Narcolepsy is a lifelong sleep disorder that makes you feel overwhelmingly tired, and in severe cases, have sudden uncontrollable sleep attacks. Narcolepsy can impact nearly every aspect of your life. It is dangerous because you can have excessive sleepiness or a sleep attack at any time of the day, in the middle of any activity…
Insomnia – Overview and Facts
Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint. It occurs when you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep even though you had the opportunity to get a full night of sleep. The causes, symptoms and severity of insomnia vary from person to person. Insomnia may include: Difficulty falling asleep Difficulty staying asleep throughout the night…
Crash Course: Public School Accommodations for Children with Hypersomnia: Part 2
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on October 6, 2015 Part 2: Understanding 504 vs. IEP By Kate Pece, M. Ed. In this series of four articles, you will learn how to navigate the public school system for accommodations under a 504 plan. When it comes to helping students with sleep disorders, it is easy for the…
Does Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Affect Children’s Pedestrian Safety?
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on September 29, 2015 Background Each year, approximately 30,000 children are unintentionally killed or injured while walking outside (typically within a half mile of their homes). Many factors—including children’s thinking and reasoning abilities, attention spans, reaction times, impulsiveness, and willingness to take risks—likely play a role. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), whether…
Crash Course: Public School Accommodations for Children with Hypersomnia
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on September 15, 2015 Crash Course: Public School Accommodations for Children with Hypersomnia By Kate Pece, M. Ed. In this series of 4 articles, you will learn how to navigate the public school system for accommodations under a 504 plan. This first article gives a broad overview of initiating the process…
Raising Awareness of the Underpinnings of Hypersomnia
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on September 8, 2015 Awareness of disease means different things to different people. One’s awareness takes origin in experiences and goals, both personal and professional. Diversity in awareness therefore comprises our community of people who have hypersomnia, their significant others, healthcare professionals, and research scientists. People who have hypersomnia need to…
I Will Not Go Gentle Into That Night
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on September 2, 2015 At what moment does one admit to themselves, family, and the world that they have more than a passing penchant for sleep as well as have cognitive issues? To be sleepy or “getting caught” napping evokes societal stigmas, e.g., “lazy,” “unproductive,” “disinterested.” Impaired cognition attracts its own…
GABA and Histamine Work Together to Control Wakefulness
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on August 18, 2015 New research on genetically altered mice helps to untangle the complex interactions of GABA with brain systems necessary for sustaining wakefulness. BACKGROUND Histamine Nerve cells (also known as neurons) in a specific part of the brain, called the tuberomammilary nucleus or TMN, produce histamine. Histamine is a…
Wellsprings of Hope
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on August 14, 2015 …. if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods Just shy of a month ago, our…
Why Do I Fool Myself?
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on August 4, 2015 Every night as I head to bed, there’s this moment of joy and comfort I experience, which I assume most people experience at least every now and again—that feeling after a long day of work or maybe travel, that you will finally get to lie down and…