Sleep disorder is a condition that impairs your sleep or prevents you from getting enough rest resulting in daytime sleepiness and other symptoms. The disease affects a person’s sleep quality, duration, and ability to function correctly when awake.
Everyone can experience sleep problems from time to time. However, you might have a sleep disorder if you find it hard to stay awake during the day, and you are prone to unusual behavior that disrupts your sleep,
Types of Sleeping Disorders
Insomnia
This is a sleep disorder associated with difficulty in falling or staying asleep. People with insomnia have the following symptoms;
- Waking up often at night and having trouble going back to sleep.
- If you are experiencing difficulty in falling asleep, or if you are waking up too early in the morning
- If you have daytime problems like fatigue, low concentration, and mood swings.
There are two types of insomnia; acute or chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia is short-term, while chronic insomnia can last for a long time.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea is a common yet severe sleep disorder. After falling asleep, your airway repeatedly becomes blocked, causing you to stop breathing. When this occurs, you might produce choking noises or snore loudly.
Pauses in breathing during sleep characterize sleep apnea. The two types of sleep apnea include;
- Central sleep apnea- caused by a connection problem between the brain and the muscles that control your breath.
- Obstructive sleep apnea- occurs when the airspace is obstructed or too narrow for the air to flow smoothly.
Managing sleep apnea requires oxygen therapy using a device called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. The CPAP machine provides a steady stream of oxygenated air down the airway to keep it from being blocked, reducing pauses in breathing during sleep. Doctors or sleep specialists also typically prescribe lifestyle changes, such as regulating weight, regular exercise, and avoiding certain foods and beverages, to treat sleep apnea.
Restless leg syndrome
Also known as Willis-Ekbom Disease, Restless Leg Syndrome is a sleep-related movement disorder that affects most American populations. It involves itching, throbbing, and other painful sensation in the legs.
People with restless leg syndrome have powerful urges to move the legs while they are at rest. They experience the most potent symptoms in bed, causing sleep maintenance problems. Sometimes you feel as if something is crawling in your calves.
Narcolepsy
This is a neurological disorder that affects a person’s ability to control sleep. It begins between the ages of 15 and 25, but it can become more apparent with age.
During the day, narcolepsy sufferers endure uncontrollable episodes of falling asleep. The sudden sleep attacks can occur during the day when you are performing an activity.
The disorder may also cause sudden muscle weakness with laughter or other emotions and sleep paralysis, making you physically unable to move right after waking up. If you are suffering from narcolepsy, you should avoid heavy work like fixing your house’s electricity and instead hire an electrical repairs company to do the job.
Parasomnias
Parasomnias are a group of sleep disorders that involve unwanted experiences that occur when you are falling asleep.
If you have parasomnia, you might move around, talk or do unusual things during sleep. This disorder involves abnormal movements, emotions, perceptions, or dreams. Although the behavior is complex, you remain asleep during the event and often have no memory of anything you did.
Overall
The above disorders are characterized by abnormal movement at night, causing sleep disruption for the individual and their sleep partner. However, if you stick with your treatment plan, then you can find a better way to sleep at night.
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