narcolepsy sleep disorder

sleep disorders

It was revealed in a recent poll conducted on behalf of the National Sleep Foundation that:

• Three quarters of people polled stated that they often have difficulty sleeping.



• Just half of people polled stated that they usually slept reasonably well.



• A quarter of people polled stated that difficulty in sleeping affected their daily lives.

The poll also revealed that:

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



• Those polled cited sleep-related issues as the usual reason for being late for work. Almost 1 in 3 of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making mistakes at work as a result of sleep-related problems in the preceding three months.



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



• 25% of adults with partners report difficulties in their sexual relationship because of tiredness. They enjoy sex less often or lose interest in sex as a result of tiredness. A large number of couples sleep separately because of a sleep problem.

Many people experience the odd sleepless night without any consequences. If, however, the odd night from time to time turns into a pattern of several nights in a row, you are facing a sleeping problem.

Narcolepsy affects roughly 250,000 individuals in the US. People with narcolepsy have frequent "sleep attacks" during the day, even when they get a normal amount of night-time sleep. These attacks can last anything from a number of seconds to more than half an hour.

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

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

The disorder (or a predisposition for it) is usually hereditary, but it is now and then linked to brain damage from a head injury or to neurological disease.

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

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

Affecting as many as 12 million people in the United States, restless leg syndrome leads to continual leg movement during the day and insomnia at night.

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

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 great extent, you also possess an internal clock that dictates the rhythm of your body.

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

Following the pattern of day and night (light and darkness) your body's internal clock tracks a pattern of roughly 24 hours thereby 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 may become chronic and in serious cases may even require medical intervention.

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

Jet lag is a very common sleep disorder suffered by millions of travelers every day. It affects both those traveling on vacation and on business and, according to a recent survey of international business travelers, three quarters of those questioned said that they suffered frequently from jet lag.

Jet lag affects individuals of all ages and, though it varies widely from person to person, it tends to increase in severity the older you are.

As well, if you already have sleeping problems, you might find that jet lag is more of a problem.

Jet lag also increases as you cross a growing number of time zones. If the time difference between your point of departure and your destination is just an hour or two, then you might not 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 become more and more pronounced the greater the time difference.

Finally, jet lag symptoms do not always appear right away and, for some individuals, it might be two or three days before it hits.

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