That first night of sleep after someone has had their sleep disorder solved is incredible. The restful feeling felt when that person wakes up has been denied to them for so long! A simple night’s sleep can make a huge difference to everyone’s attitude, health and wellbeing.
There are a number of different sleep disorders that people can suffer from. This article will attempt to identify some of the more common sleep disorders that people have to deal with. Some basic information to help identify the disorders through symptoms will be discussed. Some treatment ideas can be suggested, but as always, treatment is best planned out by your doctor as they know their patients best.
1 - Insomnia
Insomnia is quite simply the most common sleep disorder. It affects up to a quarter of adults to some degree, and about 10% of adults chronically. Quite simply, people with insomnia aren’t able to get enough sleep at night and are tired throughout the day. There are a wide variety of different forms of insomnia. Chronic insomnia occurs when people struggle to sleep at least three nights each week for a period of three or more months. There are forms of behavioral therapy and sleeping pills which can be used to help people with insomnia. Severe cases may result in a person awake for several days at a time, so treatment is very important.
2 - Sleep Apnea
This is a serious condition in which a person’s airways aren’t transmitting enough air. This can mean that people stop breathing or have serious dips in oxygen levels throughout the body during the night. People with sleep apnea often snore heavily as a precursor, as both are caused by issues in the upper airways. Sleep Apnea is most commonly treated through the use of a CPAP machine. This produces air pressure throughout the airways and keeps them open. It can take a while to get used to wearing a sleep apnea mask. Treating sleep apnea is crucial as severe cases can pose a fatal risk.
3 - Sleep Paralysis
This is a very troubling sleep condition. People with sleep paralysis wake up and are unable to move when they wake up. It can also be accompanied with some kind of hallucination, often of people standing over you and threatening you with harm. Troubling might not actually cover how it feels. The good news is that the brain will fall asleep or wake up fully and snap a person out of these episodes. If sleep paralysis becomes a chronic condition, then doctors do have some medications they can prescribe to try to reduce episodes.
4 - Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is often given a comic treatment in television or movies, but there’s nothing about it. People with narcolepsy suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness at times. This means that they may fall asleep suddenly and fully at times when they shouldn’t. Narcoleptics need to be very careful when they are driving or doing something involving movement. What’s more, it’s possible for them to also suffer from hallucinations, sleep paralysis and other serious sleep disorders. The main treatment for narcolepsy centers around medications.
5 - Restless Legs Syndrome
Compared to the previous two disorders, this one may not seem as scary. However, it’s a problematic movement disorder. People feel the need to move their legs while resting, sleeping or wishing to fall asleep. This can stop sleep from occurring or wake a person. The legs will often have burning, tingling or painful sensations associated with them. Some people report a feeling like bugs crawling up their legs. There’s many potential causes of restless legs syndrome including obesity, pregnancy and a lack of iron in the body. Medications are a common treatment, especially if someone is suffering from iron deficiency.