Sleep disorders
Sleep disorders
How well are you sleeping? Sleep is a natural part of everybody’s life, but many people know very little about how important it is, and some even try to get by with little sleep. Sleep is a basic human need – it is not an option. There’s a need to look at sleep on the same level of importance as diet and exercise. All three are equally important for good health,” says Carl Hunt, M.D., director of the National Centre on Sleep Disorders Research, part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute…
Importance of sleep
Feeling tired during the day is normal. But it is not normal for sleepiness to interfere with your routine activities. If you have had a good sleep, you shouldn’t feel drowsy during the day. Slowed thinking, trouble paying attention, heavy eyelids, and feeling irritable are other warning signs. Experts say that most adults need at least eight hours of sleep every night to be well rested, but this varies from person to person. The bottom line is that you should sleep for the number of hours it takes for you to feel rested, refreshed, and fully alert the next day.
According to a recent poll, getting a good night’s sleep is hard for many adults and that often mean poorer health, lower productivity on the job and more danger on the roads. Let’s, talks about how a lack of sleep affects people and what can be done to help them sleep better. When we get less sleep (even one hour less) than we need each night, we develop a “sleep debt.” If the sleep debt becomes too great, it can lead to problem sleepiness, that occurs when you should be awake and alert, that interferes with daily routine and activities, and reduces your ability to function. Testing has shown that with a driving simulator or a hand-eye coordination task, sleep-deprived people may perform just as badly as intoxicated people. But as with time passing people get used to it and it becomes their normal way of functioning.
But not getting enough sleep can have a substantial effect. People feel excessively sleepy and can have mood and personality problems. They can have decreased memory or fall asleep unintentionally. There’s also a relationship between sleep loss and an increased risk of hypertension, hormonal problems. There are a large number of sleep disorders with a broad range of symptoms and causes, but generally the most common ones include insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy.
Most common sleep disorders
Insomnia is the most widespread sleep disorder resulting from varied causes. It can be caused by noise, extreme temperatures, changes in your sleep environment, life stresses, such as a traumatic event or an impending deadlinestress, jet lag, diet, or other factors and include:
# Difficulty getting to sleep (taking more than 45 minutes to fall asleep).
# Frequent awakenings with inability to fall back to sleep.
# Early morning awakening.
# Feeling very tired after a night of sleep.
Insomnia almost always affects job performance and well-being the next day. It tends to increase with age and affects about 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men.
For short-term insomnia, doctors may prescribe sleeping pills. Most sleeping pills stop working after several weeks of nightly use, however, and long-term use can actually interfere with good sleep. Mild insomnia often can be prevented or cured by practicing good sleep habits. For more serious cases of insomnia sleep disorder, researchers are experimenting with light therapy and other ways to alter circadian cycles.
Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder of interrupted breathing during sleep. It refers to repeated episodes of not breathing during sleep for at least 10 seconds (apneac episodes). It is usually caused by a blockage in the nose, mouth, or throat (upper airways). When airflow through the nose and mouth is blocked, breathing may stop for 10 seconds or longer. When the person’s blood oxygen level falls, the brain responds by awakening the person enough to tighten the upper airway muscles and open the windpipe. The person may snort or gasp, then resume snoring. This cycle may be repeated hundreds of times a night. The frequent awakenings that sleep apnea patients experience leave them continually sleepy and may lead to personality changes such as irritability or depression. It also deprives the person of oxygen, which can lead to morning headaches, a loss of interest in sex, or a decline in mental functioning.
Several treatments are available for to cope with this sleep disorder. Mild sleep apnea frequently can be overcome through weight loss or by preventing the person from sleeping on his or her back. Other people may need special devices or surgery to correct the obstruction. People with sleep apnea should never take sedatives or sleeping pills, which can prevent them from awakening enough to breathe.
Snoring is also a sleep disorder with noisy breathing during sleep that occurs when relaxed structures in the throat vibrate and make noise. Most snoring is harmless, though it can be a nuisance that interferes with the sleep of others. Some snoring can be stopped with lifestyle changes, particularly losing weight, cutting down on smoking and alcohol, and changing sleeping positions. This generally means keeping snorers off their backs and on their sides as a way to keep the airway more open during sleep. There are over-the-counter nasal strips that are placed over the nose to widen the space in the nose and make breathing easier.
Narcolepsy disorder is a less common than sleep apnea. The main symptoms of narcolepsy are excessive and uncontrollable sleepiness. People with narcolepsy have distinct symptoms, including:
# Sudden sleep attacks, which may occur during any type of activity at any time of day. You may fall asleep while engaged in an activity such as eating dinner, driving the car, or carrying on a conversation. These sleep attacks can occur several times a day and may last from a few minutes to several hours.
# Sudden, brief periods of muscle weakness while you are awaked (cataplexy). This weakness may affect specific muscle groups or may affect the entire body. Cataplexy is often brought on by strong emotional reactions, such as laughing or crying.
# Hallucinations just before a sleep attack.
# Brief loss of the ability to move when you are falling asleep or just waking up (sleep paralysis).
Once narcolepsy sleep disorder is diagnosed, stimulants, antidepressants, or other drugs can help control the symptoms and prevent the embarrassing and dangerous effects of falling asleep at improper times. Naps at certain times of the day also may reduce the excessive daytime sleepiness.
Parasomnias are undesirable physical phenomena accompanying sleep that involve skeletal muscle activity or autonomic nervous system changes. In persons with these disorders, sleep and wakefulness are not mutually exclusive, because dissociated elements of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, non-REM sleep, and wakefulness can become admixed or rapidly oscillate to produce abnormal nocturnal twilight states with behavioral decontrol. While “asleep,” a person may walk, scream, rearrange furniture, eat odd foods, or wield a weapon
Restless Legs Syndrome is a condition that produces unpleasant crawling, prickling, or tingling sensations in the legs and feet and an urge to move them for relief, is emerging as one of the most common sleep disorders, especially among older people. The exact cause of restless legs syndrome is unknown. The symptoms of restless legs syndrome most often occur while a person is asleep or is trying to fall asleep. The twitching or jerking leg movements may wake the person up, causing insomnia, unrest sleep, and daytime sleepiness. RLS often can be relieved by drugs that affect the neurotransmitter dopamine, suggesting that dopamine abnormalities underlie these symptoms.
We recommend you to read some useful advices to prevent sleep disorders:
# Try not to nap during the day because you will throw off your body clock and make it even more difficult to sleep at night. If you are feeling especially tired, and feel as if you absolutely must nap, be sure to sleep for less than 30 minutes, early in the day.
# Avoid drinking caffeinated or alcoholic drinks for several hours before bedtime. Although alcohol may initially act as a sedative, it can interrupt normal sleep patterns.
# Nicotine is a stimulant and can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.
# Exposing to bright light/sunlight soon after awakening will help to regulate your body’s natural biological clock. Likewise, try to keep your bedroom dark while you are sleeping so that the light will not interfere with your rest.
# Twenty to thirty minutes of exercise every day can help you sleep, but be sure to exercise in the morning or afternoon. Exercise stimulates the body and aerobic activity before bedtime may make falling asleep more difficult.
# Make sure your bed is large enough and comfortable.
# Make sure your room is well ventilated and the temperature consistent. And try to keep it quiet. You could use a fan or a “white noise” machine to help block outside noises.
# Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday, even on the weekends. Keeping a regular schedule will help your body expect sleep at the same time each day.
# Listening to soft music, sipping a cup of herbal tea, etc., cues your body that it’s time to slow down and begin to prepare for sleep.
# Relax for a while before going to bed.
# Don’t eat a large, heavy meal before bed. Try to eat your dinner at least two hours before bedtime. Try drinking warm milk or eat a slice of toast with peanut butter or a bowl of cereal before bedtime.
# When you feel tired, go to bed.
Of course, everyone has a “bad night” once in a while. Dogs barking, the wind howling, or overeating may make it difficult to sleep. But sometimes sleep problems may be a symptom of a medical or mental health problem. That is why it is important to consider whether a medical or mental health problem is causing you to sleep poorly. You should be more attentive to your heal and try to fallow some of advices.
