learning disabilities and sleep disorders

sleep disorders

It was shown in a recent poll carried out for the National Sleep Foundation that:

• 75% of adults polled said that they frequently experience difficulty in sleeping.



• As little as 1 out of 2 of adults polled said that they slept well on most nights.



• 1 out of 4 of adults polled said that sleep problems had an impact upon their daily lives.

The poll also demonstrated that:

• Just under two thirds of motorists polled reported driving while drowsy in the past year. (4 % reported that they had had an accident or near-accident through tiredness or falling asleep while they were driving.)



• People questioned cited 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 mistakes at work as a result of sleep-related problems in the preceding 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 can cause the other to lose, on average, nearly an hour of sleep every night.



• 25% of those questioned with partners report difficulties in their sexual relationship because of tiredness. They enjoy sex less often or lose interest in having sex through tiredness. A large number of couples sleep apart because of sleeping difficulties.

A significant number of people suffer from the odd night of sleeplessness without any consequences. Once, however, the occasional night here and there becomes a pattern of several nights in a row, you face a sleeping problem.

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

This internal clock governs many of the functions of your body, 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) your internal clock tracks a pattern of more or less 24 hours thus giving your body a 24 hour rhythm or, to give it its proper title, a circadian rhythm - from the Latin circa (about) dies (a day).

Whenever you circadian rhythm is upset due to 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 may become chronic and in serious cases may even need medical intervention.

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

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

Affecting as many as 12 million adults in the US, this disorder leads to unremitting leg movement during the day and to sleeplessness at night.

Severe RLS is commonest in elderly people, although symptoms may well start at any age. In some cases, it may be linked to other conditions such as diabetes, pregancy, or anemia.

At its simplest, jet lag is a common sleep disorder experienced by many millions of travelers every day. It affects both individuals traveling on holiday and on business and, in a recent survey of international business travelers, 3/4 of those questioned said that they often suffered from jet lag.

Jet lag affects individuals of all ages and, in spite of the fact that it varies widely from one person to another, it tends to increase in severity the older you get.

Further, if you already have difficulty sleeping, you are likely to 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 simply an hour or two, then you might 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 become more and more pronounced the larger the time difference.

Finally, the symptoms of jet lag do not always appear immediately and, for some individuals, it could well be a couple of days before it hits.

It is estimated that in excess of 35 million individuals in the US are suffering from a case of chronic insomnia (problems sleeping every night or virtually all nights for six months or more), with an additional 20 to 30 million people suffering shorter-term insomnia (problems sleeping well for between four weeks and six months). In addition, a large number of people suffer from insomnia over shorter periods (under 4 weeks) and this is typically known as transient insomnia.

Transient insomnia is often brought on by excitement (a child anticipating his birthday) or by stress (concern about a coming examination). It also often results from air travel (jet lag) and can be seen in those who take exercise late in the day, shortly before going to bed. It is also often associated with illness (colds/flu) and with a few over-the-counter medications (for example, some medicines purchased for a cold or asthma).

Men and women of all ages suffer from insomnia, although it is more common in the elderly and in women, particularly after the menopause.

Insomnia can be separated into three categories:

• "Initial" insomnia: where you demonstrate a difficulty in in falling asleep, usually taking 30 minutes or more to fall into a sleep state.



• "Middle" insomnia: where, having fallen asleep, you have difficulty maintaining a sleep state and usually stay awake into the early hours of the morning.



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

Insomnia can often be simply the symptom of an underlying medical conditions which may well require a trip to the doctor's office and medical care. Here it is 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 body and mind find difficulty in settling into a state of relaxation necessary for sleep, then there are a number of choices for achieving healthy sleep without turning to prescription drugs.

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