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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 November 2014
Sleepiness is normal when it occurs toward the end of the day, at the beginning of the habitual sleep period. At this point, physiological sleep need has accumulated and the circadian rhythm no longer opposes sleep onset, facilitating the entry into sleep. However, when sleepiness occurs outside of the habitual sleep period it can become a medically significant problem.
The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Second Edition (ICSD-2) defines excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) as an inability to stay awake and alert during the major waking episodes of the day, resulting in unintended lapses into drowsiness or sleep. To differentiate this from the sporadic sleepiness that most people experience after a night or two of poor sleep, the ICSD-2 adds a frequency and duration criteria with most disorders requiring excessive sleepiness to be present daily or almost every day for at least 3 months (Slide 1).