medications for sleep disorders

sleep disorders

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

• 3 out of 4 of adults polled said that they frequently have sleep problems.



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



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

The poll also showed that:

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



• People questioned cited sleep-related problems as the commonest reason for being late for work. Almost 30% of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making errors at work because of sleep-related issues in the past 3 months.



• 3 out of 4 of people questioned reported a sleep problem with their partner - with snoring being the most common. Partnered adults, suffer doubly disruptive sleep difficulties, as one partner's sleep difficulty could cause the other to lose, on average, about an hour of sleep a night.



• A quarter of people questioned with partners report troubles in their sexual relationship because of tiredness. They enjoy sex less often or lose interest in sex through tiredness. Many couples sleep separately because of sleeping problems.

Many of us have the occasional 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 facing a sleeping problem.

Narcolepsy affects roughly 250,000 people in the United States. People with narcolepsy suffer frequent "sleep attacks" in the day, even if they get a normal amount of night-time sleep. These "sleep attacks" can last anywhere from just seconds to more than half an hour.

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

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

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

Once narcolepsy has been diagnosed, stimulants, antidepressants, or other drugs can help control the symptoms and prevent the dangerous and embarrassing effects of falling asleep at inappropriate times. Naps at certain times of the day can also reduce the excessive sleepiness during the day.

Put simply, jet lag is a common sleep disorder experienced by millions of travelers every day. It affects both those traveling on vacation and on business 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 are.

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

Jet lag also increases as you cross an increasing number of time zones. If the difference in time between your departure point and your destination is only an hour or two, then it's possible that you won't 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 become more and more pronounced the bigger the time difference.

Finally, the symptoms of jet lag do not always appear straight away and, for a few people, it could well be a couple of days before it hits.

Restless leg syndrome (RLS), a familial disorder creating unpleasant prickling, tingling, or crawling sensations in the legs and feet and impulse 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 United States, this disorder leads to constant leg movement during the day and insomnia at night.

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

Sleep apnea is among the most common and most dangerous sleep disorders. Roughly 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, that is marked by recurring episodes of cessation of breathing during sleep. In time this can cause disordered thinking, cardiac disease, and high blood pressure.

Usually connected with aging, sleep apnea can occur in association with fat buildup or loss of muscle tone. These changes cause a collapse in the windpipe while breathing When muscles relax during sleep.

This form of the condition, called obstructive sleep apnea, is generally linked to loud snoring (though not everybody who snores suffers from this condition). Sleep apnea may also occur if the neurons responsible for controlling breathing malfunction during sleep.

During obstructive sleep apnea, your effort to inhale air will create suction that collapses the windpipe. This blocks the air flow for 10 seconds 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 upper airway muscles and open the windpipe. You may gasp or snort, then resume breathing. This cycle may be repeated hundreds of times a night.

The continual awakenings that you experience as a sleep apnea sufferer leave you feeling permanently tired and may well cause changes in personality like depression and irritability. Sleep apnea also deprives you of oxygen, which might lead to a decline in mental functioning, a loss of interest in sex, or morning headaches. High blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, and an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke 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 have automobile accidents than the general population.

Mild sleep apnea can frequently be overcome by reducing your weight or by preventing yourself from sleeping on your back. You may also require a special device or surgery to rectify the obstruction.

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