newsprompt.coSLEEP DISORDER SYMPTOMS
Sleep problems, including snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, sleep deprivation, and restless legs syndrome, are common. Good sleep is necessary for optimal health and can affect hormone levels, mood and weight.
Sleep Disorders
Whether you have occasional trouble sleeping or you’re living with a sleep disorder, you can get quality sleep and learn to better manage your condition.
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Obstructive Sleep Apnea Here’s information to help you understand how obstructive sleep apnea can affect your life and what can be done about it.
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Central Sleep Apnea In central sleep apnea, breathing is disrupted regularly during sleep because of the way the brain functions.
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An Overview of Insomnia Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep.
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Hypersomnia (Daytime Sleepiness) Hypersomnia, or excessive sleepiness, is a condition in which a person has trouble staying awake during the day. People who have hypersomnia can fall asleep at any time — for instance, at work or while they are driving.
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What Are Parasomnias? Parasomnias are disruptive sleep disorders that can occur during arousals from REM sleep or partial arousals from non-REM sleep. Parasomnias include nightmares, night terrors, sleepwalking, confusional arousals, and many others.
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REM Sleep Behavior Disorder In a person with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), the paralysis that normally occurs during REM sleep is incomplete or absent, allowing the person to “act out” his or her dreams.
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Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders Circadian rhythm disorders are disruptions in a person’s circadian rhythm — a name given to the “internal body clock” that regulates the (approximately) 24-hour cycle of biological processes in animals and plants.
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Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder is a specific kind of circadian rhythm disorder that is particularly common among blind people. People with N24 may find themselves gradually going to bed later each night and waking up later each day until their sleep schedule gets flipped all the way around.
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Periodic Limb Movement Disorder Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) is a sleep disorder characterized by rhythmic movements of the limbs during sleep.
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Shift Work Sleep Disorder Shift work sleep disorder is trouble sleeping because you work nights or rotating shifts. You also may have this problem if you have trouble staying awake or alert when you are supposed to work your shift.
Insomnia
Insomnia is by far the most common sleep disorder with approximately half of all people having experienced symptoms occasionally, and about 10% of Americans reporting suffering from chronic insomnia.
Insomnia is characterized as having poor sleep quality due to one or more of the following:
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Difficulty going to sleep at night.
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Waking often in the middle of the night with trouble returning to sleep.
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Waking earlier in the morning that planned or desired.
Losing quality sleep regularly can lead to many troubles and difficulties experienced during the day. Some of the reported symptoms of insomnia are:
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Feeling as if sleep was unrefreshing (non-restorative).
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Experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness.
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General lack of energy.
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Difficulty concentrating.
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Mood and behavior disturbances such as irritability, aggression, and impulsive behaviors.
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Difficulty concentrating.
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Forgetfulness.
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Decreased performance at work or school.
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Troubles in personal and professional relationships.
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Having accidents at work or while driving fatigued.
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Decreased quality of life.
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Depression.
Classifying insomnia varies on how long symptoms last and how often they occur. Acute insomnia is experiencing sleep loss over a short period of time, from one night to a few weeks. Chronic insomnia is when poor sleep quality occurs at least 3 nights a week for a month or longer.
Causes of insomnia can vary from being associated with a psychiatric problem, environmental influences, stress and worry, or simply occurring without reason.
Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the second most prevalent sleep disorder affecting roughly 20 million Americans. It’s also estimated that up to 80% of people with OSA may not even realize it.
While insomnia may be the most common sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea is the disorder most sleep clinics diagnose and treat.
Obstructive sleep apnea is when a person’s breathing stops for several seconds during the night due to blockage in the upper respiratory system. As one sleeps, soft tissues in the throat relax and collapse into the airway blocking oxygen from getting to the lungs. Partial blockage often results in snoring, and full blockage results in a cessation of breathing followed by gasping or choking sounds as breathing resumes.
As a response to not breathing, the brain partially awakens from sleep to force respiratory effort to breath harder and get past the blockage.
When this occurs several times an hour for several seconds at a time, the brain is never really allowed time to enter deeper phases of sleep where restorative bone, tissue, and cognitive functions prepare you for the next day. As a result, quality sleep is forfeited leaving the person feeling tired all day.
Furthermore, the respiratory effort required during sleep to continue breathing and functioning puts a strain on the heart and can lead to all kinds of cardiological problems down the road including heart attack, heart failure, heart arrhythmia, and more.
What to do if you have a sleep disorder
If you believe you may be suffering from a sleep disorder you should talk with your primary care physician about your symptoms. If your health expert believes that your symptoms are signs of a sleep disorder he will usually usually refer you to a sleep clinic to have a sleep study.
If you do not have a primary care physician you can contact a sleep clinic in your area for a consultation with a sleep specialist to determine if a sleep study is the best approach for diagnosis and treatment.
The Alaska Sleep Clinic has been helping diagnose and treat a variety of sleep disorders for over a decade. As the most trusted sleep experts in the state, we have helped tens of thousands of Alaskans suffering from sleep disorders get the therapy they need for better sleep at night.
Diagnosing patients is the easy part, helping patients maintain therapy compliance is one of the greatest hurdles a sleep clinic can face for its patients. The Alaska Sleep Clinic has one of the highest successful compliance rates for patients in the country due in part to a comprehensive program that helps patients maintain therapy through remote monitoring, automatic equipment replacement alerts, and the latest and greatest equipment for all of our patients.
