deep sleep disorders

sleep disorders

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

• 3 out of 4 of adults polled reported that they suffer from frequent sleep problems.



• Just half of adults polled reported that they normally slept without problem.



• A quarter of adults polled reported that problems sleeping impacted upon their daily lives.

The poll also showed that:

• Just under two thirds of motorists polled reported having driven whilst drowsy in the past year. (4 % said that they had had an accident or near-accident as a result of tiredness or actually falling asleep while driving.)



• People cited sleep-related problems as the most usual reason for being late for work. Almost 1 in 3 of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making errors at work because of sleep-related issues in the past three months.



• 3 out of 4 of adults polled reported a sleep problem with their partner - snoring being the commonest. Partnered adults, suffer doubly disruptive sleep problems, as one partner's sleep difficulty may cause the other to lose, on average, almost an hour of sleep nightly.



• A quarter of adults polled with partners report troubles in their sexual relationship because of tiredness. They enjoy sex less frequently or lose interest in having sex as a result of tiredness. Many couples sleep apart because of a sleep problem.

A significant number of us experience the odd night of sleeplessness without any consequences. Once, however, the occasional night once in a while becomes a pattern of several nights in a row, you face a sleeping problem.

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

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

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

The disorder (or at least a predisposition to it) is normally 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 embarrassing and dangerous effects of falling asleep at inappropriate times. Naps at certain times of the day may also reduce the excessive sleepiness during the day.

In simple terms, jet lag is a very common sleep disorder experienced by millions of travelers each day. It affects both individuals traveling for pleasure and on business 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 individuals of all ages and, despite the fact that it varies widely from one person to another, it tends to increase in severity the older you are.

Also, if you are already experiencing a problem sleeping, you may 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 you may not experience jet lag at all. But, if the difference in time is three hours or more then jet lag will begin to appear and its effects will be more pronounced the greater the time difference.

Finally, jet lag symptoms don't always appear right away and, for a few individuals, it may be a couple of days before it hits.

It is judged that more than 35 million adults in the US suffer from chronic insomnia (a problem sleeping every night or on the majority of nights for at least, or in excess of, six months), with another 20 to 30 million people suffering shorter-term insomnia (a problem sleeping well for between a month and six months). In addition, a lot of people suffer from insomnia over shorter periods (under 4 weeks) and this is often referred to as transient insomnia.

Transient insomnia is commonly brought on by excitement (a surprise party for a loved one) or by stress (worrying about your upcoming driving test). 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 connected to illness (colds/flu) and with several over-the-counter medications (for example, some medicines purchased for asthma or colds).

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 divided into three categories:

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



• "Middle" insomnia: where, after falling asleep, you have difficulties maintaining a sleep state and usually stay 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 occasionally be only the symptom of an underlying medical conditions which might require your doctor's advice and medical care. Here it will be a matter of treating the cause, rather than the insomnia.

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

Sleep apnea is among the commonest and most dangerous types of sleep disorder. Approximately 18 million people in the USA suffer from sleep apnea, which is characterised by repeated episodes of cessation of breathing while sleeping. Over time this can lead to high blood pressure, disordered thinking, and cardiac disease.

Sometimes connected with aging, sleep apnea can occur together with loss of muscle tone or a buildup of fat. These changes permit the windpipe to collapse while breathing When muscles relax during sleep.

This form of the condition, named obstructive sleep apnea, is ordinarily associated with loud snoring (though not everybody who snores suffers from this condition). Sleep apnea can also occur if the neurons that control breathing do not function correctly during sleep.

During obstructive sleep apnea, attempts to inhale air will create suction which results in the collapse the windpipe. This, in turn, blocks the air flow for between ten seconds and one minute while you struggle to breathe. As your blood oxygen level falls, the brain reacts by awakening you sufficiently to tighten the upper airway muscles and open the windpipe. You may gasp or snort, then resume breathing. This cycle may be repeated hundreds of times a night.

The frequent awakenings that you experience as a sleep apnea sufferer leave you feeling permanently sleepy and can produce personality changes such as depression and irritability. Sleep apnea also deprives you of oxygen, which might 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 stroke and heart attack also Commonly arise in cases of sleep apnea.

If you suffer from severe, untreated sleep apnea you appear two to three times more likely to have an automobile accident than the general population.

Mild sleep apnea can often be overcome by reducing your weight or by preventing yourself from sleeping on your back. You may also require special devices or surgery to rectify the obstruction.

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