Excessive Sleepiness Spells Trouble
Oftentimes, extreme daytime sleepiness is a key sign of disturbed or poor sleep. A new study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (August 2005), found that daytime sleepiness also can indicate depression or even diabetes, regardless of how well an individual sleeps.
The researchers based their findings on a study of 16,500 men and women ranging in age from 20 to 100 years old from central Pennsylvania. Of the participants, 8.7% experienced excessive daytime sleepiness. The investigators discovered that excessive daytime sleepiness was more strongly connected with depression and obesity or metabolic factors, compared with sleep-disordered breathing or sleep disruption. The results of the study also identified a strong association between excessive daytime sleepiness and diabetes.
