Which condition is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness due to nighttime sleep disturbances?

The condition characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness due to nighttime sleep disturbances is sleep apnea. This disorder involves repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep, leading to fragmented sleep and reduced sleep quality. Because individuals with sleep apnea often experience multiple awakenings and a lack of restorative sleep, they are likely to suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness, impacting their overall alertness and functioning during the day.

In contrast, insomnia primarily refers to difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, which can lead to daytime sleepiness but doesn’t necessarily involve disturbances from breathing issues at night. Sleep paralysis is a transient inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up, and narcolepsy is characterized more by sudden episodes of sleep, often during inappropriate times, rather than disturbances associated with nighttime breathing, which directly relate to excessive sleepiness.