Having Trouble Sleeping? A Sleep Disorder May Be the Cause
The most common complaint from people to their doctors is about their quality of rest. Due to the high stress, get-up-and-go world we live in, many people often have trouble sleeping. Many of these instances will often go away naturally or can be treated with home remedies such as relaxation techniques, herbal teas, and other non-pharmaceutical means.
However, oftentimes trouble sleeping can be the result of a sleep disorder. Millions of Americans suffer from a wide range of sleep problems. Some are very mild and easily treated, while others are more severe and can cause debilitating complications for sufferers.
Conditions that may cause trouble sleeping include:
Insomnia - The most commonly diagnosed sleep disorder, it is defined as difficulty falling or staying asleep. It can cause disrupted sleep patterns, people to feel constantly un-rested, and, in severe cases, extreme sleep deprivation.
Parasomnias - disruptive sleep-related disorders that occur during arousal from dream sleep (REM) or partial arousal from other stages of non-REM sleep. Common problems include sleep walking, teeth grinding, night terrors, sleep paralysis, and more.
Snorning and Sleep Apnea - While snoring can be benign, albeit annoying, it can be a sign of sleep apnea; a condition in which the sufferer has periods during sleep when they stop breathing. It often causes disruptions in restful sleep and can be a very serious medical condition if not properly treated.
Circadian rhythm disorders - characterized by a person's internal body clock being out of synch with the environment (wanting to sleep when it is daylight, wanting to be awake when it is dark, the urge to sleep in the middle of the day, etc.)
Narcolepsy - a complex grouping of disorders that may contain excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) - unexplained prolonged fatigue that keeps the sufferer from feeling rested. Other conditions need to be ruled out before a CFS diagnosis can be given.
Jet Lag - temporary sleep disruption due to rapid travel through time zones. This is often a temporary affliction that will go away once regular sleeping patterns are returned.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - a mood disorder characterized by depression during winter months that is often accompanied by excessive sleepiness.
If you feel you may be suffering from one of these sleep disorders, experience unexplained trouble sleeping, or constantly feel tired, it is important to speak with your health care provider in order to identify the cause of your problem and create a treatment plan that works best for you.
The most common complaint from people to their doctors is about their quality of rest. Due to the high stress, get-up-and-go world we live in, many people often have trouble sleeping. Many of these instances will often go away naturally or can be treated with home remedies such as relaxation techniques, herbal teas, and other non-pharmaceutical means.
