Sleep disorders are various health conditions that stop us from sleeping normally as we should. Sleep is a basic human need. We need proper sleep to help maintain many aspects of our health. Longevity Live Paid Content.
Sleeping properly takes care of many aspects of our health, such as weight management, good mood, hormone levels, and many more. However, not everybody sleeps properly at night when we all should. Some people have sleep disorders.
What are sleep disorders?
Sleep disorders are a group of sleeping problems that regularly disrupt the ability of a person to have a good night’s sleep. These orders negatively affect people’s sleep. When people do not sleep properly at night, it affects how they function during the day. Sleeping disorders, if not managed properly, can seriously deteriorate the health and disrupt the lifestyle of the person. They are serious health problems that can be triggered by stress, an unhealthy lifestyle, an underlying health issue, and so much more. read the full article on Outlookindia.com.
The major types of sleep disorders
There are so many sleep disorders that tend to disrupt the person from sleeping properly at night. However, the five most common sleep disorders include:
- Restless Leg Syndrome
- Insomnia
- Sleep Apnea
- Narcolepsy
- Shift work sleep disorder
Sleep medicine
To treat sleep disorders, a new medical field called sleep medicine has been dedicated to diagnosing and treating various sleep disorders. This medical field is rapidly advancing and growing, as it is being developed by various experts in the field. The development of the field has led to the establishment of sleep labs in various parts of the USA. These labs are created to give people the necessary medical assistance for them to sleep adequately. The sleep labs are operated by physicians and technicians that measure all areas of sleep. Each patient’s sleep data is measured and recorded for proper diagnosis and treatment. Each patient visits the sleep lab and undergoes a procedure known as a sleep study.
Causes of sleep disorders
There are a variety of factors that are responsible for sleep disorders. Sleep disorders have various causes, but they all tend to disrupt the daytime wakefulness and the natural slumber cycle of the patient. Some of the common causes of sleep disorders include:
- Aging
- Genetics (as in narcolepsy).
- Working night shifts (as in shift work sleep disorder, which disrupts biological clocks).
- Environmental factors (e.g alcohol)
- Psychiatric factors (e.g. anxiety disorders and depression).
- Medical factors (e.g asthma)
- Physical factors
Sleep diagnosis: What do health experts look for?
To understand if a patient has a sleep disorder, they will need to undergo a sleep diagnosis. They will need to go through a sleep study, which takes place in a sleep lab (an alternative location is a clinic). The sleep study is usually used to discover several sleep disorders, especially sleep apnea. In addition to this, the sleep doctor will also pay attention to several other sleeping problems, such as narcolepsy, periodic limb movement, insomnia, and restless legs syndrome.
Polysomnography is a sleep diagnostic testing application that is applied in the sleep lab. This apparatus comes with electrodes that are placed in the body of the patient – this makes it easy for the technician to monitor various activities in the body of the patient. The activities to be tested include:
- Heart rates
- Muscle tensing
- Eye movement to show the presence of REM
- Leg twitching
- Brain wave activity
When it comes to shift work sleep disorder, patients can be diagnosed effectively using their sleep history. They use a sleep log to record and report their sleep rhythms/activities over a period (usually 14 days). Patients may be required to perform actigraphy tests if available.
Treatment of sleep disorders
When it comes to treating sleep disorders, there are as many treatment options as there are disorders. There are nootropic medications available that can be used to treat various sleep disorders like sleep apnea, narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, and so on. Patients with narcolepsy are usually given a Modafinil prescription to buy it online or Armodafinil. In the case of Restless legs syndrome (RLS), the problem can be treated successfully by checking the level of iron in the bloodstream of the patient. It is also augmented by adjusting the patient’s diet and adding supplements to their daily feeding routines.
Various other medications can be used to treat RLS. To treat shift work sleep disorder, the patient will need to follow a pre-planned routine created by a doctor. They may have to work actively with their shift system to make their bodies adjust to the new sleep architecture. In addition to making physical adjustments to their new shift work system, patients can use medications such as Modafinil to help them remain productive during their shifts. They can Purchase Modafinil online with a prescription from their doctors. In general, healthcare experts have recommended a wide range of treatments for sleep orders. These include:
- Counseling
- Supplements
- Medications
- Practising proper sleep hygiene
- Exercising regularly
- Minimizing light and noise
- Temperature management
Symptoms of sleep disorders
When it comes to symptoms of sleep disorder, it can vary. For example, one major symptom of shift work sleep disorder is the habit of always dozing off during the day, especially when the person should be working. Some other sleep disorders happen at night when everybody is usually asleep. People become aware of their sleep disorders after someone they are with tells them about the condition. Another way whereby a person might become aware of their sleep disorders is because they never feel well-rested after sleeping at night. People who live with the patient can tell them about possible symptoms of the condition while they sleep. Some of the symptoms include walking while sleeping, teeth grinding, loud snores, briefly stopped breathing, and so on.
Conclusion
Sleep disorders are critical health-threatening conditions that tend to disrupt the sleep pattern of the patient. There are various types of sleep disorders and they each affect the patient differently. These sleep disorders all have distinct causes, diagnoses, and treatments. Patients are usually recommended to properly manage their sleep disorders by seeking medical assistance. Various treatments for sleep disorders help each patient cope with the condition.
