Do you find yourself battling sleepiness after your lunch? Or perhaps it’s during your drive home from work–you find yourself nodding at stop lights. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) can be more than an inconvenience, it can be dangerous. And it can also be indicative of a more serious health problem.

Occasional sleepiness during the day is normal, something that everyone experiences at some time or another. But for some people, it is a chronic and serious problem, one that interferes with their ability to function and can take a toll on their quality of life. For these people, the need to sleep at inappropriate times is so strong that they might fall asleep during a conversation or meal, while driving, or during any other task.

The compulsion to sleep may at first be mild, but the longer they resist it the stronger it gets. Involuntarily falling asleep–or being so incapacitated by sleepiness that they appear drunk–becomes common.

There are many different causes associated with the symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness. Many of them relate to more serious health problems. The root cause could be as simple as insufficient nighttime sleep, although insomnia itself is not simple and may pose a challenge to cure. Other types of sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, can also contribute to excessive daytime sleepiness. And then there are other physical and mental health problems that can result in daytime sleepiness, like hormonal imbalances, anemia, nutritional problems, and clinical depression.

If you aren’t aware of a nighttime sleep disorder that is causing your excessive daytime sleepiness, it can be especially frightening. But excessive daytime sleepiness is a real symptom, a serious one, and you should seek help from your doctor to combat it. It can cause unforeseen consequences and even damage relationships when left unchecked; don’t wait to seek treatment.

If you’ve found that you get a good night’s sleep and you are still tired and sleepy, you may have a disorder called Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, or EDS.

EDS can also be quite dangerous, as it can affect one’s ability to operate machinery because of the onset of sleepiness that occurs. EDS can even happen while driving a car, causing any number of different kinds of accidents.

EDS is caused by a number of different ailments, and being overweight is one of them. Smoking is also a known cause of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness as well as certain prescription medicines. If you are on medication and are always sleepy, your medicine may be causing EDS and it is important to talk to your doctor about these changes that are occurring.

Scientists believe that EDS is caused by the central nervous system. EDS normally starts to happen before a person turns age 25. A person with EDS will sleep for very long periods of time, however this happens gradually so that one may not notice a sudden change in their sleeping patterns. If any of these symptoms happen for a period of more than six months, then a person most likely has EDS.

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness can affect a person’s lifestyle greatly. It can harm progress at school, because one will become so tired during class that they have trouble concentrating. It will also affect the daily lifestyle. A person’s house can gradually become unkempt because they are too tired to do any chores around the house. Relationships with friends and family may suffer due to others not understanding this condition.

If you or someone you know may have Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, it is important that you go see a doctor to be diagnosed. You will then be able to get the medicine you need in order to control this condition.