As the compulsion to sleep intensifies, the ability to complete tasks sharply diminishes, often mimicking the appearance of intoxication.
During occasional unique and/or stimulating circumstances, a person with EDS can sometimes remain animated, awake and alert, for brief or extended periods of time.
One is the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) which grades the results of a questionnaire with eight questions referring to situations encountered in daily life.
Subjects undergo a series of five 20-minute sleeping opportunities with an absence of alerting factors at 2-hour intervals on one day.
Drugs like modafinil,[22] armodafinil,[23] pitolisant[24] (Wakix), sodium oxybate (Xyrem) oral solution, have been approved as treatment for EDS symptoms in the United States.
There is declining usage of other drugs such as methylphenidate (Ritalin), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), amphetamine, lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse), methamphetamine (Desoxyn), and pemoline (Cylert), as these stimulants may have several adverse effects.