Idiopathic Hypersomnia

Diagnosis

Mayo Clinic doctors trained in sleep medicine, including doctors trained in lung and breathing conditions (pulmonary medicine), mental health conditions (psychiatry) and other areas, evaluate people who have idiopathic hypersomnia.

To diagnose your condition, your doctor will review your symptoms and your family and medical history, and conduct a physical examination. Your doctor may order several tests to diagnose your condition, determine the cause of your condition and rule out other conditions.

• Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Your doctor may ask you to rate your tiredness with this test, to help determine how sleep affects your daily life.
• Sleep diary. Your doctor may ask you to keep a sleep diary in which you log your daily sleep and wake times to help show your sleep pattern.
• Polysomnogram. In this test, you stay in a sleep center overnight. A polysomnogram monitors your brain activity, heart rate, oxygen levels, eye movements and breathing function as you sleep.
• Multiple sleep latency test. This test measures your sleepiness and the types and stages of sleep you experience as you nap during the day. This test is conducted the day after a polysomnogram.

Read more about polysomnogram.