Sleep Disorders and Sleeping Problems

Symptoms, Treatment, and Help for Common Sleep Disorders

Most of us have experienced trouble sleeping at one time or another. This is normal and usually temporary, due to stress or other outside factors. But if sleep problems are a regular occurrence and interfere with your daily life, you may be suffering from a sleep disorder. Sleep disorders cause more than just sleepiness. The lack of quality sleep can have a negative impact on your energy, emotional balance, and health. The good news? You don’t have to live with sleeping problems. Read on to learn about the signs and symptoms of common sleep disorders, what you can do to help yourself, and when to call the sleep doctor.

Understanding sleep disorders and sleeping problems

If you’re having trouble sleeping, you’re in good company. According to the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research, at least 40 million Americans suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders and another 20 to 30 million experience occasional sleep problems.
Unfortunately, even minimal sleep loss can take a toll on your mood, energy, efficiency, and ability to handle stress. Ignoring sleep problems and disorders can lead to poor health, weight gain, accidents, impaired job performance, and relationship strain. If you want to feel your best, stay healthy, and perform up to your potential, sleep is a necessity, not a luxury.
It’s not normal to feel sleepy during the day, to have problems getting to sleep at night, or to wake up feeling exhausted. But even if you’ve struggled with sleep problems for so long that it seems normal, you can still learn to sleep better. You can start by tracking your symptoms and sleep patterns, and then making healthy changes to your daytime habits and bedtime routine. If self-help doesn’t do the trick, you can turn to sleep specialists who are trained in sleep medicine. Together, you can identify the underlying causes of your sleeping problem and find ways to improve your sleep and quality of life.

Signs and symptoms of sleep disorders and sleeping problems

Everyone experiences occasional sleeping problems, so how can you tell whether your sleeping problem is just a minor, passing annoyance or a sign of a more serious sleep disorder or underlying medical condition?
Start by scrutinizing your symptoms, looking especially for the telltale daytime signs of sleep deprivation. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms on a regular basis, you may be dealing with a sleep disorder.

Is it a sleep disorder?

Do you...

• feel irritable or sleepy during the day?
• have difficulty staying awake when sitting still, watching television or reading?
• fall asleep or feel very tired while driving?
• have difficulty concentrating?
• often get told by others that you look tired?
• react slowly?
• have trouble controlling your emotions?
• feel like you have to take a nap almost every day?
• require caffeinated beverages to keep yourself going?

If you answered “yes” to any of the previous questions, you may have a sleep disorder.

Insomnia: The most common type of sleep disorder

Insomnia, the inability to get to sleep or sleep well at night, is an all-too common sleeping problem—in fact, it’s the most common sleep complaint. Insomnia can be caused by a wide variety of things including stress, jet lag, a health condition, the medications you take, or even the amount of coffee you drink. Insomnia can also be caused by other sleep disorders or mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

Common signs and symptoms of insomnia include:

• Difficulty falling asleep at night or getting back to sleep after waking during the night
• Waking up frequently during the night
• Your sleep feels light, fragmented, or unrefreshing
• You need to take something (sleeping pills, nightcap, supplements) in order to get to sleep
• Sleepiness and low energy during the day

Whatever the cause of your insomnia, being mindful of your sleep habits and learning to relax will help you sleep better and feel better. The good news is that most cases of insomnia can be cured with lifestyle changes you can make on your own—without relying on sleep specialists or turning to prescription or over-the-counter sleeping pills.

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders

We all have an internal biological clock that regulates our 24-hour sleep-wake cycle, also known as ourcircadian rhythms. Light is the primary cue that influences circadian rhythms. When the sun comes up in the morning, the brain tells the body that it’s time to wake up. At night, when there is less light, your brain triggers the release of melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy.
When your circadian rhythms are disrupted or thrown off, you may feel groggy, disoriented, and sleepy at inconvenient times. Circadian rhythms have been linked to a variety or sleeping problems and sleep disorders, including insomnia, jet lag, and shift work sleep difficulties. Abnormal circadian rhythms have also been implicated in depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder (the winter blues).

Shift work sleeping problems

Shift work sleep disorder occurs when your work schedule and your biological clock are out of sync. In our 24-hour society, many workers have to work night shifts, early morning shifts, or rotating shifts. These schedules force you to work when your body is telling you to go to sleep, and sleep when your body is signaling you to wake.
While some people adjust better than others to the demands of shift work, most shift workers get less quality sleep than their daytime counterparts. As a result of sleep deprivation, many shift workers struggle with sleepiness and mental lethargy on the job. This cuts into their productivity and puts them at risk of injury.
There are a numbers of things you can do to reduce the impact of shift work on sleep:

• Take regular breaks and minimize the frequency of shift changes.
• When changing shifts, request a shift that’s later, rather than earlier as it’s easier to adjust forward in time, rather than backward.
• Naturally regulate your sleep-wake cycle by increasing light exposure at work (use bright lights) and limiting light exposure when it’s time to sleep. Avoid TV and computer screens, use blackout shades or heavy curtains to block out daylight in your bedroom.
• Consider taking melatonin when it’s time for you to sleep.

Delayed sleep phase disorder

Delayed sleep phase disorder is a condition where your 24-hour cycle of sleep and wakefulness—your biological clock—is significantly delayed. As a result, you go to sleep and wake up much later than other people. For example, you may not get sleepy until 4 a.m., at which time you go to bed and sleep soundly until noon, or at least you would if your daytime responsibilities didn’t interfere. Delayed sleep phase disorder makes it difficult for you to keep normal hours—to make it to morning classes, get the kids to school on time, or keep a 9-to-5 job.
It’s important to note that this sleeping problem is more than just a preference for staying up late or being a night owl.

• People with delayed sleep phase disorder are unable to get to sleep earlier than 2 to 6 a.m. no matter how hard they try. They struggle to go to sleep and get up at socially acceptable times.
• When allowed to keep their own hours (such as during a school break or holiday), they fall into a regular sleep schedule.
• Delayed sleep phase disorder is most common in teenagers, and many teens will eventually grow out of it.
• For those who continue to struggle with a biological clock that is out of sync, treatments such as light therapy and chronotherapy can help. To learn more, schedule an appointment with a sleep doctor or local sleep clinic.

Jet lag sleeping problems

Jet lag is a temporary disruption in circadian rhythms that occurs when you travel across time zones. Symptoms include daytime sleepiness, fatigue, headache, stomach problems, and insomnia. The symptoms typically appear within a day or two after flying across two or more time zones. The longer the flight, the more pronounced the symptoms. The direction of flight also makes a difference. Flying east tends to cause worse jet lag than flying west.
In general, it usually takes one day per time zone crossed to adjust to the local time. So if you flew from Los Angeles to New York, crossing three time zones, your jet lag should be gone within three days. However, jet lag can be worse if you:

• lost sleep during travel
• are under a lot of stress
• drink too much alcohol or caffeine
• didn’t move around enough during your flight
• Resource: helpguide.org