Sleep Disorder Symptoms, Causes & Treatment

When someone has trouble sleeping in different ways, we call it a sleep disorder. This can make it hard for them to feel awake and do things during the day. Sometimes these problems with sleep can also cause other health issues, and some might show that there are problems with how their mind feels.

A long time ago, in 1979, The American Sleep Disorders Association wrote about different sleep disorders. We’ve learned a lot about sleep since then. We now know about more than 100 sleep problems, and we use complicated ways to put them into groups based on what causes them, how they make you feel, and other things. But most of these sleep problems can be seen in these four ways:

1. You can’t get to sleep or stay asleep easily.
2. You feel really tired during the day.
3. Your body’s natural clock is off, which messes up your sleep schedule.
4. You do strange things while you’re asleep that disturb your sleep.

If someone has any of these signs, it might mean they have a sleep disorder. If you’re having trouble sleeping or staying awake during the day, it’s a good idea to talk to a doctor.

Why Sleep Is Important?

Sleep is something all humans need to stay healthy, both in their body and mind. When you sleep, there are two main types of sleep that happen in cycles during the night:

1. Rapid Eye Movement (REM): This is when most of your dreams occur.
2. Non-REM: This type has three stages, and the deepest sleep happens in them.

When you sleep also matters. Your body follows a 24-hour cycle, which helps you know when it’s time to sleep.

How much sleep you need depends on your age and you as a person. Most grown-ups need about seven to nine hours of good sleep each night. This info comes from The National Sleep Foundation, which looked at a lot of science before giving this advice in 2015.

Sadly, many of us don’t get enough sleep Almost 30 out of every 100 grown-ups sleep for less than six hours each night. And only about 30 out of every 100 high school students manage to get at least eight hours of sleep on a regular school night. Also, about 35% of Americans say their sleep quality isn’t good.

More than 50 million Americans have ongoing sleep problems.

Different Types of Sleep Disorder:

1. Chronic Insomnia: You can’t easily fall asleep or stay asleep most nights for at least three months. This makes you feel tired and grumpy.
2. Obstructive Sleep Apnea: You snore and sometimes stop breathing while you’re sleeping, which wakes you up.
3. Restless Legs Syndrome: When you’re resting, you feel like moving your legs.
4. Narcolepsy: You can’t control when you fall asleep or how long you stay awake.
5. Shift Work Sleep Disorder: Because of your job hours, you have trouble sleeping when you should and feel sleepy at times you don’t want to.
6. Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome: You fall asleep way later than you want to, and it’s hard to wake up on time for school or work.
7. REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: You act out your dreams while you’re in a stage of sleep called REM, when your eyes move quickly.

These are some of the sleep problems that people can have.

What are the Symptoms of Sleep Disorder?

When people have trouble sleeping, they might experience different things based on the kind of sleep problem they have:

1. Trouble Falling Asleep: It’s hard to fall asleep, and it often takes more than 30 minutes to do so.
2. Waking Up at Night: You might wake up multiple times during the night and find it difficult to fall back asleep.
3. Noisy Breathing and Choking: Sometimes, while sleeping, you might make loud noises or feel like you’re choking.
4. Restless Legs and Moving: When you’re trying to relax, you might feel like moving your body helps you feel better. This might happen especially with your legs.
5. Feeling Stuck After Waking Up: You might wake up and feel like you can’t move your body.

During the day, if you haven’t slept well, you could experience more signs:

1. Feeling Tired: You might feel sleepy a lot during the day and even fall asleep when you’re not supposed to.
2. Trouble Paying Attention: It can be hard to focus on things or pay attention.
3. Mood Changes: You might become more easily annoyed and have trouble controlling your feelings.
4. School or Work Problems: You could struggle to meet deadlines, get your tasks done, or perform well.
5. Accidents: You might have accidents or trip and fall more often.

If you feel like you’re not sleeping well or if these things are happening to you, it’s a good idea to talk to a doctor.

What Causes of Sleep Disorders?

Sleep problems can be caused by things that mess up your normal sleep and wake cycle. The reasons for this can be different depending on the type of sleep problem:

1. Health Issues: Conditions like heart problems, asthma, pain, or nerve issues can affect your sleep.
2. Mental Health: Conditions like depression or anxiety can also cause sleep problems.
3. Genetics: Sometimes, it’s because of how your genes are.
4. Medications: Certain medicines might affect your sleep.
5. Work Schedule: If you work at night, it can make your sleep cycle confused.
6. Substances: Drinking caffeine or alcohol before bed can mess with your sleep.
7. Chemicals in the Brain: If your brain doesn’t have the right balance of certain chemicals, it can affect sleep.
8. Unknown Reasons: Sometimes, we don’t know why sleep problems happen.

How are sleep disorders diagnosed?

To figure out if you have a sleep problem, your doctor will look at your medical history, ask about your sleep habits, and give you a check-up. They might also suggest a sleep study (polysomnogram). This is a common way to understand your sleep.

In a sleep study, you’ll sleep while machines keep track of what’s happening in your body. They will look at things like:

1. Brain Activity: This shows what’s happening in your brain.
2. Eye Movements: They see how your eyes move during sleep.
3. Breathing Rate: They check how you’re breathing.
4. Blood Pressure: This tells them about your heart health.
5. Heart and Muscle Activity: They see how your heart and other muscles are working.

There are other sleep studies too. Some might test how quickly you fall asleep during the day, or how well you can stay awake and focused when you’re supposed to be awake.

How can sleep problems be treated?

If you’re having trouble sleeping, there are different ways to help you sleep better. Here are a few things that can be tried:

Change Your Sleep Routine: You can try to have a regular time for going to bed and waking up. Also, following good sleep habits can help.

1. Talk Therapy: Sometimes, talking to a therapist can help you learn ways to sleep better.

2. Medicines: Your doctor might suggest taking certain medicines, like pills to help you sleep or things that make you more awake during the day. There’s also a natural substance called Melatonin that can help.

3. Change Your Medicines: If a medicine you’re taking is making you too sleepy, your doctor might change the medicine or how much you take. But remember, don’t stop taking a medicine by yourself without talking to your doctor first.

4. Special Machines: For sleep apnea, there’s a machine called CPAP that helps you breathe better while you sleep. In some cases, a device called a neurostimulator can be implanted to control sleep apnea.

5. Light Therapy: Sometimes, using special lights can help fix your sleep schedule.

Your doctor will talk to you about which treatments might work best for you. They’ll also tell you about any possible side effects that you should be aware of before you start treatment.