Sleep problems stem from multiple causes: jet lag, working graveyard or rotating shifts that go against the body’s natural sleep rhythms, or skimping on sleep in order to stay on top of a full-throttle schedule.
While many of us are tired from skimping on sleep, others with sleep problems may have bona fide sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, or narcolepsy. People who work graveyard or rotating shifts may have shift work sleep disorder, marked by excessive sleepiness during night work and insomnia when they try to sleep during the daytime.
Regardless of the cause, excessive sleepiness “is becoming more of a legitimate complaint,” both among patients and doctors, says David G. Davila, MD, a National Sleep Foundation spokesman and board member who practices sleep medicine in Little Rock, Ark. He sees men and women who can’t muster enough alertness to finish mental tasks or who struggle to stay awake while driving – and many who doze off in his waiting room.
Some try to cope with excessive sleepiness through caffeine or stimulants, he says. "They’ll come in actually complaining of insomnia because they’re at Starbucks too much, and they’re piling on the caffeine too late in the day. They’re really responding to sleepiness, but then they end up getting secondary insomnia related to the caffeine