circadian sleep disorder

sleep disorders

In a recent poll conducted on behalf of the National Sleep Foundation:

• 75% of those polled reported that they suffer from frequent sleep problems.



• As little as 50% of those polled reported that they slept without difficulty on most nights.



• 1 out of 4 of those polled reported that problems sleeping affected their daily lives.

The poll also revealed that:

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



• Those polled referenced sleep-related issues as the commonest reason for being late for work. Almost 30% of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making mistakes at work as a result of sleep-related issues in the previous 3 months.



• 75% of individuals questioned reported a sleep problem with their partner - snoring being the commonest. Partnered adults, suffer doubly disruptive sleep problems, as one partner's sleep problem can cause the other to lose, on average, about an hour of sleep nightly.



• 25% of individuals questioned with partners report difficulties in their sexual relationship as a result of tiredness. They enjoy sex less frequently or lose interest in having sex as a result of tiredness. A large number of couples sleep apart because of sleeping problems.

A large number of us suffer from the occasional night of sleeplessness without any consequences. If, however, the odd night from time to time turns into a pattern of several nights in a row, you are facing a sleeping problem.

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

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

Following the pattern of night and day (darkness and light) this internal clock tracks a pattern of around 24 hours thus giving your body a 24 hour rhythm or, more correctly, a circadian rhythm - from the Latin circa (about) dies (a day).

When disruption to your circadian rhythm takes place because of shift work, you may suffer from temporary sleep disorders such as transient insomnia or excessive daytime sleepiness. Without treatment, transient sleep problems linked to a change in your work schedule may become chronic and in serious cases might even need medical intervention.

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

It is thought that in excess of 35 million adults in America suffer from a case of chronic insomnia (problems sleeping each night or most nights for six months or more), with an additional 20 to 30 million suffering shorter-term insomnia (problems sleeping well for a period of a month to six months). Further, 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 ordinarily brought on by excitement (a child anticipating the arrival of Father Christmas) 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 take 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 purchased for a cold or asthma).

Men and women of all ages suffer from insomnia, although it is more frequently seen in women and in the elderly, particularly after the menopause.

Insomnia can be divided into three classes:

• "Initial" insomnia: where you demonstrate a problem in falling asleep, generally taking 30 minutes or longer to fall asleep.



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



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

Insomnia can often be simply the symptom of some underlying medical conditions that might require the advice of your doctor and medical care. Here it is a case of treating the cause, rather than the insomnia.

If, however, your inability to sleep results from a pattern of not sleeping, or your body and mind find difficulty in settling into a sufficiently relaxed state for sleep, then there are several different choices for achieving healthy sleep without turning to prescription drugs.

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

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

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

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

Finally, jet lag symptoms don't always appear instantly and, for a few individuals, it might well be two or three days before it hits.

Narcolepsy affects about 250,000 people in the United States. People with narcolepsy endure frequent "sleep attacks" during the day, even if they enjoy a normal amount of night-time sleep. Such "sleep attacks" can last anything from a number of seconds to over 30 minutes.

People with narcolepsy may also experience cataplexy (loss of muscle control in emotional situations), hallucinations, temporary paralysis when they wake up, and disrupted night-time sleep. These symptoms seem to be features of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep that appear during waking, which suggests that narcolepsy is a disorder of sleep regulation.

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

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

Having been diagnosed, antidepressants, stimulatns, or other drugs can help 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 daytime sleepiness.

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circadian sleep disorder, sleep disorders