Sleep Disorders Symptoms

At some time or the other everyone has had problems sleeping. It could be from being sick, or stressed out or maybe it is from taking a new medication but it happens. Usually it only lasts a short while then you are back to your normal sleeping routine. But for millions of people their problems with sleeping are chronic to the point that they have an adverse on their lives and their health. The question is how do you know if your sleeping problem is only temporary or the more serious kind. What are the symptoms of sleep disorders?

Sleep disorder definition

According to Wikipedia “A sleep disorder (somnipathy) is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person or animal. Some sleep disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental and emotional functioning. A test commonly ordered for some sleep disorders is the polysomnography”

Insomnia – Insomnia is probably the most well known sleep disorder where you are unable to fall asleep or you are unable to stay asleep. Other symptoms are feeling irritable the next day or at the least feeling less than rested. Headaches and lack of concentration are also symptoms.

Sleep apnea – Sleep apnea occurs when there is blockage in the back of the throat caused by an enlarged tongue or loose tissue which stops air from getting through. When this happens the lack of oxygen will send a message to the brain that you aren’t breathing which in turn will cause you to awaken. These episodes may happen hundreds of times each night. The symptoms of sleep apnea are feeling very tired during the day and not being able to concentrate as well as you should. Another symptom and possible the most telling is when you snore you make a grunting noise when you gasp for air. Headaches at night and during the day can also occur with sleep apnea.

Restless leg syndrome - restless leg syndrome is a particularly annoying disorder that makes you want to move your legs in bed, thus making it difficult to rest. The main symptom is something called periodic limb movements, which causes your legs to jerk while you are trying to sleep.

Teeth grinding Bruxism – Teeth grinding or Bruxism usually occurs at night when you are trying to sleep. One of the main symptoms of it is a dull headache or a sore jaw in the morning. This can cause numerous dental problems.

Narcolepsy – You may know someone who has narcolepsy, the disorder where someone can fall asleep at the drop of a hat doing anything at anytime during the day. The biggest symptom is feeling extremely sleepy during the day, as you can well imagine. Muscle weakness is also common with folks who have narcolepsy.

Nocturia – the need to get out of bed and urinate frequently is called nocturia. This generally happens in older people and as you can imagine this definitely causes you to lose sleep. If you feel you have this it is best to have it checked out because it might be the sign of a greater problem.

Here are some common sense rules that should help with your sleeping

1. Go to bed at the same time each night
2. Don’t exercise right before you go to bed
3. No caffeine or nicotine before bed
4. Wake up at the same time
5. Don’t watch TV or read in bed, just sleep

1. Insomnia can be treated with CBT cognitive behavior therapy plus practicing good sleep hygiene.
2. Treatment for sleep apnea is usually the CPAP machine and in some cases surgery. If the sleep apnea is mild an oral device may do the trick.
3. Restless leg syndrome is treated with exercising and medications are also sometimes used.
4. Bruxism can be treated with an oral device and possibly CBT.
5. Narcolepsy is treated with medication
6. Lifestyle changes, medication and CBT are some of the ways to control Nocturia.