Archive for the ‘narcolepsy’ Category

Having Trouble Sleeping And Breathing – Sleep Apnea

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Trouble sleeping are a result of sleep deprivation at night and there are some conditions like sleep apnea and narcolepsy which are other causes of sleeping problems. Long term insomnia can have serious effects on health due to numerous effects like the degrading immune functions. This only results in to minor illnesses at firtt but continous diseases can sxpose to chronic illnesses such as hypertension. This is why we should immediately find a cure if we have been experiencing the signs and symptoms of having trouble sleeping. There are different types of sleeping disorders which should be treated seriously. Let’s start with the most common type: insomnia.

Simply put, it means insufficient sleep which can be caused by stress, or unsatisfactory sleeping environments or something else. The signs and symptoms of a person who has insomnia are: waking up in the middle of the night, and finding a hard time going back to sleep, sleeping late and waking up early, and taking more than half an hour to go to sleep. Insomnia is actually a general name which covers all types of sleeping problems from early wakeups to havin trouble falling asleep at night. Unlike it is commonly thought insomnia is not a disease as itself but merely a term to classify sleeping problems and tell that the people suffering from insomnia are actually just not getting enough sleep or having some kind of problems related to sleeping.

Other conditions like sleep apnea can arise from having trouble sleeping. Sleep apnea refers to interrupted or no breathing for at least ten seconds while a person is asleep. While the cause of this type of disorder is unknown, the signs and symptoms are loud snoring and sleepiness the whole day. There are some educated guesses that point to the direction that the airways are either genetically narrow, or that the tightness is caused by physical attributes. These would be neck obesity or muscularity. In either case the neck thickness causes pressure on the airways, and as the sleeper falls asleep his or hers neck muscles relaax. The relaxation of the neck muscles removes the support offered by the supporting muscles in the neck and so the airways collapse. Anyone who is genuienly suffering from sleep apnea has to wake up for breathing. This makes the sleep abrupt and disturbs the natural sleep cycles. In serious cases of sleep apnea the sleeper has to wake up once in a minute to catch a breath. Symptoms of sleep apnea are daytime sleepyness, snoring, and cognitive problems like in all sleep related problems. It might even result in slight narcolepsy. If you are having allergies they might cause you to have trouble breathing while sleeping. You should either consult a doctor or get prescription free allergy medication. Asthma is also a well known cause for these types of problems. You might have to consider buying an air purifier since it will clear out the allergens and help your problems. Weight loss usually cures all the symptoms but be careful not to resort to cheap diet pills that will boost your metabolism acting as a thermogenic and that way diminish your chances of falling asleep.

The next one in the list of sleeping disorders is a condition called narcolepsy. This means that a person can fall asleep anytime and anywhere, even while doing an activity, during the day. The sleeping episodes may last for a few minutes to several hours. This type of disorder can be dangerous because a person can fall asleep while in the middle of a meeting, while having a meal, or worse, while driving. While other meds are prescribed to people who are having trouble sleeping, people who have narcolepsy should result into treatments that can make the disorder go away completely. Typical to a person suffering from narcolepsy is a strong REM-sleep pressure. This means that they can fall asleep instantly to REM sleep. As mentioned in previous posts during REM-sleep there is present complete relaxation of the muscles. This menas that an upright position can not be mainainted. If having trouble sleeping and narcolepsy during the day it means that you should not be allowed to do anything which requires any amount of concentration and can result in an accident if falls asleep. If you notice someone is suffering from narcolepsy, you should direct them to a physician.

The less common types of sleeping disorders are called “restless leg syndrome” and “parasomnia” which means untypical sleeptime activities. Restless leg syndrome causes a person to feel a certain aching of the leg muscles. In fact, the twitching and jerking can cause a person to wake up in the wee hours of the morning and they might be having trouble sleeping. They feel like they need to be moving their feet or massaging them. It is some type of pressure that they feel. They might benefit from supplements that support the circulation by increasing the elastic fibres in the wall of the veins. More often than not, this type of disorder can be also lessened through the use of antidepressants. This is just one of the multiple uses that have been discovered for selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) amongst such as irritated bowel syndrome or IBS more commonly.

Considered as the most risky sleeping disorder caused by having trouble sleeping, parasomnia causes a person to do different activities while asleep. These activities can range from the simple walking and screaming, to even going out of the house to buy something. All these activities are done while sleeping, without the awareness of the person. This is usually noted by the family of the person who is suffering from this disease.

As people age, we are also having trouble sleeping for a number of reasons. For one, we might be thinking of our concerns and responsibilities that we have to accomplish during the day. To avoid these, we should try out other activities like yoga or merely an hour of brisk walking. Older people are also thought of light sleepers due to the decreased levels of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Another falsehood is that people need a lesser number hours of sleep as they age. The growth hormone is what causes deep sleep in children. This decreases as people age. What may be true is that adults may have sleep disorders, but they need the right amount of sleep altogether. Even if the growth hormone production is decrearsing during ageing, it actually results in the need for more sleep. Your tissues require as much or even more GH because the increased infections. Growth hormone injections are common amongst the elderly to help with the symptoms of ageing.

The most curable one of these sleeping problems is sleep apnea, which in most cases can be cured with weight loss or a natural supplement which helps lubricating the airways. This list of sleeping disorders might give an enlighting moment to people having trouble sleeping and help them to make the right choices aiding their recovery. Cpap machine is something that has helped a lot of people suffering from breathing problems while sleeping. This machine can be used through nasal paths using a chin strap for sleep apnea that keeps the tubes coming from the machine near your airways.

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