The term “sleep disorder” refers to a group of medical conditions that affect the quality and duration of your sleep.
These disorders can be short-term, or long-term, and can be associated with other illnesses or medicines.
One of the most common sleep disorders is obstructive sleep apnea, which causes intermittent blockage in the windpipe that interrupts breathing while you’re asleep. You may wake up with a cough or gasp to reopen your airway.
1. Obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when your airway becomes blocked repeatedly during sleep. This can result in snoring, gasping, or choking sounds and interrupted sleep. Internationally, Armodafinil Australia is used to treat obstructive sleep apnea patients who still feel sleepy despite continuous positive airway pressure.
Symptoms of OSA are often overlooked and can lead to serious health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, and heart problems. Fortunately, treatment is available for OSA to stop symptoms and improve sleep quality.
Your doctor may recommend a sleep study, also called polysomnography. This involves recording brainwaves, eye movements, breathing patterns, and oxygen levels during sleep.
During an overnight study, your child will lie in bed and wear electrodes placed on his head and face. These recordings will be analyzed by sleep technologists to diagnose apnea and other sleep disorders.
Daytime sleepiness and other symptoms may occur from sleep disorders, which affect your sleep quality or prevent you from receiving enough restorative sleep. Everybody occasionally struggles with sleep issues.
2. Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea occurs when your breathing stops during sleep, usually because of blockage (obstructive sleep apnea, OSA) or because your brain doesn’t correctly control it (central apnea).
Breathing may stop for 10 seconds or more at a time as you breathe in, hampering your ability to get enough oxygen. This triggers a survival reflex that wakes you just long enough to reopen your airway and resume breathing. You might find that Artvigil 150 Australia keeps you awake during the day.
Symptoms vary from person to person, but some of the most common are snoring, pauses in breathing, and gasping for breath while asleep. They can also include feeling short of breath, night sweats, hyperactivity, and trouble concentrating at work or school.
A healthcare provider can diagnose sleep apnea by asking you about your symptoms and conducting a test called an overnight sleep study, or polysomnogram. These tests use sensors to monitor your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, breathing, and more.
More than just being fatigued results from inadequate sleep quantity or quality. Sleepiness impairs cognitive function, which can result in personality changes, depression, learning problems in children, and memory loss in adults of all ages.
3. Insomnia
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that causes trouble sleeping (both falling asleep and staying asleep). People with insomnia experience frequent difficulty sleeping that interferes with their daytime functioning.
It’s common, with 19% to 50% of adults reporting symptoms in some surveys. Insomnia is also common among older adults, women, and people who have anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions.
Some factors can contribute to insomnia, including life changes like moving to a new home or working a shift schedule; medical conditions and medications you take; and family history of insomnia.
Insomnia can occur for a short time or be chronic, lasting for months or longer. To get a diagnosis of insomnia, a doctor needs to rule out other sleep disorders and medical conditions. They may ask questions about your symptoms, do a physical exam, and order tests. The doctor might also ask you to keep a sleep diary. These help the doctor find out why you have insomnia and if you need more testing.
4. Night terrors
Night terrors, also called sleep terrors, are episodes of fear during sleep that usually begin with crying or screaming. These episodes typically end quickly and are not a sign of a serious health problem.
They can last from 45 minutes to 90 minutes and can happen on the reg or just a few times a year. These are not nightmares, but they can seem frightening to parents and children.
They are more common in children, but they also affect about 1 to 2 percent of adults. The cause isn’t completely understood. Some people think they may be related to trauma or stress. Others believe they are linked to respiratory conditions like sleep apnea.