article · Pyramid Journal of Medicine
Excessive daytime sleepiness is a frequent complication in people living with Parkinson's disease, often exacerbated by insomnia and anti-Parkinson's medications. A cross-sectional comparative study involving one hundred individuals with Parkinson's disease and one hundred healthy controls evaluated the occurrence of daytime sleep disturbances using the Scales for Outcome in Parkinson's Disease-Sleep assessment tool. The findings revealed that 64 percent of the patients experienced excessive daytime sleepiness. When compared to the control group, patients showed significantly higher rates of unexpected sleep episodes during daytime or evening hours, falling asleep while sitting quietly or engaged in conversation, and experiencing general difficulty staying awake. Conversely, falling asleep while reading or watching television, as well as whether patients perceived their sleepiness as an issue, showed no statistically significant difference between the groups.
Sleep disruptions in Parkinson's disease can severely compromise daily functioning and overall wellbeing. Recognising how daytime sleepiness specifically manifests, such as unexpected episodes during conversations or quiet rest, helps clinicians identify affected individuals. Greater awareness supports prompt clinical interventions, enabling healthcare providers to manage sleep problems alongside treatment regimens to improve patient quality of life.
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Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is commonly associated with sleep disorders, which may manifest years before disease diagnosis. Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS) is a common problem seen in People with PD (PwPD) which is found to worsen by the presence of concomitant insomnia (sleep fragmentation, shortened sleep duration, early awakening) and anti-Parkinson’s medications. Identifying its presence and provision of appropriate intervention could significantly improve their Quality of Life (QoL). Using a cross-sectional study design, 100 PwPD and 100 healthy controls were enrolled over a period of 10 months to assess the prevalence of EDS using the Scales for Outcome in Parkinson’s Disease-Sleep (SCOPA-S) diagnostic tool. The SCOPA-S index questionnaire identified EDS in 64% of PwPD who have significant daytime sleepiness, including falling asleep unexpectedly either during the day or in the evening (U=1722.5, p<0.05), while sitting peacefully (U=279, p<0.05) or while talking to someone (U=2652, p<0.05) or had trouble staying awake during the day or in the evening (U=2769, p<0.05) in the past 1 month when compared to their controls. However, falling asleep while reading or watching television (U=3451.5, p=0.08) and whether patient perceives falling asleep during the day in the last one month as a problem (U=3473, p=0.064) did not differ between the 2 groups. The high prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness among PwPD from the study should prompt all physicians on early detection aimed at improving their overall care and quality of life.
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DOI: 10.4081/pjm.2026.549
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