Sleeping Disorder
There are many of us who actually experience a lot of trouble in sleeping at one point in our life or the other. It is usually the travel, stress, illness and other temporary interruptions to your otherwise daily routine that actually gives rise to sleeping disorders.
But if sleeping problems happen to be a regular occurrence and your quality of life gets disturbed by it then it is possible that you are suffering from sleep disorder. Sleep disorder is much more than just daytime sleepiness. Your mental and physical health can be greatly affected by this. This can lead to serious consequences like weight gain, memory problems and your mood and energy can also get impacted for this. But this does not mean that you have to live with this problem.
Sleep disorders are a group of conditions that actually affect the ability to sleep well on a regular basis. The cause can be anything from stress to health problems and there are various ways of recovering from it. But prior to that you should first identify the signs and symptoms of sleeping disorder.
Causes of Sleep Disorder
There are many conditions, disorders and diseases that can cause sleep disorders.
- Respiratory Problems and Allergies
- Chronic Pain due to Arthritis, IBD, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Headaches, Continuous Lower Back Pain and so on.
- Anxiety and Stress
Apart from the above genetics, ageing, night shift work as well as various types of medications can also trigger problems and can serve as hindrances in your sleeping.
Signs and Symptoms of Sleeping Disorders
Here are some of the major symptoms of sleep disorder that when occurs on a regular basis can help you to understand that you are surely suffering from a type of sleeping disorder. Just go through the following and try to assess whether you are suffering from any of these.
- You have difficulty in staying awake when watching television, sitting still or that of reading.
- You feel irritable or sleepy during the day.
- You face difficulty in concentrating.
- You feel tired or fall asleep at the time of driving.
- You react very slowly.
- You often get told by others that you look exhausted.
- You have to take a nap almost every day.
- You have trouble in controlling your emotions.
- To keep yourself going you have to take caffeinated beverages.
If you suffer from any of the above symptoms on a regular basis then this goes without saying that you are suffering from sleep disorder.
Now that you are aware about the various symptoms you can now look out the various treatments that can help with the situation.
Treatments to Help with Sleep Disorder
Here are some of the ways that canhelp you with sleep disorder. Just read on to know.
- Sleep Hygiene and Sleep Routines – Everyone who has been diagnosed with a sleep disorder can benefit from a good sleep hygiene. They should develop the schedules that will support them to get the right amount of sleep that they require. Insomnia is one disorder that causes anxiety about sleep and this can be prevented by devising the right routine. Good sleep hygiene has also helped sleepwalkers to improve their condition. For certain sleep disorders like narcolepsy, scheduled naps are part of the supportive sleep routine.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – If you probe a bit you will come across a specific pattern of behaviours for those suffering from sleep disorders. That is why cognitive behavioural therapy is considered a common treatment that help people to manage the different types of abnormalities in their sleeping. Therapy is commonly used to treat narcolepsy as well as insomnia. But they may be used to assist people with other disorders to devise their coping strategies which will help them to deal with their physical and mental condition. This, in turn, will help you to deal with the social and emotional consequences of going through a sleeping disorder.
- Medication – This happens to be one of the most common treatments for all major sleep disorders except for Sleep Apnea. This goes without saying that treatment of a variety of diseases include the use of different types of medication along with other sorts of therapy for achieving the desired results. Below are enlisted some of the major sleeping disorders that have involved medication as a primary treatment method. Just read on to know.
- Narcolepsy –Anti-depressants are prescribed for combating with the symptoms like sleep paralysis, cataplexy as well as hypnogogic hallucinations while stimulant medications are used to decrease the effects of daytime sleepiness. The overall quality of the sleep can also be improved with the right medicines in this case.
- Insomnia – The type of medicine used for treating Insomnia is called hypnotics. They not only induce sleep but also help people to remain asleep.
- REM Behaviour Disorder –Clonazepam is one medicine that is most effective in eliminating this disorder and at times when it renders ineffective, then other medications are used.
- Periodic Limb Movement – Medication is effective in treating this disorder. But in general it is used when another disorder accompanies it.
- Sleepwalking –Medications like anti-depressants and sedatives are most effective in treating sleepwalking.
- Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) – There are some medications that are specifically created for treating RLS that can be used with other medicines for alleviating the symptoms.
The above are the most common sleep disorders treatment that physicians recommend for treating sleep disorder. These will surely help you to treat the condition and recover from it.
