info on homecare companies and sleep disorders

sleep disorders

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

• Three quarters of individuals questioned said that they frequently experience difficulty in sleeping.



• Only 1 out of 2 of individuals questioned said that they normally slept without any difficulty.



• A quarter of individuals questioned said that sleeping difficulties affected their daily lives.

The poll also demonstrated that:

• 60% of motorists polled reported driving while drowsy in the past year. (4 % reported having an accident or near-accident because of tiredness or having fallen asleep while driving.)



• People polled cited sleep-related issues as the most common 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 problems in the previous 3 months.



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



• 1 out of 4 of individuals questioned with partners report problems in their sexual relationship because of tiredness. They enjoy sex less frequently or lose interest in sex because of tiredness. A lot of couples sleep separately because of a sleep problem.

Many of us have the occasional night of sleeplessness without any consequences. If, however, the occasional night now and again becomes a pattern of several nights in a row, you face a sleeping problem.

Sleep apnea is one of the commonest and most dangerous types of sleep disorder. Roughly 18 million people in the US suffer from sleep apnea, which is characterised by repeated episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep. Over a period of time this can produce cardiac disease, high blood pressure, and disordered thinking.

Sometimes linked with aging, sleep apnea can occur together with fat buildup or loss of muscle tone. These changes allow a collapse in the windpipe while breathing Whenever muscles relax during sleep.

This form of the condition, known as obstructive sleep apnea, is typically connected to loud snoring (though not everybody who snores has this condition). Sleep apnea might also occur if the neurons responsible for controlling breathing malfunction during sleep.

During obstructive sleep apnea, attempts to inhale air will create suction which collapses 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 start breathing again. 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 tired and could well cause changes in personality like irritability or depression. Sleep apnea also leaves you short of oxygen, which may lead to morning headaches, a loss of interest in sex, or a decline in mental functioning. High blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, and a heightened risk of stroke and heart attack also Frequently arise in cases of sleep apnea.

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

Mild sleep apnea can commonly be overcome by reducing your weight or by preventing yourself from sleeping on your back. You might need a special device or surgery to clear the obstruction.

Restless leg syndrome (RLS), a familial disorder creating unpleasant tingling, prickling, or crawling sensations in the legs and feet and a need to move them if you want 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, restless leg syndrome leads to continual leg movement during the day and to insomnia at night.

Severe RLS is most common in elderly people, though symptoms might well come on at any age. In some cases, it may be linked to other conditions such as anemia, pregancy, or diabetes.

In addition to the alarm clock beside your bed, the clock on your mantelpiece or your wrist watch, all of which, if you're like me, govern your life to a great extent, you also have an internal clock that 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, first and foremost, telling you when it is time to get up and go to sleep.

Following the pattern of night and day (darkness and light) the internal clock tracks a pattern of almost 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 the body's circadian rhythm occurs 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 could become chronic and in serious cases can even expect medical intervention.

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

Jet lag is an extremely common sleep disorder endured by many millions of travelers each day. It affects both individuals traveling on business and for pleasure and, in 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, despite the fact that it varies widely from one individual to another, it tends to be more severe the older you get.

What is more, if you already have a problem sleeping, you may find that jet lag is more of a problem.

Jet lag also increases as you cross a growing number of time zones. If the difference in time between your point of departure and your destination is just an hour or two, then you're unlikely to experience jet lag at all. However, if the difference in time is three hours or more then jet lag will start to appear and its effects will be more pronounced the bigger the time difference.

Finally, the symptoms of jet lag do not always appear immediately and, for some people, it might well be two or three days before it hits.

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