Sleep Aide: 4 Sleep Disorders Exposed

Rose knows if you suffer from lack of sleep and have a hard time getting through the day without taking or wanting a nap you could have a sleeping problem. The required amount of sleep for an adult is between 7-9 hours according to the National Sleep Foundation. 

Other areas of concern with little sleep are problems concentrating, poor job performance, susceptibility to diseases and disorders and weight gain. There are four major sleep disorders; insomnia, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea.

Insomnia is the inability to fall or stay asleep. Chronic insomnia effects 10% of U.S. population with women more likely to have this problem due to pregnancy and menopause. These women rarely get a good night sleep because of shifts in estrogen levels. More often than not stress is the major factor that causes insomnia. Usually as the stress is relieved so is the inability to fall asleep, but over time anxiety about falling asleep can cause concern for other health issues.

If you cannot cure your insomnia naturally an over the counter medications could be beneficial, if not, you should see your physician for further advice and treatment. Remember taking sleeping pills have side effects and are addictive. And of course they should not be taken if you are pregnant or nursing. Your doctor will ask you questions about your day and night time habits and may make suggestions how to alter your lifestyle that will make a difference.

When you don’t have enough sleep at night and fall asleep during your daytime activities this is known as narcolepsy. Narcolepsy sufferers also have a hard time falling asleep; it’s like a bipolar sleep disorder with extremes of sleepiness and wakefulness and is associated with the condition cataplexy. Cataplexy causes people to have episodes of partial or total muscle loss, often prompted by emotional bouts of anger or laughter. People are awake during cataplexy attacks, but they cannot move. Cataplexy is usually not diagnosed until people are in their 20’s or 30’s and is more prevalent with men than with women.

More information about narcolepsy:  See Narcolepsy Facts

Researchers have found that those who suffer from narcolepsy go into REM sleep faster than normal sleepers. Hypocretin that regulates REM sleep is lower in narcoleptics, which could be genetic. There is no known cure, but naps seem to help. A doctor may recommend a stimulant in extreme cases.

Restless leg syndrome or RLS is a neurological disorder associated with unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move causing the individual the inability to lay or sit still. The unpleasant sensations are described as burning, creeping, tugging or even bugs crawling underneath their skin. Women suffer from RLS twice as much than men due to their menstruation depletes their body of iron and/or dopamine, in which researcher believe to be the cause.

Treating RLS depends on the severity. People with less severe cases of RLS only may need massage therapy or heating pads to relax the muscles, while severe cases may need medications or supplements like those that mimic dopamine, iron supplements or even anti-seizure drugs. Word of warning, some medications could aggravate the symptoms; antidepressants, tranquilizers and over the counter allergy or cold medications with antihistamines.

If you snore or take breathing pauses up to 10 seconds and more during your sleep you could be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea or OSA. Obstructive sleep apnea results in disrupted sleep not only for the individual but for their sleeping partner as well. OSA is associated with high blood pressure, heart problems, memory problems and headaches.

Sleep apnea is caused by a block in the air passages when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses while you are sleeping. Sometimes if the individual is overweight they have additional fatty tissue that can block the upper airway. Men are more susceptible to having OSA than women, but it has been reported as women experience menopause they are twice likely to get OSA due to weight gain and hormone changes.

Many times OSA is treated by lifestyle changes for instance, losing weight, hormone replacement therapy, avoiding alcohol, sleeping on your side. Severe cases are usually diagnosed at a sleep clinic where the individual stays overnight and is monitored for sleep deprivation and breathing pauses. The sleep study will tell the physician that the patient will either considered for a CPAP or Continuous Positive Airways Pressure machine which will blow air into the throat during the night or surgery to remove, shrink or stiffen the excess tissue in the back of the throat.

It you feel you are suffering from any of these four sleep disorders please confer with your physician. Because Rose knows if we are to play nice with the other children, we need a good nights sleep.