Most of us have problems sleeping from time to time, but for other people, sleep is a much bigger issue. If you find yourself not able to fall asleep at the right time or waking up often in the middle of the night, you may be suffering from one of many different sleep disorders. Sleep is not a luxury – it is a necessity. In order to maintain your health, happiness, and energy levels, you need a sufficient amount of quality sleep on a daily basis. Failing to get this proper sleep will affect your health significantly.
What Are The Most Common Sleep Disorders?
There are actually many different kinds of sleep disorders, some of which people just think of as fairly normal about their life. The most common of all the sleep disorders would be snoring, which is when a person makes a noise during their sleep. This voice is usually cause by inhaling air through the mouth and allowing the tongue to vibrate in the back of the throat when this occurs.
Snoring may seem like an irritating habit, especially to those who live with the snoring person, but the reality of it is that this can be extremely disruptive to sleep and can have long-term health effects for everyone including the person who is snoring. Snoring is closely related to sleep apnea, which is when a person fails to breathe on a regular basis during sleep. This can occur for a number of reasons, but usually because of the upper airway being blocked by the tonsil.
What Is Insomnia?
For the most part, insomnia is when you are unable to fall asleep at the correct time. In many cases, this is a short-term issue, such as what occurs when you are experiencing jet lag, when you were sleeping in an unfamiliar setting, or when you are forced to sleep at different hours than normal. It is fairly common for people to suffer from insomnia from time to time, especially during periods of great stress or worry.
If you are not able to fall asleep easily or you find yourself waking up many times throughout the night, you are suffering from insomnia. Insomnia only becomes an issue when it is chronic, and when someone feels as if they need medication or sedatives in order to fall asleep.
Narcolepsy
One of the sleep disorders that is often shown in movies, but rarely seen in real-life is narcolepsy, which is a dramatic sleep attack at an inappropriate time. In movies where a character has narcolepsy, they fall asleep at the drop of a hat, creating a variety of problems for them and those around them.
A more common description of narcolepsy is simply sleepiness during the day, which can be the result of a night’s worth of snoring, too much food during the daytime, or the effects of medication. It is actually quite rare that a person has narcolepsy and will fall asleep unexpectedly.
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking tends to be fairly common among young children, particularly those between the ages of three and five. This also occurs in adults, though usually it is the direct result of some medication they are taking, but it can be equally dangerous.
People who are sleepwalking are also prone to various activities while they are essentially asleep and mobile, such as eating, leaving the home, attacking others, or simply screaming. When you live with someone who is a chronic sleepwalker, it can be quite frightening because they are not essentially in control of their actions.
Sleepwalking is closely related to nightmares and night terrors, both of which are when someone experiences very bad dreams and cannot seemingly wake up from them. Normally, when a person is frightened in a dream or nightmare, they will wake up, but that does not occur during night terrors. A child in particular may continue to scream while they are sleeping, with no knowledge of what they are doing.
What Effects Can Sleep Disorders Have On Your Life?
It is rare to find a person who can fall asleep at exactly the right time every night and sleep right on through the night. Most of us will have problems sleeping at one time or another, because of pain, worry, disruption in our life, or other reasons.
But, chronic sleep disorders can have a serious effect on your health and even lead to health issues like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other health issues. If you feel that you are suffering from chronic sleep disorders of any kind, then you should definitely talk to your doctor to see if there is a solution for you. You may be a candidate for a sleep study, in which case you will get more information on the kind of disorder you have.
Useful References:
Wed MD (Accessed 30 May 2013)
Medline Plus (Accessed 30 May 2013)
National Sleep Foundation (Accessed 30 May 2013)
