Noticing daytime sleepiness when you live with idiopathic hypersomnia
Updated November 6, 2026
In short: with idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) the hard part is often the day rather than the night: a slow start, sleepiness that does not lift after a long sleep, a heavy stretch you can almost set a clock by. A few one-tap check-ins a day, with a note when you nap or have coffee, turn that vague sense into a pattern you can see and talk about. Ears Up is a private daytime sleepiness diary built for exactly that.
Why the day is the part to write down
Most sleep tools are built around the night. With IH, many people sleep long and still spend the day fighting to stay awake, so a record of the night alone leaves out what you most want to describe. A daytime diary keeps the day in view.
What people with IH often note
- The start of the day. How long it takes to feel properly awake after getting up, sometimes called sleep inertia.
- The heavy stretch. When in the day sleepiness tends to land hardest.
- Naps. When, roughly how long, and whether you woke better, the same or groggier.
- What you tried. Coffee, a walk, standing up, and what your next check-in looked like.
- Times sleep caught you without meaning to.
- Anything your clinician asked about, such as treatment timing. Ears Up's tags cover naps, coffee, walks and standing up; keep anything else in a note of your own alongside.
The Hypersomnia Foundation publishes a free sleep-wake journal that covers the night and the day in more depth, and it is a good companion if you want a fuller record.
One scale, in plain words
Some people with IH have adapted mood-tracking apps for this, turning mood faces into their own sleepiness scale. Ears Up skips the translation: its one question is how awake you are right now.
How Ears Up fits
- Check in with one tap, from a gentle reminder on your schedule or whenever you notice yourself fading.
- Tag a check-in with a nap, coffee, a walk or standing up, and see a calm before-and-after read on what tends to help you.
- Log a time sleep caught you in two taps, without judgment.
- See your usual rhythm hour by hour, with today drawn over it, plus week and month views as the picture fills in.
- No account, no sign-up. Your check-ins are stored on your phone.
- No streaks and no scores, because a hard day does not need one more thing to keep up with.
What Ears Up is not
It does not diagnose IH or any other condition, it does not tell you whether you are safe to drive, and it is not a substitute for your clinician. It helps you notice your own patterns and describe them more clearly.
Questions
Is there an app for tracking daytime sleepiness with idiopathic hypersomnia?
Ears Up is a daytime sleepiness diary built for people living with idiopathic hypersomnia, narcolepsy or ongoing excessive daytime sleepiness: one-tap check-ins on how awake you feel, a quick log when sleep catches you, tags for naps and coffee, and an hour-by-hour picture of your rhythm. It is free with one banner ad, needs no account, and stores your check-ins on your phone.
Does Ears Up diagnose idiopathic hypersomnia?
No. Ears Up is a self-awareness journal for general wellness. It does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition. It helps you notice and describe your own daytime pattern.
Ears Up: Daytime Sleepiness
A gentle, private daytime sleepiness diary. One tap to note how awake you feel, a quick log when sleep catches you, and a calm picture of your daily rhythm. No account, no streaks, no scores. Free with one banner ad, which a single one-time purchase removes. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.
See Ears UpEars Up is a self-awareness journal for general wellness. It is not a medical device, it does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition, and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Talk with a qualified clinician about excessive daytime sleepiness, and do not drive or operate machinery when you are fighting sleep.