Sleep disorder is a serious disorder that can interfere with normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning. Everyone wants to know exactly what to take when sleeping, and what steps to take. After all, 50% of all adults are experiencing a sleep disorder at some point in their lives. And experts still do not know all the reasons and conduct research why sleep disturbance occurs.
Sleep Disorder - Causes
Disturbance of sleep causes can cause different, but in most cases, such a disorder leads to health problems:
- Allergies, colds and infectious diseases of the upper respiratory tract can make breathing difficult at night. The inability to breathe through the nose causes problems with sleep.
- Nocturia, or frequent nighttime urination, disturbs sleep, causing you to wake up several times a night. Hormonal failures and diseases of the genitourinary system can lead to this problem, in any case - it's an occasion to turn to a specialist.
- Stress and anxiety have a negative impact on the quality of sleep. Nightmares, speaking in a dream and sleepwalking, which they cause, disturb sleep and interfere with rest.
- Chronic pain complicates the process of falling asleep. She can wake up. Common causes of persistent pain:
- arthritis;
- chronic fatigue syndrome;
- fibromyalgia (muscle pain);
- inflammatory bowel disease;
- persistent headaches ;
- constant pain in the lower back.
Signs of sleep disturbance
Symptoms may vary depending on the severity and type of sleep disturbance syndrome. They can vary when sleep disorder is a consequence of other disorders in the body. However, common signs of sleep disturbance include:
- difficulties with falling asleep;
- intermittent sleep;
- day fatigue;
- strong desire to take a nap during the day;
- irritability;
- anxiety;
- problems with concentration of attention ;
- depression.
Consequences of sleep disorders
Everyone knows how dangerous insomnia is, and how it can affect the mood and physical well-being during the day. But this is not all the consequences of a sleep disorder - it affects:
- appearance;
- sexual life;
- memory;
- health;
- and even on the weight of the body.
Surprising and serious consequences, leading to loss of quality sleep:
- Drowsiness is one of the causes of accidents. Sleep disorder is a threat to public safety on the roads. Drowsiness slows down the reaction in the same way as driving while intoxicated. Excessive daytime sleepiness increases the number of accidents in the workplace.
- Sleep plays an important role in the processes of thinking and learning. Lack of sleep harms the cognitive functions of a person - reduces attention, concentration, complicates the learning process. Different cycles of sleep are important for "making" memories in the mind - if you do not sleep, you can not forget what you learned and experienced during the day.
- Problems with sleep reduce libido and interest in sex in women and men. Men who suffer from intermittent sleep caused by respiratory problems have an abnormally low level of testosterone.
- Sleep disturbance may develop a depressive state over time. The most common sleep disorder, insomnia, has a strong association with depression, because it is one of the first symptoms of this disease. Depression and insomnia nourish each other - the loss of sleep exacerbates the consequences of depression, depression - makes it difficult to fall asleep.
- Lack of sleep leads to the fact that the skin becomes dull, under the eyes appear dark circles. The fact is that when there is a lack of sleep, the body produces more cortisol, a stress hormone, it destroys the skin's collagen, the protein that is responsible for its elasticity.
- Lack of sleep is closely related to increased appetite, and as a consequence of obesity. Peptide ghrelin stimulates hunger, and leptin signals satiety in the brain, suppressing appetite. The reduced sleep period reduces the amount of leptin in the body, increases the level of ghrelin. Hence - a heightened sense of hunger in those who sleep less than 6 hours a day.
- Sleep disorders in adults affect the interpretation of events. Problems with sleep lead to the inability to make sound judgments, accurately assess situations and reasonably act according to circumstances. It can badly affect the professional and personal spheres of life.
- Sleep disturbance is a threat to health, the risk of such diseases as:
- heart attack;
- arrhythmia;
- hypertension;
- stroke;
- diabetes and others.
Sleep disorders - types
Types of sleep disorders are all the variants of violations associated with this phenomenon. This includes not only problems with falling asleep, but also constant drowsiness, various manifestations in a dream - for example, gnashing teeth or moaning, and even disorders of the neurological plan - narcolepsy, a characteristic feature of which is uncontrolled sleep during the day. There are many kinds of sleep disturbances.
Sleep and wakefulness disorder
Violation of sleep and wakefulness is an inadequate ratio of the number of hours spent in these states. Sleep and wakefulness can be lost for various reasons:
- moving;
- change of time zones;
- change of work schedule;
- excessive coffee consumption;
- early recovery or late retreat.
What is hypersomnia?
Hypersomnia is a condition in which a person experiences constant drowsiness. Even after a long sleep. Another name for this disorder is excessive daytime sleepiness, or daytime hypersomnia. She may be:
- primary (is an independent disease);
- secondary (due to other disorders and is one of the symptoms).
The cause of secondary hypersomnia can be the following diseases:
- sleep apnea (stopping of respiratory contractions);
- Parkinson's disease;
- kidney failure;
- chronic fatigue syndrome .
Hypersomnia is not the same disorder as narcolepsy, which is a neurological and much heavier disease causing sudden and unpredictable sleep throughout the day. People who suffer from hypersomnia can stay awake on their own, but they feel tired.
What is Insomnia?
The insomnia syndrome refers to the inability to fall asleep and sleep, or in other words it is a familiar insomnia. It can be caused by:
- change of time zones;
- stress and feelings;
- hormonal failure;
- problems with digestion.
Insomnia can be a symptom of another disease. Insomnia negatively affects the overall well-being and health, the quality of life, leads to problems such as:
- depression;
- irritability;
- weight gain;
- deterioration of work and school performance.
Insomnia is an extremely common phenomenon, about 50% of all adults are experiencing it at some point in their lives. Such a sleep disorder affects women and older people more often. Insomnia is divided into three types;
- Chronic . For at least one month.
- Periodic . It happens with an interval in time - periods.
- Transitional . Lasts 2-3 nights, often associated with the change of time zones.
What is parasomnia?
Paramsomnia is a kind of sleep disturbance that causes abnormal movements and behavior in the sleeper. For example:
- sleepwalking;
- speaking in a dream;
- groans;
- nightmares;
- urinary incontinence;
- teeth grinding and jaw clenching.
Sleep disorder - treatment
Depending on the type and cause, methods will vary, as well as how to treat sleep disturbances. Typically, the treatment of sleep disorders is a combination of medical procedures and lifestyle changes. Adjustments in diet and daily regimen can significantly improve the quality of sleep. Some expert advice:
- Increase the number of vegetables and fish in the diet, reduce the consumption of sugar.
- Go in for sports.
- Create and maintain a constant sleep mode.
- Drink less before going to bed.
- Do not drink coffee in the evening.
Drugs for sleep disorders
Very often doctors prescribe pills for sleep disturbance. It can be:
- sleeping pills (a consultation with a doctor is mandatory);
- additives of melatonin (hormone of the epiphysis, regulator of diurnal rhythms);
- antihistamines, if sleep disorder is associated with an allergy;
- antipyretics in case of colds, which caused sleep problems.
In addition to medication, the doctor may prescribe the use of:
- respiratory device (usually in cases of apnea, stopping of respiratory contractions for longer than 10 seconds in a dream);
- and kapy to prevent teeth grinding and jaw clenching.
Sleep disorders - folk remedies
Do not neglect and folk remedies, if there are problems with sleep - in the complex therapy they give a positive result. For example, a decoction of verbena in case of sleep disturbance, will help to normalize blood circulation and calm down, which facilitates easy falling asleep. Similar properties are known to other herbs:
- valerian;
- motherwort;
- chamomile;
- St. John's Wort.
Also, in case of sleep disorders, it is recommended to drink cherry juice, as it is the source of melatonin, which helps to maintain the sleep and wake cycle, "synchronizes" the human biochas. A problem with falling asleep can be solved by such a popular recipe as warm milk with honey.
Sleeping points for insomnia
It is believed that the stimulation of specific points corrects the energy balance. Breaking sleep can correct simple manipulations with the massaging of specific points on the body:
- A point located between the eyebrows.
- Zone on the back of the brush between the thumb and forefinger.
- The points behind the lobes.
- "Macquar Whirlwind".