6th annual international Idiopathic Hypersomnia Awareness Week runs from 3th through to 9th September.
Idiopathic Hypersomnia (IH), sometimes referred to as Idiopathic Hypersomnolence, is a neurological sleep/wake disorder characterised by excessive sleep and daytime sleepiness.
Most people can feel tired, fatigued and at times, excessively sleepy, particularly when they do not get enough sleep. However what sets people with IH apart is that they experience extreme sleepiness despite getting adequate or typically more than adequate hours of sleep (typically more than 11 hours in a 24 hour period). Their sleep may be deep and uninterrupted but it is not refreshing. Despite extraordinary amounts of good quality sleep people with IH are in an almost constant state of sleepiness.
Idiopathic Hypersomnia can cause a range of symptoms including excessive nocturnal and daytime sleep despite more than adequate good quality sleep, chronic daytime sleepiness, extreme and prolonged difficulty waking up from sleep, accompanied by confusion, disorientation, irritability and poor coordination with an uncontrollable desire to go back to sleep. It can also include automatic behavior ie: performing tasks without consciously knowing it and not remembering you have done them eg: turning off alarm clocks or answering your phone, and cognitive dysfunction (commonly referred to as ‘brain fog’) ie: problems with memory, automatic behaviour, concentration and attention. Unlike in other sleep disorders, the sleep in patients with Idiopathic Hypersomnia is normal; there are no disturbances that can account for their symptoms. There is no cure and the medications that are available only assist with some of the symptoms, they do not treat the cause. Idiopathic Hypersomnia has a devastating impact on the ability to work, socialise, stay healthy and live a normal life. The focus of the 2018 Idiopathic Hypersomnia Awareness Week is to raise awareness of the need to acknowledge the impact Idiopathic Hypersomnia has on a patient’s life and how the consequences of that can make the symptoms more difficult to manage. As we have in previous years we want to emphasise the importance of the support and understanding of family, friends and health professionals in the overall wellbeing of those with Idiopathic Hypersomnia. We want people to understand that people with IH need help and practical support to manage their day to day lives.
Idiopathic Hypersomnia Awareness Week® 3-9 September 2018
Facebook www.facebook.com/IHAwarenessWeek Twitter www.twitter.com/IHAWeek @IHAWeek Instagram www.instagram.com/ihaweek
We will be using the hashtag #IHAW2018
For information about Idiopathic Hypersomnia visit the Hypersomnolence Australia and Hypersomnia Foundation websites
