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Common Sleep Disorders: (National Heart Lung Blood
Institute)
· Insomnia
· Narcolepsy
· Restless Legs Syndrome
· Sleep Apnea
· Certain medical conditions have been linked to sleep disorders. These include heart failure, coronary artery disease,
obesity, diabetes,
high blood pressure, and stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA, or "mini-stroke").
Common signs of sleep disorders:
(NHLBI)
· If you often feel very tired during the day—even though you spent enough time in bed to be well
rested.
· It takes you more than 30 minutes to fall asleep at night.
· You awaken often during the
night and then have trouble falling back to sleep, or you awaken too early in the morning.
· You feel sleepy
during the day and fall asleep within 5 minutes if you have an opportunity to nap, or you fall asleep at inappropriate times
during the day.
· Your bed partner claims you snore loudly, snort, gasp, or make choking sounds
while you sleep, or your partner notices your breathing
stops for short periods.
· You have
creeping, tingling, or crawling feelings in your legs that are relieved by moving or massaging them, especially in the evening
and
when you try to fall asleep.
· You have vivid, dreamlike experiences while falling asleep
or dozing.
· You have episodes of sudden muscle weakness when you're angry, fearful, or when you laugh.
· You feel as though you can't move when you first wake up.
· Your bed partner notes that your legs
or arms jerk often during sleep.
· You regularly feel the need to use stimulants to stay awake during the day.
What is “sleep-disordered breathing”
(SBD)?
SDB is a group of conditions characterized by frequent and repeated interruptions to breathing. SDB includes
obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), snoring, gasping for breath, hypopnea (not enough ventilation), upper airway resistance syndrome
(UARS), and Cheyne-Stokes breathing. These conditions cause oxygen levels in the body to drop significantly while at
the same time, carbon dioxide concentration increases.
Why do I snore?
You snore when something blocks the flow of air through your mouth and nose.
The sound is caused by tissues at the top of your airway that strike each other and vibrate. (MedlinePlus)
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What is “insomnia”? (NHLBI)
· Insomnia is a condition in which you have trouble falling or staying asleep. It is a common condition
that can cause daytime sleepiness and
lack of energy.
· There are two types of insomnia:
secondary and primary. Secondary insomnia is the most common type. Secondary means that the
insomnia is
a symptom or a side-effect of some other problem. Primary insomnia is not a side-effect of another problem, and it generally
persists for 1 month or longer.
· Insomnia that lasts for more than 1 month and is present
at least 3 nights a week is called chronic insomnia. Insomnia that lasts for less
than 1 month is
called short-term or acute insomnia.
· Chronic insomnia is a serious problem that can affect your mood,
safety, and performance at work or school.
· Secondary insomnia often goes away or improves without treatment
if you can eliminate its cause.
What
is “narcolepsy”? (NHLBI)
· Narcolepsy is a lifelong condition that causes you to fall
asleep suddenly during the day.
· Narcolepsy may cause sudden loss of muscle tone and control while awake
(cataplexy), the inability to move or speak while falling asleep
or waking up (sleep paralysis), and/or
vivid dreams while falling asleep or waking up (hallucinations).
· The symptoms of narcolepsy can cause
accidents; injuries; and problems with learning, working, or connecting with others.
· Narcolepsy tends
to develop first between the ages of 15 and 30.
· The exact causes of narcolepsy are not known. Many factors
probably work together to cause a lack of the brain chemical hypocretin,
which promotes wakefulness.
What is “Restless
Legs Syndrome”? (NHLBI)
· Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensory disorder causing an
almost irresistible urge to move the legs. The urge to move the legs is
usually due to unpleasant feelings
in the legs that occur when at rest. Movement eases the feelings but only for a while.
· Symptoms of RLS
can range from mild to severe. Symptoms tend to get worse over time. They sometimes begin during childhood.
· People
with RLS may describe the unpleasant feelings in their legs as creeping, crawling, tingling, burning, or painful. Often, the
feelings are hard to describe.
· Many people with RLS also have periodic limb movement
disorder. This is a condition in which a person’s legs twitch or jerk uncontrollably
every 10 to
60 seconds. This usually happens during sleep.
· RLS can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.
People with RLS often don’t get enough sleep and may feel tired and sleepy during
the day.
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