leg cramps at night and sleep disorders

sleep disorders

A recent poll conducted on behalf of the National Sleep Foundation found that:

• 3 out of 4 of individuals questioned stated that they often have difficulty sleeping.



• As little as 50% of individuals questioned stated that they slept without difficulty on most nights.



• 25% of individuals questioned stated that problems sleeping had an impact upon their daily lives.

The poll also demonstrated that:

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



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



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



• 25% of adults questioned with partners report troubles in their sexual relationship as a result of tiredness. They enjoy sex less often or lose interest in sex as a result of tiredness. A lot of couples sleep apart because of sleeping problems.

A significant number of us 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.

Sleep apnea is among the commonest and most dangerous types of sleep disorder. Approximately 18 million people in the US suffer from this condition, that is marked by repeated episodes in which you cease breathing during sleep. Over a period of time this can result in high blood pressure, disordered thinking, and cardiac disease.

Typically 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 When muscles relax in the course of sleep.

This form of the condition, called obstructive sleep apnea, is more commonly associated with loud snoring (though not everybody who snores suffers from this condition). Sleep apnea can also occur if the neurons responsible for controlling breathing don't function properly during sleep.

During an episode of obstructive sleep apnea, attempts to inhale air will create suction that collapses the windpipe. This, in turn, blocks the air flow for 10 seconds to a minute while you struggle to breathe. As your blood oxygen level falls, the brain reacts by waking you sufficiently to tighten the muscles of the upper airway and open the windpipe. You may gasp or snort, then start breathing again. This cycle may be repeated hundreds of times a night.

The constant awakenings which you experience as a sleep apnea sufferer leave you feeling permanently fatigued and could lead to changes in personality such as depression and irritability. Sleep apnea also leaves you short of oxygen, which may lead to a decline in mental functioning, morning headaches, or a loss of interest in sex. High blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, and a raised risk of stroke and heart attack also Commonly arise in cases of sleep apnea.

If you suffer from severe, untreated sleep apnea you appear two to three times more likely to be involved in an automoblie accident than the general population.

Mild sleep apnea can often be overcome by dieting or by preventing yourself from sleeping on your back. You may need a special device or surgery to rectify the obstruction.

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

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

Following the pattern of day and night (light and darkness) this internal clock tracks a pattern of about 24 hours thereby 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).

When disruption to your circadian rhythm takes place because of 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 expect medical intervention.

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

Narcolepsy affects about 250,000 people in the USA. Individuals with narcolepsy suffer frequent "sleep attacks" in the day, even when they experience a normal amount of night-time sleep. These "sleep attacks" can last anywhere from a number of seconds to over half an hour.

People with narcolepsy can also experience cataplexy (the loss of muscle control in an emotional situation), hallucinations, temporary paralysis when they awaken, and disrupted night-time sleep. These symptoms seem to be features of Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep that appear during waking, indicating that narcolepsy is a sleep regulation disorder.

Narcolepsy symptoms ordinarily appear during adolescence, though it commonly takes years to obtain a correct diagnosis.

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

Once it has been diagnosed, antidepressants, stimulatns, or other drugs can be used to control the symptoms and prevent the dangerous and embarrassing effects of falling asleep at improper times. Naps at certain times of the day may also reduce the excessive sleepiness during the day.

It is thought that over 35 million people in the US have chronic insomnia (problems sleeping every night or most nights for a period of more than six months), with a further 20 to 30 million suffering shorter-term insomnia (problems sleeping well for a period of one to six months). Additionally, many people suffer from insomnia over shorter periods (less than 4 weeks) and this is often referred to as transient insomnia.

Transient insomnia is normally brought on by excitement (a child anticipating the arrival of Father Christmas) or by stress (worry about making a speech). It also often results from long distance travel (jet lag) and can be seen in those who exercise late in the day, shortly before going to bed. It is also often linked to illness (colds/flu) and with a few over-the-counter medications (for example, some medicines purchased for colds or asthma).

Both sexes and all ages experience insomnia, although it is more frequently seen in the elderly and in women, especially after the menopause.

Insomnia can be divided into three classes:

• "Initial" insomnia: in which you have problems in falling asleep, invariably taking 30 minutes or longer to fall into a sleep state.



• "Middle" insomnia: in which, having fallen asleep, you have difficulty maintaining a sleep state and usually remain awake until 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 frequently be only the symptom of some underlying medical conditions that could require advice from your doctor and medical care. Here it is a matter of treating the underlying medical problem, rather than the insomnia.

If, however, your inability to sleep results from a pattern of not sleeping, or your brain and body find difficulty in settling into a sufficiently relaxed state for sleep, then there are several different choices for achieving healthy sleep without using prescription drugs.

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