Sistersteel
04-15-2009, 11:05 AM
Many people may feel that they genuinely have a sleep addiction. They feel that they think about sleeping constantly, they sleep for lengthy periods of time and they find it interferes sufficiently with the rest of their lives to be a problem.
The first thing that needs to be considered when struggling with a problem like this is the possibility that it may have a physical cause. There are several disorders and conditions that cause extreme and chronic fatigue. Mononucleosis can persist in the body and cause severe fatigue. Check out the symptom profile for illnesses like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome where the need for excessive amounts of sleep is one of the main symptoms.
An addiction to sleep, if there is such a thing, rarely causes the kind of harm to others that is an element in all other addictions. Few people are damaged by a loved ones desire to sleep for long periods of time though it may be mildly disruptive and worrying.
It is true that the chronic sleeper may long for the next sleep, may even obsess about it, but the actual act of sleeping is not in fact harmful to the body unless extended periods of inactivity could be construed as being harmful.
Normally the person most aware of the possibility of a sleep compulsion is the sleeper themselves rather than those around her. He or she may be concerned that they may not be able to stay awake long enough to fulfill their obligations and duties or maintain relationships. For this reason it is important to investigate the possibility of some physiological disorder.
If this is found to be untrue then the next step should be psychotherapy in an effort to see if there are some underlying psychological problems causing the person to use sleep as a kind of escape from the world and all of its demands.
The first thing that needs to be considered when struggling with a problem like this is the possibility that it may have a physical cause. There are several disorders and conditions that cause extreme and chronic fatigue. Mononucleosis can persist in the body and cause severe fatigue. Check out the symptom profile for illnesses like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome where the need for excessive amounts of sleep is one of the main symptoms.
An addiction to sleep, if there is such a thing, rarely causes the kind of harm to others that is an element in all other addictions. Few people are damaged by a loved ones desire to sleep for long periods of time though it may be mildly disruptive and worrying.
It is true that the chronic sleeper may long for the next sleep, may even obsess about it, but the actual act of sleeping is not in fact harmful to the body unless extended periods of inactivity could be construed as being harmful.
Normally the person most aware of the possibility of a sleep compulsion is the sleeper themselves rather than those around her. He or she may be concerned that they may not be able to stay awake long enough to fulfill their obligations and duties or maintain relationships. For this reason it is important to investigate the possibility of some physiological disorder.
If this is found to be untrue then the next step should be psychotherapy in an effort to see if there are some underlying psychological problems causing the person to use sleep as a kind of escape from the world and all of its demands.