trouble waking in mornng

[river60606]

Over the last year I have had a serious problem waking up in the morning. I can sit the alarm clock beside me and have even tried sitting it across the room so I would have to get up out of bed to shut it off. The problem is I don't hear it. The alarm goes off for hours before I even hear it. I have even tried going to bed at the same time every night and still nothing has changed. People have tried to yell at me and shake me awake and I still don't wake up. As a result of this I lost my job. Two years ago I never had a problem waking up and could hear an alarm clock just fine. Why all the problems now? Do I have a sleeping disorder?

[Dr_Smita_S]

Hi

You are most likely suffering from hypersomnia. It may present as excessive daytime sleepiness or nocturnal sleep of long duration (as much as 12 h or more) or sleep drunkenness.

Patients do not get abnormal amounts of night sleep rather they have problems waking up in the morning and staying awake during the day.

Hypersomnia is sometimes misdiagnosed as narcolepsy where a person experiences a sudden onset of sleepiness. The causes can be genetic, brain damage or medical disorders such as clinical depression, uremia and fibromyalgia. Sometimes hypersomnia may be other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome.

You should consult a psychologist for a complete medical and psychological workup.

Do keep us posted about your progress.

Take care!