eating sleep disorder

sleep disorders

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

• 3 out of 4 of those polled reported that they frequently have difficuly sleeping.



• Only half of those polled reported that they normally slept without any difficulty.



• 25% of those polled reported that difficulty in sleeping affected their daily lives.

The poll also showed that:

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



• People polled referenced sleep-related problems as the commonest 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 previous 3 months.



• 75% of those questioned reported a sleep problem with their partner - snoring being the most usual. Partnered adults, suffer doubly disruptive sleep problems, as one partner's sleep problem may cause the other to lose, on average, about an hour of sleep each night.



• 25% of those questioned with partners report problems in their sexual relationship because of tiredness. They enjoy sex less often or lose interest in having sex because of tiredness. Many couples sleep separately because of sleeping problems.

A large number of us have the occasional sleepless night without any consequences. Once, however, the occasional night now and again turns into a pattern of several nights in a row, you are facing a sleeping problem.

Simply put, jet lag is a very common sleep disorder endured by many millions of travelers daily. It affects both those people traveling on business and on vacation and, in a recent survey of international business travelers, 1 in 4 of those questioned said that they often suffered from jet lag.

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

What is more, if you are already experiencing sleeping problems, you may 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 departure point and your destination is only an hour or two, then you might not experience jet lag at all. However, if the time difference is three hours or more then jet lag will start to appear and its effects will become more and more pronounced the bigger the time difference.

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

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

Affecting as many as 12 million adults in the USA, this disorder leads to unremitting movement of the legs during the day and to insomnia at night.

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

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

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

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, to give it its full title, a circadian rhythm - from the Latin circa (about) dies (a day).

Whenever 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 connected to a change in your work schedule can become chronic and in serious cases could even need medical intervention.

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

Narcolepsy affects approximately 250,000 adults in the USA. People with narcolepsy have frequent "sleep attacks" in the day, even when they enjoy a normal amount of night-time sleep. Such "sleep attacks" can last anywhere from just seconds to over half an hour.

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

The symptoms of narcolepsy often appear during adolescence, though it often takes years to obtain a correct diagnosis.

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

Once narcolepsy has been diagnosed, antidepressants, stimulatns, or other drugs can be used 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 sleepiness during the day.

You are currently viewing - eating sleep disorder

eating sleep disorder, sleep disorders