[Unwanted napping]

Three patients, one woman aged 43, and two men aged 32 and 51, suffered from excessive daytime sleepiness with different causes. The woman experienced nocturnal motor attacks of epileptic origin, responding to carbamazepine. The diagnosis was based on polysomnographic recordings combined with video monitoring. Narcolepsy was diagnosed in the 32-year-old man. He also suffered from cataplexy. The diagnosis was supported by a multiple sleep latency test and HLA-DR2 positivity. He was treated with clomipramine. In the 43-year-old man an obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome was diagnosed by polysomnographic recording. He was treated successfully with continuous positive airway pressure. These patients show that excessive daytime sleepiness is sometimes difficult to recognise and can be a potentially incapacitating symptom of a treatable underlying disorder. Diagnosis is made by careful history taking and through the use of different types of somnographic recordings.