bipolar sleep disorder

sleep disorders

It was shown in a recent poll carried out for the National Sleep Foundation that:

• 75% of adults polled stated that they frequently experience difficulty in sleeping.



• Only 50% of adults polled stated that they normally slept without problem.



• 1 out of 4 of adults polled stated that sleep problems affected their daily lives.

The poll also demonstrated that:

• 60% of motorists questioned said that they had driven while drowsy in the past twelve months. (4 % reported that they had had an accident or near-accident because of tiredness or having fallen asleep while driving.)



• Those questioned referenced sleep-related problems as the most common reason for being late for work. Almost two thirds of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making mistakes at work as a result of sleep-related issues in the preceding 3 months.



• Three quarters of those questioned reported a sleep problem with their partner - snoring being the most common. Partnered adults, suffer doubly disruptive sleep problems, as one partner's sleep problem can cause the other to lose, on average, nearly an hour of sleep nightly.



• 1 out of 4 of those questioned with partners report troubles in their sexual relationship because of tiredness. They enjoy sex less frequently or lose interest in sex through tiredness. Numerous couples sleep separately because of a sleep problem.

A large number of people have the occasional night of sleeplessness without any consequences. When, however, the occasional night once in a while becomes a pattern of several nights in a row, you face a sleeping problem.

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

Affecting as many as 12 million individuals in the United States, this disorder leads to constant leg movement during the day and to sleeplessness at night.

Severe RLS is commonest in elderly people, although symptoms might start at any age. In some cases, it may be associated with other conditions such as pregancy, anemia, or diabetes.

Narcolepsy affects approximately 250,000 adults in the US. Individuals with narcolepsy get frequent "sleep attacks" during the day, even when they get a normal amount of night-time sleep. These attacks can last anything from just seconds to in excess of half an hour.

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

The symptoms of narcolepsy commonly appear during adolescence, though it typically takes years to get a correct diagnosis.

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

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

It is estimated that in excess of 35 million people in the United States have a case of chronic insomnia (a problem sleeping each night or on the majority of nights for a period of more than six months), with an additional 20 to 30 million individuals suffering shorter-term insomnia (a problem sleeping well for between one and six months). As well, a significant number of people suffer from insomnia over shorter periods (under 4 weeks) and this is usually referred to as transient insomnia.

Transient insomnia is usually brought on by excitement (a child anticipating his birthday) or by stress (concern about making a long journey). It also often results from air travel (jet lag) and can be seen in people who exercise late in the day, shortly before going to bed. It is also often linked to illness (colds/flu) and with some over-the-counter medications (for example, some medicines bought for a cold or asthma).

Both sexes and all ages suffer from insomnia, but it is more commonly seen in women and in the elderly, particularly after the menopause.

Insomnia can be divided into three classes:

• "Initial" insomnia: where you display a difficulty in in falling asleep, typically taking 30 minutes or longer to fall into a sleep state.



• "Middle" insomnia: where, having fallen asleep, you have difficulty maintaining a sleep state and frequently stay awake into the early hours of the morning.



• "Late" or "Terminal" insomnia: where you waken early in the morning after less than 6 hours of sleep.

Insomnia can occasionally be merely the symptom of some underlying medical conditions which could well require your doctor's advice and medical care. Here it will be a matter of treating the underlying medical problem, rather than the insomnia.

If, however, your lack of sleep results from a pattern of not sleeping, or your body and brain find it difficult to settle into a sufficiently relaxed state for sleep, then there are a number of choices for achieving healthy sleep without resorting to prescription drugs.

In simple terms, jet lag is a very common sleep disorder suffered by millions of travelers each day. It affects both those traveling on business and for pleasure and, according to a recent survey of international business travelers, 3/4 of those questioned said that they suffered frequently from jet lag.

Jet lag affects people of all ages and, despite the fact that it varies widely from one individual to another, it tends to be more severe the older you get.

Furthermore, if you already have difficulty sleeping, you are likely to find that jet lag is more of a problem.

Jet lag also increases as you cross a growing number of time zones. If the time difference between your departure point and your destination is just an hour or two, then you might not experience jet lag at all. However, if the difference in time is three hours or more then jet lag will start to appear and its effects will become more and more pronounced the larger the time difference.

Finally, the symptoms of jet lag do not always appear instantly and, for a few people, it could well be two or three days before it hits.

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