behavior and sleep disorders

sleep disorders

A poll carried out for the National Sleep Foundation showed that:

• 75% of individuals polled said that they have frequent sleeping difficulties.



• Just 50% of individuals polled said that they slept well on most nights.



• 25% of individuals polled said that sleep problems impacted upon their daily lives.

The poll also revealed that:

• 60% of adult motorists said that they had driven while drowsy in the past year. (4 % said that they had had an accident or near-accident because of tiredness or falling asleep while they were driving.)



• People polled referenced sleep-related problems as the most common reason for being late for work. Almost 1 in 3 of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making mistakes at work through sleep-related issues in the preceding 3 months.



• 3 out of 4 of those questioned reported a sleep problem with their partner - snoring being the commonest. Partnered adults, suffer doubly disruptive sleep problems, as one partner's sleep difficulty could cause the other to lose, on average, up to an hour of sleep each night.



• A quarter of those questioned with partners report problems in their sexual relationship as a result of tiredness. They enjoy sex less frequently or lose interest in having sex through tiredness. Many couples sleep separately because of sleeping problems.

Many people experience the occasional sleepless night without any consequences. Once, however, the occasional night once in a while turns into a pattern of several nights in a row, you are looking at a sleeping problem.

Sleep apnea is one of the commonest and most dangerous types of sleep disorder. Around 18 million individuals in the USA suffer from this condition, that is characterised by repeated episodes in which you cease breathing during sleep. Over a period of time this can result in disordered thinking, high blood pressure, and cardiac disease.

Usually linked with increasing age, sleep apnea can occur in association with fat buildup or loss of muscle tone. These changes permit the windpipe to collapse while breathing As muscles relax in the course of sleep.

This form of the condition, known as obstructive sleep apnea, is typically associated with loud snoring (though not everyone who snores suffers from this condition). Sleep apnea might also occur if the neurons that control breathing don't function properly during sleep.

During obstructive sleep apnea, your effort to inhale air will create suction that results in the collapse the windpipe. This obstructs the air flow for 10 seconds to a minute while you struggle to breathe. When the level of oxygen in your blood falls, the brain reacts by awakening you sufficiently to tighten the upper airway muscles and open the windpipe. You may snort or gasp, then start breathing again. This cycle may be repeated hundreds of times a night.

The constant awakenings that you experience as a sleep apnea sufferer leave you feeling permanently sleepy and could cause changes in personality such as irritability or depression. Sleep apnea also leaves you short of oxygen, which may lead to morning headaches, a loss of interest in sex, or a decline in mental functioning. High blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, and a raised risk of heart attacks and stroke also Frequently arise in cases of sleep apnea.

If you have from severe, untreated sleep apnea you are also 2 to 3 times more likely to have an automobile accident than the general population.

Mild sleep apnea can frequently be overcome by reducing your weight or by preventing yourself from sleeping on your back. You might also require special devices or surgery to sort out the obstruction.

In addition to the alarm clock beside your bed, the clock on your mantelpiece or your wrist watch, all of which, if you're something like me, govern your life to a great extent, you also have your own internal clock that dictates the rhythm of your body.

Your internal clock governs many of your body's functions, regulating such things as temperature and the release of hormones and, above all, telling you when it's time to get up and go to sleep.

Following the pattern of night and day (darkness and light) this internal clock tracks a pattern of almost 24 hours thus giving your body a 24 hour rhythm or, to give it its proper title, a circadian rhythm - from the Latin circa (about) dies (a day).

If your body's circadian rhythm is disrupted due to shift work, you may suffer from temporary sleep disorders such as excessive daytime sleepiness or transient insomnia. Left untreated, transient sleep problems linked to a change in your work schedule can become chronic and in serious cases may even necessitate medical intervention.

Working shifts also places you at a heightened risk of chronic gastrointestinal and cardiovascular problems. Heartburn, indigestion, weight gain, high blood pressure, menstrual irregularities, colds and flu are all seen more amongst shift workers.

Restless leg syndrome (RLS), a familial disorder inducing unpleasant prickling, crawling, or tingling sensations in the legs and feet and a need to move them if you want relief, is emerging as one of the more common sleep disorders, particularly among the elderly.

Affecting as many as 12 million individuals in America, this disorder leads to unremitting movement of the legs during the day and to insomnia at night.

Severe RLS is most frequently seen in elderly people, although symptoms may well start at any age. In some cases, it may be linked to other conditions such as diabetes, anemia, or pregancy.

Narcolepsy affects around 250,000 adults in the USA. People with narcolepsy have frequent "sleep attacks" during the day, even when they enjoy a normal amount of night-time sleep. These "sleep attacks" can last anywhere from several seconds to more than half an hour.

Individuals with narcolepsy may also experience cataplexy (loss of muscle control in an emotional situation), hallucinations, temporary paralysis when they awaken, and interrupted night-time sleep. These symptoms seem to be features of Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep that appear during waking, indicating that narcolepsy is a sleep regulation disorder.

The symptoms of narcolepsy often appear in adolescence, although it frequently takes years to obtain a correct diagnosis.

The disorder (or at least a predisposition for it) is usually hereditary, but it is occasionally linked to brain damage from a head injury or to neurological disease.

Once the condition has been diagnosed, stimulants, antidepressants, or other drugs can help control the symptoms and prevent the dangerous and embarrassing effects of falling asleep at improper times. Naps at certain times of the day can also reduce the excessive daytime sleepiness.

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