infant sleep disorders breastfeeding

sleep disorders

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

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



• Just 50% of adults polled stated that they slept without a problem on the majority of nights.



• 1 out of 4 of adults polled stated that problems sleeping impacted upon their daily lives.

The poll also revealed that:

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



• People questioned named sleep-related issues as the most usual reason for being late for work. Almost 30% of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making errors at work as a result of sleep-related problems in the past three months.



• 3 out of 4 of those polled 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 could cause the other to lose, on average, up to an hour of sleep every night.



• A quarter of those polled with partners report troubles in their sexual relationship as a result of tiredness. They enjoy sex less frequently or lose interest in having sex through tiredness. A large number of couples sleep separately because of sleeping problems.

Many people suffer from the odd night of sleeplessness without any consequences. Once, however, the odd night from time to time becomes a pattern of several nights in a row, you are looking at a sleeping problem.

It is considered that more than 35 million Americans have chronic insomnia (a problem sleeping every night or on the majority of nights for six months or more), with an added 20 to 30 million people suffering shorter-term insomnia (a problem sleeping well for a period of four weeks to six months). Also, a large number of people suffer from insomnia over shorter periods (less than 4 weeks) and this is typically referred to as transient insomnia.

Transient insomnia is normally 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 people who take exercise late in the day, shortly before going to bed. It is also often linked to illness (colds/flu) and with several over-the-counter medications (for example, some medicines bought for asthma or colds).

Women and men of all ages experience 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: in which you demonstrate problems in falling asleep, typically taking 30 minutes or longer to fall into a sleep state.



• "Middle" insomnia: in which, after falling asleep, you have difficulty maintaining a sleep state and often remain awake into the early hours of the morning.



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

Insomnia can sometimes be just the symptom of some underlying medical conditions that may require a visit to your doctor and medical care. Here it will be a case of treating the cause, rather than the insomnia.

If, however, your lack of sleep results from a pattern of not sleeping, or your mind and body find it difficult to settle into a state of relaxation necessary for sleep, then there are various choices for achieving healthy sleep without resorting to prescription drugs.

Put simply, jet lag is a very common sleep disorder experienced by millions of travelers every day. It affects both people traveling on business and on vacation and, according to a recent survey of international business travelers, 74% of those questioned said that they frequently suffered from jet lag.

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

Additionally, if you are already experiencing sleeping problems, you might well 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 departure point and your destination is merely an hour or two, then it's possible that you won't experience jet lag at all. But, if the time difference is three hours or more then jet lag will begin to appear and its effects will become more and more pronounced the larger the time difference.

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

Narcolepsy affects in the region of 250,000 adults in the US. People with narcolepsy have frequent "sleep attacks" in the day, even when they get a normal amount of night-time sleep. Attacks can last anywhere from just a few seconds to in excess of half an hour.

Individuals with narcolepsy may also experience cataplexy (loss of muscle control in an emotional situation), 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 disorder of sleep regulation.

The symptoms of narcolepsy commonly appear during adolescence, although it usually takes years to obtain a correct diagnosis.

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

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

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

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

Following the pattern of night and day (darkness and light) your 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).

If disruption to the body's circadian rhythm occurs due to shift work, you may suffer from temporary sleep disorders such as excessive daytime sleepiness or transient insomnia. Left untreated, transient sleep problems associated with a change in your work schedule might become chronic and in serious cases might even need medical intervention.

Working shifts also places you at greater risk of chronic gastrointestinal and cardiovascular problems. Heartburn, high blood pressure, menstrual irregularities, indigestion, flu, colds and weight gain are all encountered more amongst shift workers.

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