Sleeping DisordersI am going to start by telling you what a sleeping disorder is.
Asleeping disorder is a problem that affects something to do with sleep. Not allsleeping disorders have symptoms that are obvious to a person or their familyand friends, here are some common sleep disorders. – Insomnia – Sleep Apnea – Narcolepsy – Restless Leg Syndrome – Parasomnia- Bruxism – Jet Lag – ShiftworkI will be discussing the sleeping disorders listed above and whatsymptoms they can cause. Insomnia is a chronic sleeping disorder in which it is very difficult tostart and continue sleeping.
One of the other symptoms of insomnia that is mostrecognized is waking up repeatedly in the middle of the night. Lack of sleepleads to two other things, daytime fatigue and restlessness. These are bad onthe job and at school while doing tests or other important work. The amount of sleep that each person needs to feel alert during the dayvaries. If you have a night of sleep which is much less than the amount ofsleep you need, then you will more than likely feel quite sleepy the next day.
Thirty-three percent of adults in America have a case of insomnia at least oncein their life. Most cases only last one or two nights, but insomnia cancontinue for weeks or possibly even months. There have only been three standard types of insomnia that have beenidentified by doctors. They are as follows:- Transient insomnia is considered a few sleepless nights that is usuallybrought on by stress, excitement, or environmental changes. A person could havetrouble sleeping the evening before a big meeting or shortly after a breakup ora fight with his girlfriend.
– Short-term insomnia is usually two or threeweeks of poor sleep caused by continual stress at work or at home, as well asmedical and psychiatric illnesses. Eliminating the source of the stress usuallytakes care of the irregular sleep patterns – Chronic insomnia is consideredpoor sleep that lasts two weeks or longer. It can possibly be related tomedical, behavioral, or psychiatric problems. Usually poor sleep leads todecreased feelings of well-being. Chronic insomnia can usually recur.
If difficulty sleeping was the only problem with insomnia, then itwouldn’t be so bad. Some of the other problems it can cause is anxiety innoticeably impaired concentration and memory. To keep episodes of insomnia at aminimum, sleep specialists recumbent practicing good sleep hygiene. There is another sleeping disorder called Sleep Apnea.
Sleep Apnea isnot really problems with going to sleep, it is more dealing with problems whileyou are sleeping. Some of the symptoms of sleep apnea include- loud or irregular snoring – excessive daytime sleepiness – repeated nightlyarousals – non-refreshing sleep – morning headache – nightly periodic absentbreathingLoud snoring at night can be more than just a nuisance. It can actuallysignal to you that something could be wrong with breathing during sleep. Inmost cases, there are no serious medical consequences associated with snoring.
But for about 20 million Americans, this loud, habitual snoring can indicate alife-threatening disorder know as sleep apnea. An apnea is actually a lack ofbreath. For most people during sleep, it is normal for the breathing muscles torelax. The problem is, for some people, excessive muscle relaxation occurswhich disrupts breathing.
Disordered breathing during sleep also can occur ifthe brain stops sending the needed messages to the breathing muscles. In eithercase, the presence of apnea should be taken seriously. Sleep apnea is more common in middle-aged men and overweight people. People with sleep apnea often complain of insomnia or excessive daytimesleepiness. Waking up with headaches is another symptom of sleep apnea.
So isimpaired memory and concentration. Problems arising from sleep apnea caninclude heart and lung disease, and can also cause heart failure in severe cases. There are three typical forms of sleep apnea, with varying degrees ofrespiratory movements. – Obstructive Apnea is the most common and severe form.
It is associated withan upper airway obstruction and a loss of airflow even though the respiratorymuscles are active. When muscles of the soft palate at the base of the tongueand uvula relax and sag, the block the airway and cause loud, labored breathing. When breathing stops, pressure builds up until the sleeper lets out a gasp forair. Each gasp causes a mini-awakening. People with obstructive apnea can stopbreathing for 10 seconds or more, several hundred times
