Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence

Insufficient Sleep Syndrome

Background

Insufficient sleep syndrome occurs when you don’t get enough good-quality sleep to meet your body’s needs. Some people restrict their sleep because of social pressures; others may work multiple jobs or have responsibilities and simply don’t have enough opportunities to sleep. To be considered ISS, the sleep restriction must occur most days, last for at least 3 months, and result in poor functioning and excessive sleepiness during the wake period. ISS increases the risk of an accident or even death.

Epidemiology

A 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that approximately 35% of adults in the United States sleep less than the recommended 7 hours.6

Diagnosis

No formal testing is required to make the diagnosis of ISS. In addition to the symptoms mentioned in the background, a diagnosis of ISS requires that a few other criteria be met.

  • The sleep time is shorter than would be expected of a person of the same age.
  • The person usually uses an alarm clock or another person to wake up. When not awakened, the person with ISS will sleep longer.
  • Sleeping longer resolves the daytime symptoms.
  • No drug or medication or other untreated sleep, medical, neurologic, or psychiatric disorder better explains the symptoms.

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2. Acquavella J, Mehra R, Bron M, Suomi JM, Hess GP. Prevalence of narcolepsy and other sleep disorders and frequency of diagnostic tests from 2013-2016 in insured patients actively seeking care. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(8):1255-1263.

3. Kallweit U, Nilius G, Trumper D, Vogelmann T, Schubert T. Prevalence, incidence, and health care utilization of patients with narcolepsy: a population-representative study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022.

4. Scheer D, Schwartz SW, Parr M, Zgibor J, Sanchez-Anguiano A, Rajaram L. Prevalence and incidence of narcolepsy in a US health care claims database, 2008-2010. Sleep. 2019;42(7).

5. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Darien, IL: American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 3rd ed.; 2014.

6. Liu Y, Wheaton AG, Chapman DP, al. e. Prevalence of healthy sleep duration among adults: United States, 2014. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly. 2016;65(6):137-141.