Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
You may have a sleep disorder.
By Dr. Lazaro O. Bravo –
Most of us tend to take a good night’s sleep for granted. We shouldn’t. Over 60% of Americans report problems with nighttime sleeping at least once per week, while daytime sleepiness affects about 40% of adults. Over 100,000 car accidents occur every year due to sleepy drivers. The estimated annual direct cost in the U.S. for sleep disorders is over $16 billion with up to $100 billion in additional indirect costs for things such as accidents, hospitalizations and damage to property.
Various Types of Sleep Disorders
There are currently over 80 different, distinct sleep disorders that are recognized by medical professionals. Sleep disorders don’t discriminate, they affect people of all age groups and about 95% of people with sleep disorders are undiagnosed. In addition to the steep economic cost of lost productivity, accidents, property damage and medical care, sleep disorders extract a large human toll as well in broken relationships.
Some people suffer from sleep deprivation while others oversleep. Sleep disorders can be caused by the body’s chemical malfunctioning, some physiologic disorders, external factors or disturbances in our circadian rhythm.
Sleep Disorders and Daily Functioning
Whether it’s insomnia or another sleep disorder that prevents a person from falling and staying asleep or narcolepsy symptoms or other causes of hypersomnolence (medication, hypothyroidism), your quality of sleep greatly impacts your ability to function and lead a productive life. Sleep disorders can also place a great deal of stress on your relationship if left untreated. Repeated studies verify our need for 7-8 hours of quality sleep every night. Very few of us can consistently get by with less.
Everyone desires a peaceful and restful sleep, especially after a tiresome day. However the annoying sounds of loud snoring by your partner or maybe you can ruin the entire sleep. Most of the people take snoring as a normal effect of getting older but it is certainly a serious disorder, which directly affects the breathing of an individual. Even though it can be treated, it is easier to choose the best treatment if you have appropriate knowledge about the disease.
Sleep Apnea – A Common Sleep Disorder
In patients with sleep apnea, the breathing is interrupted quite often or becomes very shallow at times during the sleep. It may also get paused for a time frame 10-20 seconds and may happen for the night long disrupting you each time. The pause in breathing hinders the natural sleep rhythm and people spend most of their nighttime in light sleep rather than the deep sleep.
As the goal of sleeping is to make you feel mentally sharp, full of energy and more dynamic the following day but this is probably why most of the people still feel restless, daytime dizziness and experience poor concentration as they do not get a good sleep. This disorder can even lead to other health risks during the course of time as well including heart disease, stroke, excess weight gain, diabetes etc. Still with a comprehensive treatment the potential disease can be cured and you can once again start with a healthy lifestyle.
More Than Just Snoring
Every person who snores does not have sleeping disorder; it is more than just snoring. There are a few things to look for to help you determine if you have the disorder or just the normal snoring. The very first sign is to observe your conditions during the day. Normal snoring will certainly not affect your actions during day; you will still feel energetic and productive. Moreover there will be no sign of fatigue or any other disease.
Causes of the Disorder
This disorder is not subjected to a particular kind of person or disease; anyone from kids, male, female to adult can suffer from it. However here are certain risk factors that may lead to this disorder. For instance, if you are already overweight, related to someone who has this disorder, or a smoker. People over the age of 65 years or male are also likely to have this disease. There can also be certain physical attributes contributing to the occurrence of disorder including enlarged tonsils, thick neck, receding chin or deviated septum etc.
Treatment
It is always recommended to go to the experts if you observe the sign of sleep apnea. However there are few things you can do on your own to prevent the disorder. By losing excess weight, quit smoking and using other sedatives such as alcohol, sleeping pills etc. Besides this you should maintain a regular sleeping routine to help the body adjust naturally.
If you or your partner is not sleeping well or you suspect you have a sleep disorder, seek attention from a sleep disorder specialist. Fortunately, most sleep disorders are treatable! Call Lehigh Regional Sleep Center today and begin your journey back to restful nights!
Lehigh Medical Group
239.368.8039
