Daily Aerobic Exercise Helps Reduce Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

Hypersomnia is characterized by sleeping too much at night as well as excessive daytime sleepiness. People with hypersomnia are compelled to nap repeatedly during the day time, often at inappropriate times such as at work, during a meal, or in conversation. A new study has suggested that doing aerobic exercise daily can help you stay focused and reduce excessive sleepiness. The findings revealed that exercise reduced the levels of the two proteins, resulting in reduced excessive sleepiness. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), revealed that people with hypersomnia often have difficulty waking from a long sleep, and may feel disoriented upon waking. Other symptoms of hypersomnia may include anxiety, increased irritation, decreased energy, restlessness, slow thinking, slow speech, loss of appetite, hallucinations and memory difficulty.

For the study, researchers analyzed 100 adults aged 18 to 70 years who had major depression disorder. The research team looked at blood samples provided by study participants who were randomly assigned to two types of aerobic exercise to determine the effects of exercise on their depression. They found that reductions in two biomarkers, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Interleukin-1 beta, are related to reductions in hypersomnia.

Study senior author Madhukar Trivedi from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the US, said, "Identifying these biomarkers, combined with new understanding of the important role of exercise in reducing hypersomnia, have potential implications in the treatment of major depressive disorder."

The findings appeared in Translational Psychiatry.

Source-IANS