Sleep Disorders - What Causes Sleep Disorders?
April 2nd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
There are many different reasons people develop sleep disorders. They can strike anyone at any time. The reasons may be physical, or psychological.
Sleep disorders that result in interference with the person’s mental as well as emotional functioning can be hard to combat. Allergies too play an important role in affecting the sleep patterns adversely, and sleep disorders may be considered as a group of syndromes that cause disturbance in a person’s quantity and quality of sleep.
Sleep is no doubt a basic behavior common to humans and animals, but in spite of a lot of research into the topic, researchers are still unable to completely comprehend all of its functions. Over the last 30 years, with more laboratory studies having been conducted, new information has emerged regarding cyclical patterns of different types of sleep as well as how they are related to breathing, heart rate, brain waves and more.
Besides normal sleep disorders, there are three more categories that are the result of or related to substance use or other mental or physical disorders. Depression as well as anxiety disorders cause sleep disturbances, and chronic insomnia occur due to psychiatric disorders. Using drugs, alcohol as well as caffeine is often the cause of disturbed sleep patterns, and alcohol abuse, in particular, leads to insomnia. Amphetamines or cocaine causes people to suffer from insomnia while using these drugs, and during drug withdrawal, there may be hypersomnia.
Children and Sleep Trouble
Children too suffer from sleep disorders, and according to some pediatric estimates, at least 20 to 30 per cent of children are affected. This includes sleepwalking and night terror as also narcolepsy and sleep apnea.
The causes and symptoms of sleep disorders have been studied in depth, and the most important symptoms noticed were insomnia as well as sleepiness during waking hours. The diagnosis of sleep disorders may often warrant studying the psychological history, medical history of the patient, gender and age of the patient.
To further help solve the problem of sleep disorders, doctors may need to make use of other means including asking patients to keep a sleep log to record their sleep behavior. This can help identify the severity as well as characteristics of their sleep disturbance and psychological testing to evaluate insomnia and self-report tests to assess daytime sleepiness. They can also use laboratory studies in sleep laboratories or by using portable instruments at the patient’s homes and other tests to get to the bottom of sleep disorders.
Treating sleep disorders depends on its cause, and medications such as sedatives or hypnotic medications are also used, though only for insomnia related to temporary stress or overdose. In the case of narcolepsy, stimulants may be used including dextroamphetamine sulfate or methylphenidate. Psychotherapy is also used for those having sleep disorders in conjunction with other medical disorders. Even lifestyle changes can be recommended that includes quitting smoking, avoiding alcohol or drug abuse as well as needing to lose weight so that the upper airway becomes more stable.
If you’re not sleeping well, and feel that you may be suffering from a sleep disorder, it’s best to get professional advice as soon as possible.
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Sleep problems are common with your toddler
March 12th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
One of the most common sleep problems for toddlers is resistance to sleep, and settling problems - your children doesn’t want to go to bed. Once he is in bed, he gets up several times, and you have to go and tuck him in again.
This can become a habit, and if it does, see your pediatrician for help. He can recommend some routines which will help your toddler to settle down for sleep when you put him to bed.
A tip: avoid over-stimulation before bedtime.
How to Fight Toddler Sleep Problems
Just like adults, toddlers sleep problems can occur, which could result in lack of sleep, fear of sleeping alone, restless sleep and insomnia. Nightmares are the most common sleep problems of toddlers.
Dreams usually occur when people are in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep, which occurs about four to five times each night. Although many dreams are easily forgotten, most nightmares can wake up your toddler from bed and call for his or her parents.
Toddler sleep problems generally start at three years of age up to eight years old. This stage is the toddler’s most active fantasy life, which results in more realistic and vivid dreams. However, when nightmares occur, your toddler will be wide-awake and responsive after a certain nightmare. Because of this, your son or daughter will still recall details of the nightmare even in the next morning.
Although toddler sleep problems, especially nightmares, are normal, a persistent and nightly set of nightmares is not healthy for both your toddler and other people in your household because it could cause sleepless nights. Continuous nightmares are usually triggered by stress, change in routines or a response to a store, TV show or violent movie. The best way to fight toddler sleep problems associated with nightmares is to reassure him or her that the dream is not real. You can also avoid stress in your toddler’s life and avoid telling horror stories or watching brutal shows before bedtime.
Understanding Night Terrors and Sleepwalking
The other two common toddler sleep problems are night terrors and sleepwalking, which are both normal during this stage of your child. Compared to nightmares, night terrors can be frightening to parents because your toddler is not aware that he or she is screaming or crying for several minutes in the middle of the night. Since he is not aware, you cannot reassure them that the night terror is not real. For this reason, you just need to ensure that your child returns to bed safely.
Sleepwalking is a normal sleep problem of toddlers. Just like night terrors, your child is not aware of what he or she is doing, such as walking around the house. Sleepwalkers usually go back to bad in a couple of minutes, so it is not advisable to wake them up while sleepwalking. Instead, you should make sure that your toddler goes back to bed safely.
When nightmares, sleepwalking, night terrors and other toddler sleep problems continue to persist, it is important that you seek counseling or medical attention to disrupt the cycle and allow your child to have proper sleep.
Toddler sleep problems may be inevitable, but don’t let them get you down. Get advice on how to manage the problems, and your child will be sleeping peacefully through the night before you know it.
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