heart arythmia sleep disorders

sleep disorders

The publication of a recently conducted National Sleep Foundation polls reveals that:

• 3 out of 4 of individuals polled stated that they frequently have difficuly sleeping.



• Just 50% of individuals polled stated that they normally slept quite well.



• A quarter of individuals polled stated that sleeping difficulties impacted upon their daily lives.

The poll also revealed that:

• 60% of adult motorists reported having driven whilst drowsy within the past twelve months. (4 % said that they had had an accident or near-accident through tiredness or falling asleep while driving.)



• Those questioned cited sleep-related problems as the most common 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 issues in the past 3 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 problem may cause the other to lose, on average, about an hour of sleep each night.



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

Many of us suffer from the odd night of sleeplessness without any consequences. If, however, the odd night now and again turns into a pattern of several nights in a row, you face a sleeping problem.

In simple terms, jet lag is a common sleep disorder experienced by millions of travelers daily. It affects both individuals traveling on holiday and on business and, according to a recent survey of international business travelers, three quarters of those questioned said that they often suffered from jet lag.

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

As well, if you are already experiencing sleeping difficulties, you might find that jet lag is more of a problem.

Jet lag also increases as you cross more and more time zones. If the difference in time between your departure point and your destination is simply an hour or two, then you're unlikely to 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 become increasingly pronounced the greater the time difference.

Finally, the symptoms of jet lag don't always appear immediately and, for some individuals, it may be two or three days before it hits.

Sleep apnea is one of the commonest and most dangerous sleep disorders. Around 18 million adults in the USA suffer from sleep apnea, which is marked by repeating episodes in which you cease breathing while sleeping. Over time this can lead to disordered thinking, cardiac disease, and high blood pressure.

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

This form of the condition, called obstructive sleep apnea, is typically linked to loud snoring (though not everybody who snores has this condition). Sleep apnea might also occur if the neurons responsible for controlling breathing do not function correctly during sleep.

During an episode of obstructive sleep apnea, your effort to inhale air will create suction which causes the collapse the windpipe. This obstructs the air flow for anything from about ten seconds up to a minute while you struggle to breathe. When the level of oxygen in your blood falls, the brain responds by awakening you enough to tighten the muscles of the upper airway 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 has the opportunity to lead to personality changes such as irritability or depression. Sleep apnea also deprives you of oxygen, which could lead to a loss of interest in sex, a decline in mental functioning, or morning headaches. High blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, and a heightened risk of stroke and heart attack also Commonly arise in cases of sleep apnea.

If you are suffering from from severe, untreated sleep apnea you are also 2 to 3 times more likely to have automobile accidents 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 might also need special devices or surgery to rectify the obstruction.

Narcolepsy affects roughly 250,000 adults in America. Individuals with narcolepsy suffer frequent "sleep attacks" during the day, even if they get a normal amount of night-time sleep. Such attacks can last anything from several seconds to more than half an hour.

People with narcolepsy might also experience cataplexy (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 (rapid eye movement) sleep that appear during waking, suggesting that narcolepsy is a sleep regulation disorder.

Narcolepsy symptoms normally appear during adolescence, though it commonly takes years to obtain 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 control the symptoms and prevent the dangerous and embarrassing effects of falling asleep at improper times. Naps at certain times of the day can also reduce the excessive daytime sleepiness.

It is believed that over 35 million adults in America suffer from a case of chronic insomnia (a difficulty in sleeping each night or on the majority of nights for a period of more than six months), with an added 20 to 30 million adults suffering shorter-term insomnia (a difficulty in sleeping well for a period of one to six months). In addition, many individuals suffer from insomnia over shorter periods (less than 4 weeks) and this is typically referred to as transient insomnia.

Transient insomnia is frequently brought on by excitement (a child looking forward to an outing) 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 exercise late in the day, shortly before going to bed. It is also often connected to 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 suffer from insomnia, but it is more common in the elderly and in women, especially after the menopause.

Insomnia can be separated into three categories:

• "Initial" insomnia: where you display a difficulty in in falling asleep, more often than not taking 30 minutes or more to fall into a sleep state.



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



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

Insomnia can often be merely the symptom of an underlying medical conditions which could 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 insomnia 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 the need to use prescription drugs.

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