The article below is a combination of articles from the Mayo Clinic, The Sleep Help Foundation Australia, and HealthLine Australia. We thank them for their courtesy. You can visit the relevant sites to view the original articles and for a wide range of other qualified health-related information.
What Are Sleep Disorders?
Sleep disorders are conditions that result in changes in the way that you sleep.
A sleep disorder can affect your overall health, safety and quality of life. Sleep deprivation can affect your ability to drive safely and increase your risk of other health problems.
Some of the signs and symptoms of sleep disorders include excessive daytime sleepiness, irregular breathing or increased movement during sleep. Other signs and symptoms include an irregular sleep and wake cycle and difficulty falling asleep.
There are many different types of sleep disorders. They’re often grouped into categories that explain why they happen or how they affect you. Sleep disorders can also be grouped according to behaviors, problems with your natural sleep-wake cycles, breathing problems, difficulty sleeping or how sleepy you feel during the day.
What are the different types of sleep disorders?
There are many different types of sleep disorders. Some may be caused by other underlying health conditions.
Insomnia
Insomnia refers to the inability to fall asleep or to remain asleep. It can be caused by jet lag, stress and anxiety, hormones, or digestive problems. It may also be a symptom of another condition.
Insomnia can be problematic for your overall health and quality of life, potentially causing:
- depression
- difficulty concentrating
- irritability
- weight gain
- impaired work or school performance
- Unfortunately, insomnia is extremely common. Up to 50 percent of American adults experience it at some point in their lives.
- The disorder is most prevalent among older adults and women.
- Insomnia is usually classified as one of three types:
- chronic, when insomnia happens on a regular basis for at least 1 month
- intermittent, when insomnia occurs periodically
- transient, when insomnia lasts for just a few nights at a time
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
This means losing your ability to breathe freely. It happens over and over while asleep. It is caused by a narrow, floppy throat. Most people who have sleep apnoea snore too. The period when the sleeper has trouble breathing ends with them waking up. This arousal is often very brief with no memory of it. But arousing over and over like this disrupts sleep and causes excessive tiredness during the day. There are treatments that work. These include weight loss, cutting down on alcohol, dental devices and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
Parasomnias
Parasomnias are a class of sleep disorders that cause abnormal movements and behaviors during sleep. They include:
- sleepwalking
- sleep talking
- groaning
- nightmares
- bedwetting
- teeth grinding or jaw clenching
- Restless leg syndrome
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is an overwhelming need to move the legs. This urge is sometimes accompanied by a tingling sensation in the legs. While these symptoms can occur during the day, they are most prevalent at night.
RLS is often associated with certain health conditions, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Parkinson’s disease, but the exact cause isn’t always known.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is characterized by “sleep attacks” that occur while awake. This means that you will suddenly feel extremely tired and fall asleep without warning.
The disorder can also cause sleep paralysis, which may make you physically unable to move right after waking up. Although narcolepsy may occur on its own, it is also associated with certain neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis.
Snoring
Snoring is a common problem. It affects up to 40% of men and 20% of women on a regular basis. It gets worse with age and weight gain. Someone who snores can disturb their partner’s sleep. This can cause distress for both of them. As well, many regular snorers also have obstructive sleep apnoea.
Sleep Hypoventilation
The muscles that we use to breathe need to be told to do so by the brain. When we sleep, there is less drive to do this from the brain. This means that people who have breathing muscles that are weak or under excessive load from severe lung disorders or obesity may not breathe strongly enough during sleep. This is known as sleep hypoventilation. With no treatment, this can lead to breathing and heart failure during the day. Devices to help breathing during sleep will work in treating this. This treatment is called non-invasive positive pressure ventilation.
Restless Legs Syndrome
People with restless legs syndrome have uncomfortable feelings in the legs. The only way they can stop these is to move their legs. How severe it is tends to vary over the day. The worst time is from the evening through to the early hours of the morning. For some people, it can make their sleep a lot worse. Sometimes it is caused by the body not having enough iron. There are several medications that can stop it.
Bruxism
This involves grinding of the teeth during sleep. It is quite common. If not treated, it can cause permanent damage to the teeth. Sometimes it causes jaw discomfort. But often the
people who have it aren’t aware of anything. If they use dental guards they can protect their teeth.
About 1 in 2000 people has Narcolepsy. It relates to unstable switching between being awake and asleep. People who have it can feel more sleepy more often than they would like, but may have disrupted sleep as well. People with it can also hallucinate. This happens when falling asleep or waking up. Sometimes when they wake up, they can’t move for a moment. This is called sleep paralysis. They can also have what is known as cataplexy. This means sudden feelings of muscle weakness. They only last a moment and happen after laughing or feeling a strong emotion. Not everyone with Narcolepsy has all these problems. Drug therapies can work very well. Sleep paralysis can occur by itself with no relation to Narcolepsy.
Sleep talking, sleep walking and other automatic behaviours
There are many things that we normally only do when we’re awake. These include walking and talking. But some people do these things while asleep too. This happens when they only partially wake up. It is common for this to happen in children. These problems usually go away by the time they become adults. But sometimes they don’t. There are other complex behaviours that can happen while asleep e.g. binge eating and sexual behaviour. They can be embarrassing or worse for both the person who does them and their partner. There are treatments that work for these problems.
Nightmares and night terrors
These also happen because of not fully waking up. Again, they are much more common in children than adults. They can be very disturbing for the person who has them and those around them. They can also make people anxious about going to bed. Poor sleep habits make them worse. In general, counselling will make things better. Every now and then, medications are needed.
Rapid eye movement behavior disorder
The period when we sleep can be split up into several phases. Dreams happen most often in a phase called REM sleep. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. At this time all limb muscles are usually relaxed. However in REM sleep behaviour disorder the muscles are active. People who have this will act out their dreams. This can involve violent movement and lashing out. There is a threat of injury to both the person who has it and their partner. There are treatments that work well for this
What are the symptoms of sleep disorders?
Symptoms differ depending on the severity and type of sleeping disorder. They may also vary when sleep disorders are a result of another condition.
However, general symptoms of sleep disorders include:
- difficulty falling or staying asleep
- daytime fatigue
- strong urge to take naps during the day
- unusual breathing patterns
- unusual or unpleasant urges to move while falling asleep
- unusual movement or other experiences while asleep
- unintentional changes to your sleep/wake schedule
- irritability or anxiety
- impaired performance at work or school
- lack of concentration
- depression
- weight gain
6 steps to better sleep
You’re not doomed to toss and turn every night. Consider simple tips for better sleep, from setting a sleep schedule to including physical activity in your daily routine.
Many factors can interfere with a good night’s sleep — from work stress and family responsibilities to illnesses. It’s no wonder that quality sleep is sometimes elusive.
You might not be able to control the factors that interfere with your sleep. However, you can adopt habits that encourage better sleep. Start with these simple tips.
1. Stick to a sleep schedule
Set aside no more than eight hours for sleep. The recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult is at least seven hours. Most people don’t need more than eight hours in bed to be well rested.
Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends. Being consistent reinforces your body’s sleep-wake cycle.
If you don’t fall asleep within about 20 minutes of going to bed, leave your bedroom and do something relaxing. Read or listen to soothing music. Go back to bed when you’re tired. Repeat as needed, but continue to maintain your sleep schedule and wake-up time.
2. Pay attention to what you eat and drink
Don’t go to bed hungry or stuffed. In particular, avoid heavy or large meals within a couple of hours of bedtime. Discomfort might keep you up.
Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol deserve caution, too. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to wear off and can interfere with sleep. And even though alcohol might make you feel sleepy at first, it can disrupt sleep later in the night.
3. Create a restful environment
Keep your room cool, dark, and quiet. Exposure to light in the evenings might make it more challenging to fall asleep. Avoid prolonged use of light-emitting screens just before bedtime. Consider using room-darkening shades, earplugs, a fan, or other devices to create an environment that suits your needs.
Doing calming activities before bedtime, such as taking a bath or using relaxation techniques, might promote better sleep.
4. Limit daytime naps
Long daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep. Limit naps to no more than one hour and avoid napping late in the day.
However, if you work nights, you might need to nap late in the day before work to help make up your sleep debt.
5. Include physical activity in your daily routine
Regular physical activity can promote better sleep. However, avoid being active too close to bedtime.
Spending time outside every day might be helpful, too.
6. Manage worries
Try to resolve your worries or concerns before bedtime. Jot down what’s on your mind and then set it aside for tomorrow.
Stress management might help. Start with the basics, such as getting organized, setting priorities and delegating tasks. Meditation also can ease anxiety.
Know when to contact your health care provider
Everyone has an occasional sleepless night. However, if you often have trouble sleeping, contact your health care provider. Identifying and treating any underlying causes can help you get the better sleep you deserve.
