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Writer's pictureShreeya Ram

Sleep Disorders

Researched by: Yasser Samad






Insomnia, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea are all common sleep disorders. Sleep disorders, without you even realizing can affect your relationships, school, and work efforts, mental health, thinking, and so much more.


Sleep disorders are circumstances that affect your sleep or keep you back from gaining restful efficient sleep. About 100 million Americans nationwide aren’t receiving restful, efficient sleep. Sleep is critical, and not receiving enough sleep can affect the person you are and how you perform day-to-day tasks.


The causes of sleep disorders can be many various things. Although there are different causes of sleep disorders, the end result being the body’s natural cyle of sleep and daytime wakefullness being affected in a negative way is the same. There are eight causes of sleep disorders, and these eight factors include physical, medical, psychiatric, environmental, working a night shift, genetics, aging, and medications. These eight factors listed above lead to sleep disorders such as insomnia, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and so many others. Aging being one of the eight factors leading to sleep disorders, is still unclear if sleep disorders are a normal part of growing older. It is estimated about half of all aduls over the age of 65 experience some type of sleep disorder, again it is unclear if this is a normal part of aging. In majority of circumstances, you won’t experience all of these causes of sleep disorders, however, just one of these factors can change who you are for the worse.


Not receiving the appropriate amount of sleep each night has a much larger affect than just feeling tired. An inadequate amount of sleep restricts efficient cognitive function, which can lead to obtaining learning disabilities in children, memory defects in people of all ages, depression, and personality alterations. When you are sleep deprives, and running on little sleep or disruptive sleep, you’ll experience making decisions as a hard thing to do, irritability, see performance problems, and you’ll have slower reaction times, putting yourself in danger related to automobiles and accidents related to your work. Additionally, forfeiture of sleep can allow you to originate obesity, diabetes, and heart diseases. All of these situations can definitely be avoided if you receive efficient and effective sleep nightly.


If you or a family member is experiencing what may be a sleep disorder, bring it forward to your healthcare provider. Your physician can perform a physical exam and assist you in pinpointing the difficulties you are arising within your sleep. After tests are taken, and your physician conjectures you may have a sleep disorder, they may refer you to a sleep disorder clinic. From there, the sleep specialist will review your symptoms and may recommend undergoing a sleep study. A sleep study, also known as a polysomnogram (PSG) is a type of test that tracks certain physical activities while you sleep. Moreover, keeping a sleep diary for around two weeks can be a benefit to your healthcare provider. Paying attention to your sleep habits are crucial to identifying if you have a sleep disorder, and you can pay attention to your sleep habits using a sleep diary that was recently mentioned. A majority of common sleep disorders can be treated with behavioral treatments, a treatment centered around your thoughts and feelings. If you are concerned with your sleep motif, make sure to contact your healthcare provider. These questions below may assist you in what to ask your healthcare provider regarding sleep disorders.


What sleep disorder to I have?

How severe is my sleep disorder?

Do you think my sleep disorder will go away on its own, or will I need treatment?

How can I improve my sleep hygiene?

Should I see a specialist?

Do I need a referral to see a specialist?

Do you recommend any medications to assist with my sleep disorder?

How often should I return to see you?

Are there any medications I should stop taking?


All these questions listed above wil allow you to learn more about the type of disorder you have, and how to go forth with it! Sleep is important, sleep is crucial to our well-being, and sleep is pivital to out performance in the work force or classroom. Take the best time for yourself, your well-being, and your excellence in performance by retrieivng efficient and beneificla sleep every night!




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