Research links by-products of steroid hormones to excessive daytime sleepiness. A new study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of excessive daytime sleepiness, a persistent and inappropriate urge to fall asleep during the day — during work, at meals, even mid-conversation — that interferes with daily functioning. The findings, published in The Lancet Medicine, open the door to exploring how nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental exposures interact with genetic and biological processes to affect alertness. Metabolites are small molecules produced as the body carries out its normal functions, from synthesizing hormones to metabolizing nutrients to clearing environmental toxins. By measuring these metabolites, researchers created a profile of excessive daytime sleepiness. The seven metabolites turned out to be involved in the production of steroids and other biological processes already implicated in excessive daytime sleepiness. When the investigators examined data from male participants only, an additional three metabolites were identified, suggesting that there may be sex-based biological differences in how excessive daytime sleepiness manifests. The findings add weight to the idea that excessive daytime sleepiness isn’t just the result of too little sleep but can reflect physiological circumstances that might someday be diagnosed through blood tests or treated through targeted interventions.
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managing sleep and challenges for night shift workerssleep and sleep managementsleep and stress management
What Makes Us Sleepy During The Day
