daytime sleepiness at Respacare in Bridgewater, New Jersey. 

If you fall asleep throughout the day, here are a few things that could be to blame.

Lack of quality sleep

The most common reason people fall asleep is fairly straightforward — they don’t get enough sleep.

Generally speaking, most people need between 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. Without it, their body can simply force the person to fall asleep so they can catch up.

Lack of sleep can occur for various reasons, such as:

• Poor sleep hygiene
• Consuming alcohol or illegal drugs
• Working night-shifts
• Environmental factors, like noise pollution and temperature

Sleep disorders can also interfere with a person’s sleep quality, including insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome.

Underlying medical issues

In addition to interfering with sleep quality, certain medical conditions can also cause a person to fall asleep throughout the day.

Underlying health issues that can lead to excessive daytime fatigue include:

• Electrolyte imbalances
• Anemia
• Depression
• Blood sugar imbalances
• Thyroid disorders
• Kidney disease

Even certain prescription and over-the-counter medications can cause profound tiredness during the day.

Narcolepsy

Less often, people fall asleep during the day because of narcolepsy.

This neurological sleep disorder is fairly uncommon. While numbers are difficult to estimate, experts suspect around 25-50 people in every 100,000 worldwide have the condition.

In addition to excessive daytime sleepiness, narcolepsy has additional symptoms, such as:

• Falling asleep without warning, anywhere and any time
• Sudden loss of muscle tone that can also slur speech and last a few minutes
• Sleep paralysis that lasts seconds or minutes
• Sleep-related hallucinations
• Changes in REM sleep where dreaming happens

It’s also possible for people with this condition to have other sleep disorders — like insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea — or act out their dreams.

Diagnosing daytime sleepiness

Since so many things can cause daytime fatigue or falling asleep, it’s crucial to work with an expert to get to the bottom of your symptoms.

Our experts specialize in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep-related issues. 

During your consultation, they discuss your daytime symptoms, sleep patterns, and personal and family health history. They also review your medication and supplement lists to ensure they aren’t the source of your daytime fatigue.

Based on their assessment, they could recommend additional screenings, ranging from pulmonary function tests to sleep disorder assessments.

This personalized screening approach gives them a comprehensive look at your lifestyle, symptoms, and overall health — and they can all provide clues about your daytime sleepiness.

Once they reach a diagnosis, they can also outline a customized treatment plan to help you feel your best throughout the day moving forward.

Do you fall asleep during the day or struggle with excessive fatigue? Contact Respacare by phone or online to schedule a visit with our experts in Bridgewater, New Jersey, today.