melatonin for sleep disorder

sleep disorders

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

• 75% of those questioned stated that they frequently experience difficulty in sleeping.



• Just 50% of those questioned stated that they normally slept without problem.



• A quarter of those questioned stated that sleeping difficulties had an impact upon their daily lives.

The poll also revealed that:

• Just under two thirds of adult motorists reported driving while drowsy in the previous twelve months. (4 % reported that they had had an accident or near-accident as a result of tiredness or falling asleep while they were driving.)



• Those polled named sleep-related issues as the most usual reason for being late for work. Almost two thirds of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making mistakes at work through sleep-related problems in the previous three months.



• 75% of adults 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, up to an hour of sleep every night.



• 25% of adults questioned with partners report difficulties in their sexual relationship as a result of tiredness. They enjoy sex less frequently or lose interest in having sex as a result of tiredness. Numerous couples sleep apart because of a sleep problem.

A significant number of people suffer from the odd sleepless night without any consequences. If, however, the occasional night now and again turns into a pattern of several nights in a row, you are looking at a sleeping problem.

Sleep apnea is one of the commonest and most dangerous types of sleep disorder. About 18 million adults in America suffer from this condition, which is characterised by repeated episodes in which you stop breathing while sleeping. Over time this can produce cardiac disease, disordered thinking, and high blood pressure.

Frequently linked with increasing age, sleep apnea can occur together with loss of muscle tone or a buildup of fat. These changes permit the windpipe to collapse while breathing Whenever muscles relax in the course of sleep.

This form of the condition, named obstructive sleep apnea, is normally connected to loud snoring (though not everyone who snores has this condition). Sleep apnea can also occur if the neurons that control breathing don't function properly during sleep.

During an episode of obstructive sleep apnea, efforts to inhale air will create suction which causes the collapse the windpipe. This obstructs the air flow for anything from about ten seconds up 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 snort or gasp, then start breathing again. This cycle may be repeated hundreds of times a night.

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

If you have from severe, untreated sleep apnea you are also 2 to 3 times more likely to be involved in an automoblie accident than the general population.

Mild sleep apnea can sometimes be overcome through weight loss or by preventing yourself from sleeping on your back. You might also require special devices or surgery to clear the obstruction.

It is considered that over 35 million adults in the USA have a case of chronic insomnia (difficulty sleeping each night or virtually all nights for six months or more), with another 20 to 30 million adults suffering shorter-term insomnia (difficulty sleeping well for between four weeks and six months). In addition, many individuals suffer from insomnia over shorter periods (under 4 weeks) and this is usually known as transient insomnia.

Transient insomnia is usually brought on by excitement (a child looking forward to an outing) or by stress (worrying about your upcoming driving test). It also often results from long distance travel (jet lag) and can be seen in individuals who take exercise late in the day, shortly before going to bed. It is also often linked to illness (colds/flu) and with some over-the-counter medications (for example, some medicines bought for a cold or asthma).

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

Insomnia can be separated into three classes:

• "Initial" insomnia: where you show a problem in falling asleep, generally taking 30 minutes or longer to fall into a sleep state.



• "Middle" insomnia: where, having fallen asleep, you have problems maintaining a state of sleep and typically remain awake until the early hours of the morning.



• "Late" or "Terminal" insomnia: where you wake 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 your doctor's advice and medical care. Here it will be a case of treating the cause, 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 choices for achieving healthy sleep without resorting to prescription drugs.

Narcolepsy affects around 250,000 individuals in the USA. People with narcolepsy get frequent "sleep attacks" during the day, even if they get a normal amount of night-time sleep. Such attacks can last anywhere from just a few seconds to more than 30 minutes.

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

Narcolepsy symptoms usually appear in adolescence, although it typically takes years to obtain a correct diagnosis.

The disorder (or at least a predisposition for it) is typically hereditary, but it is sometimes linked to brain damage from a head injury or to neurological disease.

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

In simple terms, jet lag is a very common sleep disorder suffered by many millions of travelers daily. It affects both those people traveling for pleasure and on business 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 people of all ages and, in spite of the fact that it varies widely from person to person, it tends to increase in severity the older you get.

In addition, if you already have sleeping problems, you could well 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 time difference is three hours or more then jet lag will begin to appear and its effects will be more pronounced the greater the time difference.

Finally, jet lag symptoms don't always appear instantly and, for a few individuals, it might well be two or three days before it hits.

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