children with adhd and sleep disorders

sleep disorders

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

• 3 out of 4 of adults said that they have frequent sleeping difficulties.



• As little as 50% of adults said that they slept well on most nights.



• A quarter of adults said that sleeping difficulties had an impact upon their daily lives.

The poll also revealed that:

• Just under two thirds of motorists questioned reported having driven whilst drowsy within the past twelve months. (4 % reported that they had had an accident or near-accident as a result of tiredness or falling asleep while they were driving.)



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



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



• 25% of adults with partners report difficulties in their sexual relationship because of tiredness. They enjoy sex less frequently or lose interest in having sex as a result of tiredness. Numerous couples sleep apart because of a sleep problem.

A large number of us suffer from the occasional sleepless night without any consequences. When, however, the occasional night from time to time 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 sleep disorders. Around 18 million adults in America suffer from sleep apnea, that is marked by repeated episodes in which you cease breathing during sleep. Over time this can result in high blood pressure, cardiac disease, and disordered thinking.

Typically linked with increasing age, sleep apnea can occur together with loss of muscle tone or a buildup of fat. These changes allow a collapse in the windpipe while breathing When muscles relax in the course of sleep.

This form of the condition, known as obstructive sleep apnea, is usually associated with loud snoring (though not everybody who snores suffers from this condition). Sleep apnea may also occur if the neurons responsible for the control of breathing malfunction during sleep.

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

The continual awakenings which you experience as a sleep apnea sufferer leave you feeling permanently tired and might lead to changes in personality like depression and irritability. Sleep apnea also deprives you of oxygen, which may lead to morning headaches, a loss of interest in sex, or a decline in mental functioning. High blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, 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 two to three times more likely to have an automobile accident than the general population.

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

Narcolepsy affects in the region of 250,000 people in the United States. Individuals with narcolepsy have frequent "sleep attacks" in the day, even if they experience a normal amount of night-time sleep. Attacks can last anything from a number of seconds to more than half an hour.

People with narcolepsy can also experience cataplexy (loss of muscle control in emotional situations), hallucinations, temporary paralysis when they awaken, and interrupted night-time sleep. These symptoms are features of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep that appear during waking, indicating that narcolepsy is a sleep regulation disorder.

Narcolepsy symptoms usually appear in adolescence, though it commonly takes years to get a correct diagnosis.

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

Once diagnosed, antidepressants, stimulatns, or other drugs can help to control the symptoms and prevent the dangerous and embarrassing effects of falling asleep at inappropriate times. Naps at certain times of the day may also reduce the excessive sleepiness during the day.

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

Affecting as many as 12 million Americans, RLS leads to constant leg movement during the day and insomnia at night.

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

It is judged that over 35 million adults in America have chronic insomnia (difficulty sleeping every night or most nights for a period of more than six months), with an additional 20 to 30 million people suffering shorter-term insomnia (difficulty sleeping well for between a month and six months). Additionally, a large number of people suffer from insomnia over shorter periods (under 4 weeks) and this is often referred to as transient insomnia.

Transient insomnia is typically brought on by excitement (a child anticipating his birthday) or by stress (worrying about an important meeting). It also often results from long distance travel (jet lag) and can be seen in those who exercise late in the day, shortly before going to bed. It is also often linked to illness (colds/flu) and with a few over-the-counter medications (for example, some medicines bought for colds or asthma).

Both sexes and all ages experience insomnia, but it is more common in the elderly and in women, particularly after the menopause.

Insomnia can be divided into three categories:

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



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



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

Insomnia can occasionally be just the symptom of an underlying medical conditions that may well require a trip to the doctor's office and medical care. Here it is a matter of treating the underlying medical problem, rather than the insomnia.

If, however, your insomnia results from a pattern of not sleeping, or your body and brain find difficulty in settling into a state of relaxation necessary for sleep, then there are various choices for achieving healthy sleep without having to resort to prescription drugs.

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