Research Article

Like a Wave in Its Variable Shape, Breadth, and Depth: A Qualitative Interview Study of Experiences of Daytime Sleepiness in People with Parkinson’s Disease

Table 2

An overview of the analytical process, including examples of meaning units, codes, categories, and themes.

Meaning unitsCondensed meaning unitsCodesCategoriesThemes

I was never sleepy in the daytime before my PD diagnosis (Participant 4)Never sleepy before PDDiseaseRelated to the diseaseNot an isolated phenomenon
[Daytime sleepiness] comes, but it depends on how much I slept at night, so how prepared I am to take that sleepiness can be different (Participant 12)Quality of nighttime sleep is essentialSleep qualityRelated to internal factors
But there is a difference (drive car/boat) because I drive a boat a lot. I never get tired then [....] I have never had this kind of problem when I have driven a boat (Participant 3)The enjoyability of situation can play a roleSituationalRelated to external factors

I have to move when I get sleepy [....] I could run around for hours doing things. And that feels good (Participant 4)Fight against sleepiness with physical activityActivityCoping strategiesSomething to struggle against or accept
Yeah, it actually sucks to fall asleep whenever. It’s uncomfortable [....] I think it’s uncomfortable, [....] I don’t take it as something negative, so it’s a conflict for me (Participant 3)Conflicting thoughts about daytime sleepinessConflict ignoreAttitude
Take a nap to refresh and restart my body and brain (Participant 12)Restart body and brainPowerCoping strategies

I can’t take it […] this isn’t me (Participant 1)This isn’t meSelf-imagePersonality changeSomething beyond sleepiness
Yes, losing focus—that’s at the root of all of it. The sleepiness gets worse then. Lose the thread, and it’s hard to find my way back [....] It can be so embarrassing that I prefer to refrain from talking then (Participant 11)Losing focus is so embarrassing that I prefer to refrain from talkingShameNegative feelings
I see tiredness as a larger concept that has different facets [....] as being tired and sleepy—sleepy-tired [....] and this tiredness manifests itself as sleepiness (Participant 11)Sleepiness is a larger concept than only sleepinessLarger conceptMore than sleepiness