SLEEP DISORDERS

 Overview

Sleep disorders or somnipathy are a group of conditions that affect the sleep pattern of a person and often have negative effects on overall health of the person. They affect the mental, social, physical and emotional well being of a person.

The causes of most of these sleep disorders are unknown. Some might be caused due to stress or genes. They affect both children and adults.

Some common sleep disorders are as follows.

1.Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous sleep disorder in which a person's breathing is interrupted while sleeping. In this the body doesn't get enough oxygen. The person wakes up several times during sleep because of shortage of oxygen or feels suffocated.

 It is mainly of two types, depending upon its cause.

1.Obstructive sleep apnea is the common type of apnea. It is mainly caused due to blockage of the airways, because of tissue collapse. It might make you feel tired and suffocated. 

2. Central sleep apnea is a condition where the airways are not blocked but the brain forgets to tell the lungs to breath, cutting the supply of oxygen. Generally people don't stop breathing, but their breathing becomes shallow and the person wakes up several times at night causing insomnia.

2.Insomnia

Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which a person is unable to fall asleep or stay asleep for longer periods of time. It is related to sleeplessness. It is basically of two types, acute and chronic. Acute insomnia is short term and a person can be cured just by lifestyle changes. Chronic insomnia is more dangerous and is also known as long term insomnia. A person suffering from chronic insomnia will need both lifestyle changes and medicines for treatment.

3 .Parasomnia

It is a group of sleep disorders that include abnormal muscle movements and behavior that might occur during sleep, while falling asleep or while waking from sleep. They generally include the following.

1.Sleep walking or somnambulism that involves a person doing wakeful actions like walking and eating without being conscious.

2.Groaning or catathrenia that involves involuntary groaning during sleeping

3. Teeth grinding or bruxism that involves involuntary clenching and grinding of teeth.

4. Sleep talking or somniloquy, that involves a person speaking while sleeping. It can be in gibberish, mumbling or proper meaningful sentences.

5. Bed wetting or enuresis, that involves involuntary emptying of the bladder while sleeping. In this, the person doesn't wakes from sleep, but the bladder nevertheless empties.

4.Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder in which a person can't control his sleeping pattern. He might fall asleep anytime without any warning. You might feel very tired suddenly and will go through a very strong urge to fall asleep then and there. Narcolepsy is generally linked with "sleep attacks". It might also lead to sleep paralysis. Narcolepsy can be caused as a side effect of certain neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis.

5.Sleep paralysis

Sleep paralysis is a state of mind in which the person is awake but is unable to move his limbs or open his eyes. The person is aware of his body but is unable to move anything or even speak. Sleep paralysis might come with some hallucinations in which you might hear or even feel things that are not there, which often leads to fear. Normally an episode lasts for a few minutes but this can be recurrent. The causes of sleep paralysis are not exactly known and there are no extensive treatments too. About 50 percent of people experience sleep paralysis at least once in their life. People link hallucinations and sleep paralysis with paranormal stuff but it's just your brain playing tricks.

6. Restless leg syndrome

Restless leg syndrome is a syndrome in which a person has a sudden overwhelming urge to move legs. The urge often comes with a tingling feeling in the legs. Restless leg syndrome is often a cause of insomnia as the person has trouble falling asleep because of the sensations in the legs. The causes of restless leg syndrome are not exactly known but it can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness and so on.

7. Hypersomnia

Hypersomnia is a condition in which you might feel sleepy all day or might sleep a lot. It is a neurological disorder that is characterized by lack of alertness during the waking episode of the day. The causes of hypersomnia can be stress, tension, pressure of something, sleep apnea or narcolepsy. The major and exact cause of hypersomnia is not known so treatment generally involves treating the symptoms.

8. Sleep Terror

Sleep terror or night terror is an attack that causes a feeling of dread and fear. They should not be confused with nightmares. Nightmares are bad dreams while sleep terror is a much serious condition. In this the person might bolt upright from sleep with a look of fear on his face. He might have or might have not seen a nightmare. The person is inconsolable. The terror attack is similar to a panic attack. The heart beat increases rapidly. It might also involve thrashing limbs. The person when wakes up might lash out on the bed partner or anyone near them or even might not recognize anyone around them. In 90 percent cases the person forgets everything about the attack the next morning.

9. Sleep related hallucinations

It is a type of behavioral parasomnia but more serious than any other parasomnias it can have  a drastic effect on the person's brain. In this you might feel, hear or see things like they are real and are really there. You might be dreaming or might be falling or awakening from sleep. The images or sounds might be hazy and blurry. Some people tend to feel during hallucinations. You might feel someone is touching you or near you depending upon the degree of hallucinations. They generally lead to fear as you might feel they are real but when you open your eyes, there's nothing there. They are often linked to paranormal activities but it's not true, it's just your brain.

10. Fatal familial insomnia

Fatal familial insomnia is a very serious and dangerous genetic condition that is very rare. In this the person has progressive insomnia that leads to dementia and eventually death due to lack of sleep. The person might start having hallucinations, phobias, paranoia because of lack of sleep. The last stage of disease is dementia in which the person becomes completely mute and unresponsive and dies within 6 months. The main cause is mutation in a gene that produces protein.

Conclusion

Sleeping is a very important process for our body. Our body needs 6-8 hours of sleep everyday to function normally. If you sleep less than that or more than that, you might be suffering from some sleep disorders.

Most of them can be cured just by lifestyle changes and some cure eventually over time. But some need medical assistance otherwise they might lead to fatality. 

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy and fit and Stay tuned for more.

Please Share and Leave a comment if you liked it, it'll make our day.

Thank you for reading this.