The key to a sleeping disorder!

Recognizing and monitoring the following signs and symptoms:

• Consistent Sleep Disturbances: Frequent difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early.
• Daytime Fatigue: Feeling excessively tired or groggy during the day, regardless of how much time you spend in bed.
• Changes in Sleep Patterns: Sudden alterations in your sleep routine or sleep schedule that disrupt your daily life.
• Irritability and Mood Changes: Mood swings, irritability, and difficulty concentrating can be linked to inadequate sleep.
• Loud Snoring: Especially if it’s accompanied by pauses in breathing. This could be a sign of sleep apnea.
• Restless Legs or Periodic Limb Movement: A strong urge to move your legs or involuntary leg movements during sleep.
• Nightmares or Night Terrors: Frequent, intense, or disturbing dreams that wake you up.
• Difficulty Breathing: If you frequently wake up gasping for breath, it may indicate a sleep-related breathing disorder like sleep apnea.
• Excessive Daytime Sleepiness: Falling asleep at inappropriate times or in situations where you shouldn’t be tired.
• Difficulty Falling Asleep: If you lie in bed for an extended period before falling asleep regularly, it could be insomnia.
• Frequent Waking: If you wake up multiple times during the night and have trouble falling back asleep, it might be insomnia or another sleep disorder.
• Unrefreshing Sleep: If you consistently wake up feeling as though you haven’t had a good night’s sleep, it could be a sign of a sleep disorder.

If you or someone you know is experiencing several of these symptoms, it’s essential to consult a healthcare professional or sleep specialist. They can help diagnose the specific sleep disorder and recommend appropriate treatments or lifestyle changes to improve sleep quality.Key to a sleeping disorder!

Sleep-related difficulties affect many people. The following is a description of some of the major sleep disorders. If you, or someone you know, is experiencing any of the following, it is important to receive an evaluation by a healthcare provider or, if necessary, a provider specializing in sleep medicine.

Insomnia

Insomnia is characterized by an inability to initiate or maintain sleep. It may also take the form of early morning awakening in which the individual awakens several hours early and is unable to resume sleeping. Difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep may often manifest itself as excessive daytime sleepiness, which characteristically results in functional impairment throughout the day. Before arriving at a diagnosis of primary insomnia, the healthcare provider will rule out other potential causes, such as other sleep disorders, side effects of medications, substance abuse, depression, or other previously undetected illness. Chronic psychophysiological insomnia (or “learned” or “conditioned” insomnia) may result from a stressor combined with fear of being unable to sleep. Individuals with this condition may sleep better when not in their own beds. Health care providers may treat chronic insomnia with a combination of use of sedative-hypnotic or sedating antidepressant medications, along with behavioral techniques to promote regular sleep.

Narcolepsy

Excessive daytime sleepiness (including episodes of irresistible sleepiness) combined with sudden muscle weakness are the hallmark signs of narcolepsy. The sudden muscle weakness seen in narcolepsy may be elicited by strong emotion or surprise. Episodes of narcolepsy have been described as “sleep attacks” and may occur in unusual circumstances, such as walking and other forms of physical activity. The healthcare provider may treat narcolepsy with stimulant medications combined with behavioral interventions, such as regularly scheduled naps, to minimize the potential disruptiveness of narcolepsy on the individual’s life.

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)

RLS is characterized by an unpleasant “creeping” sensation, often feeling like it is originating in the lower legs, but often associated with aches and pains throughout the legs. This often causes difficulty initiating sleep and is relieved by movement of the leg, such as walking or kicking. Abnormalities in the neurotransmitter dopamine have often been associated with RLS. Healthcare providers often combine a medication to help correct the underlying dopamine abnormality along with a medicine to promote sleep continuity in the treatment of RLS.

Sleep Apnea

Snoring may be more than just an annoying habit – it may be a sign of sleep apnea. Persons with sleep apnea characteristically make periodic gasping or “snorting” noises, during which their sleep is momentarily interrupted. Those with sleep apnea may also experience excessive daytime sleepiness, as their sleep is commonly interrupted and may not feel restorative. Treatment of sleep apnea is dependent on its cause. If other medical problems are present, such as congestive heart failure or nasal obstruction, sleep apnea may resolve with treatment of these conditions. Gentle air pressure administered during sleep (typically in the form of a nasal continuous positive airway pressure device) may also be effective in the treatment of sleep apnea. As interruption of regular breathing or obstruction of the airway during sleep can pose serious health complications, symptoms of sleep apnea should be taken seriously. Treatment should be sought from a health care provider.

Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Population Health.