A sleep disorder is when there is a chronic disturbance in the amount or quality of sleep that one gets. Many sleep disorders can be the result of underlying medical conditions that could lead to sleep disruption or daytime sleepiness.
There are about 80 various types of sleep disorders and close to 70 million U.S citizens are suffering from them. All sleep disorders are manageable, but not all can be cured.
In this article, we’ll give you a quick breakdown of common types of sleep disorders, risk factors, and the different treatment options available.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a chronic condition in which people stop breathing momentarily while sleeping. These occurrences can last up to 10 seconds, decreasing oxygen levels in the blood and/or cause the person to wake up throughout the night. Upper airway obstruction can cause Obstructive sleep apnea, while Central sleep apnea is caused by the failure to initiate breathing by the brain.
Sleep apnea increases the risk for development of other medical conditions such as heart failure, hypertension, and diabetes. If left untreated over a long period of time, this can lead to fatal consequences such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and sudden death. But fortunately, there are effective treatments for this disorder such as CPAP machines, or even surgery.
Insomnia
With insomnia, one is unable to get enough sleep for a full night of rest due to difficulty staying or falling asleep. If it takes over 30 minutes to fall asleep or to get back to sleep, then you might have insomnia.
When this difficulty with sleeping happens more than three nights every week and lasts for at least three months, then it is described as chronic insomnia. This disorder is common, affecting approximately 10% of grownups and has numerous different causes.
Acute insomnia is another type of insomnia that affects you for less than ninety days. It is a rare type which is genetic and could be fatal. Effective treatments are available, including limited sleeping pill use and CBTI (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia). However, it’s important to consult with a healthcare provider about the cause of your lack of sleep before trying any treatments.
Parasomnia
This condition is one of the different sleep orders, and it features abnormal sleep habits. One will experience semi-purposeful, unconscious complex and objective-oriented behaviors which are of importance or meaning to them.Â
These behaviors could include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, sleep sex, sleep eating, or REM (Rapid Eye Movement) disorder. The cause of this condition is usually other sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea. To treat this, safety precautions have to be addressed and a medical consultation.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by excessive day time sleepiness. In addition, people may also experience the following symptoms: cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations. The daytime sleepiness could be quite profound, resulting in falling asleep in inappropriate or unsafe situations.
Cataplexy makes you lose your muscle tone as a response to an emotional stimulus like laughter or surprise, causing your knees to buckle. Sleep paralysis is when you can’t move your body while you are awake, especially when waking up or falling asleep.
With hypnagogic hallucinations, you will experience dream-like vivid visual, tactile or auditory sensations that happen when you are asleep. Just like the other types of sleep disorders, narcolepsy is treatable with medications.
Circadian Disorders
Circadian rhythm sleep disorder is a condition which happens when your internal biological clock is not in sync with the external time cues like the natural light-dark cycle. This condition could happen due to complete blindness, or even with jet lag, shift work or delayed or advanced sleep phase syndrome.
The mismatch could culminate into excessive sleepiness (hypersomnia) during inappropriate moments. You can treat this condition by forming a regular sleep schedule, taking melatonin or by correctly timing exposure to light.
RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome)
Among various types of sleep disorders is RLS. If you are a victim of RLS, you will experience an intense, mostly irresistible urge for moving your legs. This sensation is felt during times of rest, such as lying down in your bed or sitting for long while driving or in a theatre. This condition could also be associated with issues such as concentration, irritability and daytime sleepiness. In most cases, if you have RLS, you would want to move around and shake your legs to assist in relieving the uncomfortable feeling.Â
You could experience sensations like burning or tingling which occur when you are resting or at night. These sensations make it difficult to sleep. RLS has a lot of causes like iron deficiency, obesity, stress and pregnancy. Treatments for this condition may include medications and iron replacement, but once again, you will want to find out the underlying cause first.
CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
With this condition, people experience prolonged unexplained fatigue that does not improve with rest and is exacerbated by mental and physical activity. This condition can be severely limiting for an affected person’s lifestyle. The cause is usually unknown, and can be associated with other health conditions at the same time.
In some cases, it can be due to nutritional deficits, or past trauma.
CFS is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning that all other possible conditions have to be ruled out first. Therefore, it may take a long time and many different tests before receiving a diagnosis. The treatments will depend on the underlying cause, so consultations with multiple different healthcare providers may be needed.
Myoclonus
Myoclonus causes twitching of muscles during sleep, and it can be abrupt enough to startle you awake. The kicking may last for a few minutes or even hours.
This condition typically occurs during light sleep. It may not even be noticed by the affected person, but it would definitely be noticed by their partner!
Treatment for myoclonus could include anti-seizure medication.
Sleep-wake non-24 –Hour Disorder
This condition is a unique type of circadian disorder. When you have N24, you will gradually find yourself falling asleep late every night and getting up later every day. You will find that your sleeping pattern is different than usual.
Shift-Work DisordersÂ
This type of sleep disorder is caused by difficulty sleeping due to rotating shifts or working nights. You could also have this disorder if you are having problems being alert or awake when you should be working on your shift.
How To Diagnose A Sleep Disorder
If you feel like you may be a victim of any of the sleep disorders above, talk to your doctor about the symptoms. The doctor will conduct the physical exam and assist you in identifying the challenges that you are experiencing in your sleep. Writing down information in your diary will be beneficial to your primary care physician. Some diseases could lead to problems with sleeping; therefore your doctor could order tests to identify the cause of your sleep disorder.
In case the doctor has a suspicion that you are suffering from any of the types of sleep disorder; he/she could refer you to visit a sleep disorder center. You will find a sleep expert who will review the symptoms and could give a suggestion if he/ she has to conduct a sleep study.
A sleep study, also known as a polysomnogram (PSG), is a test with a plethora of components that has an electronic transmission and records your movement and/or breathing patterns as you sleep. The sleep expert can provide you with a kit to conduct the sleep study in the comfort of your own home. The recordings are used for analysis by the sleep expert to determine if you have a sleep disorder or not.