Sleeping Disorder: What is it and What can We Do about It?

Sleep is one of the most important and monotonous activities we will partake on for the entirety of our lives and enjoy it most of the time. The natural recharge of our bodies, sleep lets the body and brain fully relax and heal from all the hardships and tasks we carry out day by day.

This natural state of rest we take on every night is the one in charge of giving us energy and letting us feel refreshed for the morning to come and our whole day can be ruined if we don't get enough of it. Small hours of rest leave us at unease, unrest and general crankiness for a long time.

There are various factors that could influence our sleeping schedule and give us restless nights. Among these we have a change in our daily routines, travelling, or a sleep disorder which can be produced by several circumstances or inheritance. The daily routines and travelling problems can be fixed though, or can just be solved easier than a sleep disorder.

A sleep disorder is characterized as a medical condition that impedes us from getting a good amount of rest by irritability or in some cases, getting too much sleep and at inadequate moments without any control whatsoever. Most of these conditions have treatments and cures that you can either get from doctors or try for yourself at home, each with different degrees of success.

To know how to deal with a sleep disorder though, you must know which one it is and what could be causing it. The most common sleep disorders are as follows:

• One of the most common ones, insomnia is the inability or difficulty to fall asleep almost every night, making you fall asleep and losing important rest. Normally a byproduct of big unprecedented changes in your life or large amounts of stress and anxiety suddenly appearing in your life, this is one of the harder ones to determine.

Whenever you make a choice to do something different, it affects your whole body, and one big factor to always think of is how it is going to mess with your sleep. Taking over a business, leaving work for the last minute, getting a loan, having kids, they're all big scenarios which generally bring about insomnia. There are smaller changes like how much sugar or caffeine you consume and how many things you try to accomplish in one day that could induce this condition

The biggest treatment for insomnia is findingrelaxationand peace of mind. A sleeping pill is only a temporary help and should never be considered as a long term remedy.

Try to find what it is that keeps you up at night and let it out of your life if possible. If you can't let it go, learn to cope with it and with the fact it is still going to be there for you in the morning and that's that. If after trying these things you still see no improvement, contact your G.P. and ask about what kind of treatment you should try.

• As the name states, this syndrome is known for causing the patient to move his legs and sometimes arms all over the place while asleep. The desire to move around so much is because of feeling uncomfortable or pain in the limbs. Wanting to move them could also happen while sitting or just laying down.

This is a condition that is harder to treat or even diagnose since most people do not understand the symptoms or see that it connects with your sleeping. The treatment is usually relaxation and peace of mind too but a good physical condition helps a big deal. Going on walks, exercising every day and avoiding anything harmful like cigarettes or alcohol can have a great positive impact on the patient.

For long nights where the symptoms do not lessen, support and pressure on the legs and arms is great too. A pillow between them or having bandages to cover them is something to consider. Make sure though that you never overdue any of these, especially the bandages since they could cut off blood flow. Also try to keep away from sleeping pills and antidepressants as they could only make the pain and restlessness worse.

• One of the more annoying and dangerous ones of the disorders, having sleep apnea causes short term breath loss and even stops you from breathing every now and then because of blocked airways.

Every time you lose your breath or are unable to take a breath in you will wake up startled and scared but might not even remember in the morning about it. Most people have suffered more than they have had to before realizing they had a problem and had to seek attention. Gasping for breath should never occur during sleep and requires medical treatment as quick as possible. Sometimes the condition can be hereditary or produced by being overweight or having bad lungs.

Sleep apnea is divided in three different types and according to what type you have you act and medicate accordingly. But for most cases, after having the diagnosis and being sure you do indeed have this condition, the treatments are usually the same. Doing exercise, avoiding anything harmful to the body or any excess of any kind and a good sleep schedule alleviates many of the symptoms.

For two of the types of sleep apnea though, central and complex ones, some type of medication is almost always necessary as the condition is caused not only by blocking of the airways but by failure in the brain for signaling the muscles for breath.

• An uncontrollable need for sleep at all times, Narcolepsy is very dangerous and in many occasions makes you fall asleep almost instantly by this attack. A chronic condition that is caused by an internal mistake in the brain involving the process of going to sleep and waking up, having narcolepsy is usually a hereditary situation. The medication is strong and stimulant based but can also very dangerous if not consumed right. There are of course things to do on your own but they do not have a very strong impact on your well being

If you or anyone close to you has Narcolepsy, contact a doctor right away for instructions and help. Getting everyone involved and letting them know about the condition is also great help. Taking small naps throughout the day, a medical alert bracelet if needed and/or wanted, exercise, a good diet and relaxing are all very good for anyone suffering from this. Other than that, avoid anything that could be lethal if you were to fall asleep like big machinery or driving.

• A state that causes moments and episodes of sheer panic, wailing and screaming, these are most common in small children but could occur to adults as well. Even though it is frightening to have and experience, it is almost never something to worry about. Children stop having these episodes of fear at some point and almost never have them again.

• Night Terrors are also considered a serious problem if you get them after becoming an adult and they continue despite the treatment a doctor gives to a patient suffering from this sleeping disorder. You can see how radical it can become on the video presented.

If you are uncomfortable with what's going on, or have fear when going to sleep or see your kids sleeping that they or you will get hurt, contact your doctor. Mostly hereditary, a new place, other sleeping conditions or drugs and medication could cause a night terror. Many people just wait for the terror to be over instead of getting any relaxant or anything like that. Finding out if any other thing or event caused it is always a good start too.

All these conditions have a big impact on our well being and the people around us. Even though it is hard at times to come to terms with what is going on and why you have to deal with it, time, perseverance and following these tips should alleviate the symptoms and help you and others get through this.

Never hesitate to contact a doctor and rest assured, this is at least something we know about and other people have gone through. You and your loved ones will be fine through treatment and accommodation, no matter which one of these you could be suffering from. Just remember to stay strong and fight it.