THE 6 MOST COMMON SLEEP DISORDERS

Understanding Sleep Disorders

We all know that sleep is a precious necessity. However, sleep disorders are becoming a very prominent issue in today’s age. When we hear about sleep disorders, we associate them with people who sleepwalk or have problems falling asleep, which is known as insomnia.

Experts say there are more than a dozen different common sleep disorders. You may be familiar with teeth grinding and sleepwalking, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The fact is, there is a wide range of more complicated sleep disorders that plague millions of people worldwide.  Luckily, we have the best food and treatment for sleep disorders.

With proper diagnosis from a health professional, you can treat or prevent many of these sleep disorders.

Absent of the right diagnosis, sleep disorders can be extremely dangerous. Many people who suffer from these sleep disorders face a lot of life-threatening problems. They become problems when they disrupt your normal everyday life and affect your job, family, and relationships.

This can easily overtake you if you worry more about your condition than getting the correct amount of sleep. The problem with many people with sleep disorders is that they’re not aware that it is a problem.

They only realize when it adversely affects their job and everyday life. In fact, this assessment is usually made by other people around them like co-workers and spouses.

How big a problem are sleep disorders?

In today’s fast world, many, if not most people are just getting too little sleep and it is becoming a growing concern.

Research shows that a quarter to one half of all Americans gets too little sleep. Sleep deprivation can cause many serious side effects, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

Data also shows that in the United States alone, approximately 60 – 80 million people have some form of sleep disorder. This number continues to rise. Several of the reasons for the increasing numbers are:

• The aging of the American population.
• Change in our lifestyle.
• The obesity epidemic.
• Other factors such as stress, shift work, illness, or genetics.

As mentioned earlier, there are many different types of sleep disorders. They range in severity from minor to life-threatening. Sleep disorders can affect people of any age, from infants to the elderly, at any time without warning.

As sleep disorders increase in the United States, so do the dangers that are associated with them.

Accidents

Tiredness can lead to slower mental alertness and slower reaction time. This can be a very dangerous combination.

Between 20 – 25% of all serious auto accidents involve an overtired driver. Many of these drivers suffer from some form of sleep disorder and they aren’t even aware of it. People with sleep disorders cause a large number of accidents at home or at work.

Physical ailments

Lack of sleep is directly related to many physical ailments and conditions. People that do not get sufficient sleep generally suffer more from headaches, sore joints, and stomach problems.

Often a sleep disorder is an underlying cause of heart problems, lung conditions, and diabetes.

Mental issues

Lack of mental wellness can be cause or effect of sleep disorders. Mental issues include mood changes, anxiety, eating disorders, and depression.

When you get a diagnosis,  you feel like you’re not able to do any of the things you’re used to doing. Additionally, lack of enough rest can stress your immune system, further triggering other medical and health issues.

Many people still do not think of sleep disorders as a medical problem. Thus, many never tell their physician that they are having trouble sleeping, even when they see their doctors regularly.

Diagnosing sleep disorders

More American public and medical community have become more  educated and aware of the symptoms, effects of sleep disorders.

There are better screening methods and diagnostic tests that find sleep disorder problems earlier. Overnight sleep centers no longer resemble a hospital room. They now look more like a hotel room, to make the patient feel more comfortable.

In some cases, due to computerization and miniaturization, the  equipment can be so small that some testing can even be done at home.

Sleep is not an option or a luxury. It is a basic element of living and of good health. If you think you, your partner, or your child may be suffering from a sleep disorder see your doctor or healthcare specialist as soon as possible. A sleep disorder is a medical problem that can be treated when diagnosed properly.

On average, a person sleeps anywhere between 6-8 hours, but the most anyone sleeps should be 10 hours. Note that too much sleep is also a disorder that should be diagnosed.

Our bodies are naturally designed to sleep and awake when the day changes. So, people who sleep too much tend to throw their bodies off.

The best way to determine whether or not you have a sleep disorder is a test called the Polysomnogram. A polysomnography is a comprehensive recording of the biophysiological changes that occur while you’re asleep.

With the test results, then your specialist plans the right treatment. This is very important because treatments are not the same for all sleep disorders.

Treatment for sleep disorders

Most people with a positive diagnosis for sleep disorders usually get prescription medication from their doctor. However, these days treatment people with sleep disorders also include oxygen, cpap machines, and even surgery in severe cases.

Having a sleeping disorder can make you feel like abnormal. However, when you get proper treatment for sleep disorders, you can retrain your body to sleep on a normal schedule again.

6 Common Types of Sleep Disorders

Now, let’s talk about why you came here. That is, to find out what sleep disorder you or a family member might be suffering from.

Insomnia

Insomniacs often complain they’re unable to close their eyes or rest their mind for more than a few minutes at a time. There are many reasons for this ranging from anxiety to bipolar disorder. Yet sometimes there’s no real cause, and it can just happen for no apparent reason.

The underlying reason for insomnia is not always obvious. Sometimes, the cause may be simply too much activity. Physical pain or not eating properly can also be underlying reasons for the inability to sleep at night.

Finding the underlying cause is key to finding a cure for any of the sleep disorders.

There are 3 types of insomnia:

Transient insomnia

Transient insomnia lasts only a few nights. It is often caused by jet lag, stress, excitement, illness, or a change in your sleep schedule.

Short-term insomnia

Short-term insomnia lasts up to as long as three weeks. It often results from more extreme or prolonged stress, such as financial troubles, death, job change, family issues, or divorce. If you don’t treat it,  short-term insomnia may turn into a more chronic problem.

Chronic insomnia

Chronic insomnia, also known as long-term insomnia, lasts more than a month. It can occur every night, most nights, or several nights each month. Chronic insomnia is often caused by a medical problem. Thus, treating the underlying problem will often alleviate insomnia.

Bad sleep habits may also lead to insomnia-related sleep disorders.

Treating insomnia

There are options to treat insomnia. The most common is medicinal. There are many new developments in drug therapies. Drugs such as Ambien, Ambien CR (Controlled Release), Rozerem, and Lunesta are used to treat sleep disorders.

Warning: Just keep in mind that not all medications will be suitable for your specific problem.

Some of the medications that are used in the treatment of insomnia have been proven effective. But finding the one that will work for you may not be as easy as one trip to the doctor’s office.

If your insomnia is mild, you may want to try herbs like chamomile. One way to do it is to add it to tea as a drink before bed. You may also consider lavender aromatherapy which has been known to aid relaxation, before seeing a doctor.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a magnesium deficiency can also lead to insomnia. Getting the right amount of magnesium in your diet has been proven through studies to improve the quality of sleep.

Pomegranates are also good for insomniacs. There’s a nutrient in the fruit key for everything from immunity to cardiovascular health and is good for improving sleep.

Stress and tension can also cause sleep disorders such as insomnia. Therefore, it is important that you do your best to eliminate stress and tension from your life.

There are also those who successfully use Chinese medicine to treat sleep disorders and other health issues.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, estimate that 40% of women and 30% of men suffer from some type of insomnia. That is 60 million people in America alone.

Jet Lag Syndrome

Jet lag syndrome is the second most common of the sleep disorders. It usually affects people on international flights and domestic flights if you’re going between time zones.

This is what’s often referred to as knocking your body clock out of sync. When you travel across different time zones, especially at the international level, it can throw you off an entire day. Say for instance you’re coming from New York to London or Los Angeles to Tokyo or Sydney.

It can throw your body clock out of sync since you’re crossing the international dateline.

Studies show that it affects women more than men because of the natural hormone estrogen. Once jet lag affects your body, it can take up to several days to regain normalcy.

The symptoms of jet lag vary by the individual person. They can include or be a combination of dehydration which can trigger minor disorientation.

Other symptoms include loss of appetite, headaches, and sinus irritations, fatigue, grogginess, nausea and/or vomiting, irritability, and mild depression.

Jet lag is not linked to the length of a flight, but more to the distance traveled east or west.

For example, let’s say you flew from New York to Los Angeles which is approximately 5 hours. Let’s say, on the other hand, that you fly for 5 hours from north to south – from Canada to the U.S. Your jet lag will have more effect from the former than the latter. Why? Because you will be crossing the Central and Mountain time zones.

Jet lag can be extremely difficult in places like Alaska and Russia. That’s due to the fact that Alaska only sees a short amount of daylight. Russia has 11 different time zones and can really throw you off.

How to deal with jet lag

Usually, people who are prone to this problem take sedatives to help them sleep through the flight. That way, they minimize the jet lag effect when they land at their destination.

There are other simple things that you can do to help yourself recover more quickly from jet lag. Among them are proper nutrition, exercise, and lots of sleep. Experts also suggest that sunlight can help reset your body’s clock more quickly.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the severity of jet lag because it affects people differently. People who travel frequently on international flights are less likely to suffer from jet lag because they adapt.

Narcolepsy

Did you know that there over 3 million cases of narcolepsy in the US alone? Also, various medical reports estimate that only a quarter of the affected people get an official diagnosis from a doctor.

What is Narcolepsy exactly?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Narcolepsy is the condition of excessive daytime sleepiness combined with sudden muscle weakness.

This condition affects both men and women at any age, yet the symptoms appear as early as the teenage years. Sources indicate that there is a 15-year window between the onset and the actual diagnosis of the problem. This gap contributes greatly to the debilitating side effect of this disorder.

People with narcolepsy may also suffer from several other cognitive, educational, occupational, and psychological issues.

Treatment for Narcolepsy

Currently, the treatment options for narcolepsy are very limited. Studies show that one reason for this is due to the under-diagnosis in the general population.

Some narcoleptics don’t show any visible signs and the severity of the condition varies uniquely from person to person.

As with other sleep disorders a Polysomnogram and Multiple Sleep Latency exams are used to provide a formal diagnosis. They also determine the level of severity for proper treatment by specialists.

Tests are usually conducted in two-hour increments to allow the person to sleep. The Polysomnogram test does a continuous test of brain activity when you’re in the sleep state known as REM sleep.

Usually, most narcoleptics fall asleep in nighttime sleep mode fairly quickly. There are several methods of treatment for people with narcolepsy. They usually consist of anti-depressants and planned short-termed naps throughout the day.

These naps help to lower dependence on drug treatments by allowing the body to do what it should be doing naturally.

Retraining the body to sleep at a reasonable time goes a long way in helping people with narcolepsy. Sleeping at night and taking short naps during the day helps their body to stay alert. This stops narcoleptics from falling asleep during their normal workday, driving, or operating machinery.

There is a new wave of holistic medicine becoming more readily available to help people with sleep disorders. Narcoleptics explore a treatment plan that includes a change in diet, incorporating exercise. Additionally, you should take the necessary nutritional supplements to give your body the stability it needs to function properly.

You can completely manage Narcolepsy if you follow your doctor’s instructions. Take medications when you’re supposed to and make sure that you get the proper amount of rest throughout the day.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea is a serious sleep disorder that can be life-threatening, if not fatal. People with sleep apnea often fall asleep normally; however, once asleep their ability to breathe is blocked.

The body then sends a signal of this blockage to the brain, forcing the person to wake up and start breathing again.

These cycles of breathing interruption can occur many times throughout the night. Often those suffering from these sleep disorders are unaware that anything is happening to them. They cannot understand why they always feel tired even though they believe they have slept adequately.

Two types of Sleep Apnea

OSA (obstructive sleep apnea is) is the most common form of this sleep disorder. This usually happens when muscles in the throat relax too much and thereby collapsing into the airway.

Another type of sleep apnea, is the central sleep apnea. It happens when the brain fails to send the proper signals to the muscles of the airways.

Some people may suffer from both the obstructive sleep apnea and the central sleep apnea. This sleep disorder is then called mixed sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea possibly affects between 18-20% of the adults in the United States. If left untreated it can become life-threatening, or in some rare cases, fatal. It is also an underlying cause of other illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, pulmonary hypertension, and systemic hypertension.

Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

If you are concerned that you may have sleep apnea, evaluate the following list: 

• Snoring – Does your partner or spouse complain about your snoring? Loud snoring, particularly,  is one of the primary symptoms of sleep apnea. Snoring is said to result from the vibration of the relaxed airways, particularly the soft palate.
• Daytime sleepiness – For many people, feeling sleepy in the middle of the afternoon is considered normal and nothing to worry about – and for the most part, it is. But if daytime sleepiness affects your normal functioning – if you can’t drive for half an hour or so without getting sleepy, for example, or if you have trouble focusing on tasks during the day – then sleep apnea may be the problem.
• Irritability – Even though you may not know you have sleep apnea, and you may not even feel sleepy, your pattern of interrupted sleep may result in irritability that does not seem to have any cause.
• Other signs – Other signs may include going to the bathroom more frequently during the night. You may also suffer from lack of focus, mood swings, and decreased sex drive. Often a person with sleep apnea will become so stressed that they can’t even think straight.

If you think you are suffering from it, see a medical professional as soon as you can.

Treatment for Sleep Apnea

There are several ways to treat sleep disorders related to sleep apnea – including surgical and noninvasive.

The first line of therapy for someone suffering from moderate to severe sleep apnea is called positive airway pressure. Known as PAP, positive airway pressure is a noninvasive form of treatment. A machine delivers a constant flow of air through a mask that is worn while sleeping.

The force of the airflow must be determined by a sleep technician during an overnight sleep study. There are three types of positive air pressure therapy, CPAP, BiPAP, and AutoPAP.

Dental devices are also used to treat this sleep disorder in mild to moderate cases. Dental devices fall into two general categories: mandibular, or lower jaw, advancing devices, or tongue retaining devices. Mandibular devices are used most often. They attach to the upper jaw and pull the lower jaw and base of the tongue forward. This shift in position keeps the airway open.

Medications are generally not a successful form of treatment for most people with sleep apnea. However, in some cases, your physician may prescribe antidepressants.

Supplemental oxygen is often used in conjunction with a PAP machine. Oxygen alone can not prevent the collapse of the airway or sleep fragmentation. However, oxygen can prevent the drop in the level of blood oxygen that occurs when the airway collapses.

There are also surgical treatments for obstructive sleep apnea that may be an option for some sufferers of this sleep disorder. These include uvulopalatophrayngoplasty (that’s one word), somnoplasty, corrective jaw surgery, palatal implants, and tracheostomy. People with this problem generally improve their quality of life with proper diagnoses and treatment.

Nightmares and Night Terrors Sleep Disorders

Nightmares and Night Terrors are very frightening sleep disorders for many reasons.

At one time or another in our childhood, most of us experienced these sleep disorders. However, most people would never associate having nightmares with a sleep disorder.

Nightmares are very common in children and can begin as early as two years old. They are most common in children aged 3-12 and are widely considered part of the normal developmental process. However, only about 3 percent, experience night terrors, also called sleep terrors.

Both of these sleep disorders can be very frightening to a child.

We all know that nightmares are dreams that are so frightening that they rudely wake us up during the night. Everyone has had nightmares occasionally throughout their life and they usually are not something to worry about.

Nightmares occur several hours after going to sleep during the REM stage of sleep. This is when there is general body paralysis and active dreaming.

A child can remember the nightmare once they awake and they still remember it in the morning. Sometimes this nightmare sleep disorder can become a problem. If the child has nightmares very often they are afraid to go to sleep or becomes sleep deprived.

Dealing with nightmares

There are several things that a parent can do to prevent nightmares. When a nightmare occurs it is important for the parent to remain calm and reassuring.

Discuss calm and comforting things with your child just before putting them to bed. Reading to them, or telling them a story can also be very comforting.

Don’t let a child watch violent or scary shows on television, especially just before going to bed.

Maintaining a relaxing bedtime routine is also important. Sometimes, nightmares indicate a more severe emotional problem within your child.

Dealing with night terrors

Night terrors are slightly different. They usually occur during the first few hours of sleep, during the deep non-REM sleep cycle. They often occur at the same time every night.

Night terrors are characterized by screaming, crying, or moaning. It is not unusual for a child experiencing a night terror to sit straight up in bed and scream. Their heart rate increases and they experience rapid breathing. An episode of this sleep disorder can last from 10 minutes to over an hour.

Although the child’s eyes are open, they are actually still asleep. And when they wake up in the morning there is no memory of what happened during the night.

Although night terrors can be frightening, they are not dangerous.

They usually are not a sign of any type of mental distress. A parent should not try to wake the child or comfort them, during a night terror. The best thing for a parent to do when their child is experiencing a night terror is to make sure they are safe.

Generally, most children outgrow these sleep disorders after a few months.

Factors contributing to night terrors include being overly tired and staying up extremely late. Other factors include eating a heavy meal just before going to bed or taking certain medications.

Nightmares and night terrors do sound like a very scary type of sleep disorders to both parents and children. However, the good news is that they are generally harmless.

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder also known as DSP is a sleep disorder that affects between 7% -10% of teenagers.

Most teenagers outgrow this disorder by the time they reach early adulthood. Less than one percent of adults are believed to have DSP. Often people mistake this sleep disorder for insomnia.

Left on their own, people with delayed sleep phase disorder will stay up very late, sometimes until 4 or 5 a.m. They like to get up very late in the morning or early afternoon. Often they are referred to as night owls.

Many teenagers like to stay up late and sleep late in the morning.

Sometimes this is because they want to socialize at that time of the day. However, it can also be due to the natural delay in the circadian sleep/wake rhythm at their age of development.

Teenagers with this sleep disorder often have a very hard time getting up in the morning for school. Even if they go to sleep at a regular time, such as 11: p.m., they toss and turn for hours like someone with insomnia.

The difference is, unlike an insomniac, people with delayed sleep phase disorder have no difficulty staying asleep. They do have a very difficult time getting up early in the morning.

Teenagers with this sleep disorder are very tired during the day and may even fall asleep in the classroom. The exact cause of this sleep disorder is not known. It is known for certain that it is a circadian rhythm problem.

Treatment for DSP

Treatment for this sleep disorder is available for people who need to get onto a more traditional sleep/wake schedule. The types of treatment include bright light, chronotherapy, melatonin, and over-the-counter sleeping pills.

Bright light treatment for delayed sleep phase disorder uses bright light to trick the brain’s circadian clock. Exposure to bright light shifts the circadian rhythm if it is administered within a few hours of the body’s lowest temperature at night.

Using chronotherapy to treat delayed sleep phase disorder requires a block of time one week long.

Each day bedtime is delayed by three hours successively. For example, say someone falls asleep at 2 a.m. but wants to fall asleep at 11. p.m. Their bedtime would move to 5 a.m. on the first day. The next day it would move to 8 a.m. and continue this cycle for a week.

A teenager suffering from delayed sleep phase disorder would need a week off from school in order to complete this therapy. Once you reach the bedtime you desire, it is very important to keep a consistent wake-up time.

There are several treatments involving various drugs that are used to treat delayed sleep phase disorder. Melatonin has been successful in changing the sleep cycle of people with this sleep disorder.

Prescription medication such as Ramelteon, and other sleeping pills, have been successful in treating teenagers and adults with DSP.

If your teenager has trouble falling asleep and always wants to stay up late, be aware of the possibility of a sleep disorder.

Further reading:

Why you’re suffering from sleep deprivation

How to manage your sleep disorder with diet & exercise

How to help your baby sleep