Treating Common Sleep Disorders
A sleep disorder is a medical condition that affects the sleep patterns of a person or animal. Some disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental and emotional functioning. Millions of Americans suffer from extremely severe sleep disorders that can distress their health if left untreated. In fact, ninety-five percent of people suffering from this malady remain undiagnosed. In this article, we’ll talk about these sleep syndromes and the treatments available.
More than 100 different sleeping disorders have been identified and grouped in four main categories: 1) Problems with falling and staying asleep, 2) Problems with staying awake, 3) Problems with adhering to a uniform sleep schedule, and 4) Sleep-disruptive behaviors. Insomnia includes any mixture of difficulty with falling asleep, staying asleep, intermittent wakefulness and early-morning awakening. Episodes may be transient, short-term, or chronic. Insomnia can have associated health problems, such as anxiety disorders. The most common factors that contribute to insomnia include a poor sleeping environment, caffeine, particular medications, sickness, heavy smoking and daytime napping.
If you’re having trouble staying awake or experience excessive daytime sleepiness, then you could be suffering from hypersomnias. Hypersomnias include sleep apneas, narcolepsy and restless leg syndrome. Sleep apnea can cause breathing to stop intermittently during sleep, resulting in the person being awakened repeatedly. Narcolepsy is a condition of daytime sleep attacks despite adequate sleep at night. A person with narcolepsy may unexpectedly fall asleep in any situation, without warning. Restless leg syndrome is characterized by an uncomfortable sensation, usually in the legs, that occurs primarily at night and when a person is relaxed. The uncomfortable sensation diminishes when the legs are moved.
Sleep disorders can also occur when a consistent sleep and wake schedule is disrupted. This often occurs when traveling between times zones and with shift workers on rotating schedules, particularly nighttime workers. Sleep disruptive behaviors are abnormal behaviors during sleep and are fairly common in children but are also experienced by adults. They include night terrors, sleep walking and REM sleep behavior disorder. Symptoms of these disorders include difficulty falling asleep, fatigue, loud snoring, anxiety and difficulty concentrating.
The first step in treating sleep disorders is determining the cause. Depression is a very common cause of insomnia and can usually be treated with medication and therapy. Lifestyle changes include getting into a sleep schedule, reducing your intake of caffeine and other stimulants and creating a comfortable sleeping environment. There are effective over the counter sleep medicines available, but it’s best to consult a doctor first. He can assess your condition and recommend either sleep medicine or refer you to a sleep specialist.