child sleep disorder

sleep disorders

Evidence from a recently conducted National Sleep Foundation polls reveals that:

• Three quarters of adults polled reported that they frequently have difficuly sleeping.



• Just 50% of adults polled reported that they slept without a problem on the majority of nights.



• 1 out of 4 of adults polled reported that difficulty in sleeping impacted upon their daily lives.

The poll also revealed that:

• 60% of motorists polled said that they had driven while drowsy in the previous twelve months. (4 % reported having an accident or near-accident as a result of tiredness or falling asleep while driving.)



• People questioned named sleep-related issues as the usual reason for being late for work. Almost 1 in 3 of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making errors at work through sleep-related issues in the preceding three months.



• 75% of people polled reported a sleep problem with their partner - with snoring being the most common. Partnered adults, suffer doubly disruptive sleep difficulties, as one partner's sleep difficulty may cause the other to lose, on average, nearly an hour of sleep a night.



• 1 out of 4 of people polled with partners report difficulties in their sexual relationship as a result of tiredness. They enjoy sex less often or lose interest in sex through tiredness. Many couples sleep separately because of sleeping difficulties.

A large number of people suffer from the odd night of sleeplessness without any consequences. When, however, the odd night once in a while becomes a pattern of several nights in a row, you are facing a sleeping problem.

Restless leg syndrome (RLS), a familial disorder stimulating unpleasant tingling, prickling, or crawling sensations in the legs and feet and an urge to move them for relief, is emerging as one of the more common sleep disorders, especially among older people.

Affecting as many as 12 million individuals in America, restless leg syndrome leads to continual movement of the legs during the day and to insomnia at night.

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

It is figured that more than 35 million individuals in America are suffering from chronic insomnia (a difficulty in sleeping each night or virtually all nights for six months or more), with another 20 to 30 million individuals suffering shorter-term insomnia (a difficulty in sleeping well for a period of a month to six months). As well, many people suffer from insomnia over shorter periods (under 4 weeks) and this is normally called transient insomnia.

Transient insomnia is usually brought on by excitement (a child looking forward to an outing) or by stress (concern about a coming examination). It also often results from long distance travel (jet lag) and can be seen in individuals who exercise late in the day, shortly before going to bed. It is also often associated with illness (colds/flu) and with various over-the-counter medications (for example, some medicines bought for a cold or asthma).

Women and men of all ages experience insomnia, although it is more commonly seen in women and in the elderly, particularly after the menopause.

Insomnia can be split into three classes:

• "Initial" insomnia: where you have problems in falling asleep, typically taking 30 minutes or more to fall asleep.



• "Middle" insomnia: where, after falling asleep, you have problems maintaining a state of sleep and commonly stay awake until the early morning hours.



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

Insomnia can frequently be merely the symptom of an underlying medical conditions which might require a visit to your doctor and medical care. Here it is a case of treating the underlying medical problem, rather than the insomnia.

If, however, your sleeplessness results from a pattern of not sleeping, or your mind and body find it difficult to settle into a sufficiently relaxed state for sleep, then there are several choices for achieving healthy sleep without making use of prescription drugs.

Narcolepsy affects approximately 250,000 adults in America. People with narcolepsy get frequent "sleep attacks" during the day, even when they experience a normal amount of night-time sleep. These "sleep attacks" can last anywhere from just seconds to over 30 minutes.

Individuals with narcolepsy might also experience cataplexy (a loss of muscle control during an emotional situation), hallucinations, temporary paralysis when they wake up, and disrupted night-time sleep. These symptoms seem to be features of REM sleep which appear during waking, indicating that narcolepsy is a disorder of sleep regulation.

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

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

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

Simply put, jet lag is an extremely common sleep disorder endured by many millions of travelers each day. It affects both those people traveling on business and on holiday and, according to a recent survey of international business travelers, 74% of those questioned said that they suffered frequently from jet lag.

Jet lag affects individuals of all ages and, despite the fact that it varies widely from person to person, it tends to become more severe the older you get.

In addition, if you already have a problem sleeping, you could well find that jet lag is more of a problem.

Jet lag also increases as you cross more and more time zones. If the time difference between your point of departure and your destination is only an hour or two, then it's possible that you won't experience jet lag at all. But, if the time difference is three hours or more then jet lag will start to appear and its effects will be more pronounced the greater the time difference.

Finally, the symptoms of jet lag do not always appear straight away and, for a few individuals, it may be a couple of days before it hits.

You are currently viewing - child sleep disorder

child sleep disorder, sleep disorders