Somnipathy, or sleep disorder is a medical condition affecting a person’s sleep patterns. Regular psychological, physical and emotional functioning can all be affected by sleep disorders once they’re severe enough. We will pay attention to the most frequent kinds of sleep disorders in this article, since the number and complexity of sleep disorders is vast.
There are four major classes of sleeping disorders: dysomnias, parasomnias, sleeping sickness, and snoring.
- Dysomnias
These are sleep disorders distinguished by insomnia or failure to go to sleep. Lifestyle changes such as a move to shift work is a frequent cause of sleeping disorders since the ‘internal sleep clock’ in our bodies may have problems regulating itself to a change in sleeping patterns.
- Parasomnias
These disorders include bedwetting, sleepwalking and talking, and exploding head syndrome (waking up at night hearing loud noises). Some of the common factors that cause parasomnias include biological factors, stress and depression. In some cases, parasomnias run in families, and they tend to be more common in children than adults.
- Sleeping sickness
This is a disease caused by a parasite carried by the Tsetse fly, and which can give rise to sleeping problems. The tsetse fly feeds on the blood of humans and animals. Its bite can transmit a parasite that will work its way through your body and, if left untreated, put you on track for a slow, excruciating and certain death.
- Snoring
This fourth category is not an actual sleep disorder but is usually a symptom of a deeper problem. It is caused mainly by a deviated septum resulting from a broken nose or tissue swelling from allergies. Sleeping on your back can also cause you to snore. Enlarged adenoids are frequently the cause of the obstruction in children.
Worry and chronic pain in the back and neck, and also caffeine can affect your sleep. Emotional problems are another factor affecting sleep patterns.
Sleep Disorder Treatment
Treatment for sleep disorders are usually grouped into four categories:
Behavioral treatments
Rehabilitation and management
Medication
Other somatic treatments
Used alone, these treatments are not sufficient for every patient with a sleep disorder. The patient’s diagnosis, his or her psychiatric and medical history, preferences, and the skill of the treating doctor of psychiatrist are some of the factors that will determine a particular treatment. A mixture of medication and behavioral treatment can be used to get as many healing benefits as possible for patients.
Behavioral management, for example a lifestyle change, may have more success than using medicine for people with persistent insomnia. A healing massage is a useful technique to lessen or get rid of the soreness experienced by neck and back pain sufferers, thus causing the patient to sleep better.
Narcolepsy is a sleep condition in which a person drops off without warning irrespective of their environs. Since it’s a physical rather than psychological condition, medication is considered a better solution to treat narcolepsy.
Owing to ever-increasing information about sleep in the twentieth century, its medical significance is now more widely recognized. Sleep medicine has now become an accepted subspecialty within internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, and psychiatry.
Three Examples that Show How Changing Your Lifestyle can Heal Sleep Disorders and Insomnia
Given the right conditions, there are two stages of sleep that are particularly susceptible to the onset of unsteady breathing. These conditions are sometimes present during the initial stages of sleep, when you’re just dropping off, but it can occur a number of times during the night if sleep is poor. They can also occur during REM sleep, when dreaming is most likely to occur.
Major respiratory instability can develop if an individual has extremely unstable sleeping habits. Unsound sleeping patterns cause unsteady breathing. The best cure, therefore, is to normalize your sleeping habits by getting a minimum of seven and a half hours rest every night. In many cases, that’s all you need.
Lifestyle factors
The idea is growing that many of the incidents of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are as a result of our culture here in the Western world. The danger of major OSA increases with the issues explained below, which are all problems now widespread in our culture. Correction of OSA usually requires that these issues be eradicated. Removal of these factors sometimes resolves the problem fully. Here are three examples of how you can change your lifestyle to get better sleep.
- Reduce Your Weight
Perhaps the principal reason for the rise in OSA is too much weight, caused by an inactive way of life, too much junk food, or by medical circumstances, for example thyroid problems. Snoring tends to get louder as sufferers get larger, according to the observations of a number of bed partners. With the increase in weight, the partners report hearing more pauses in snoring followed by snorts, and then a recommencement of breathing. On the other hand, getting down to the recommended weight has resulted in a reduction in snoring for many patients.
- Quit Smoking
Smoking has many unwanted consequences. Of interest to OSA sufferers are the blockages to the airway caused by cigarette smoking: the nasal mucous membrane becomes inflamed, the throat tissue swells up, and the capillaries in the lungs are obstructed. You can therefore add sleep apnea to the catalog of reasons to discontinue this nasty habit.
- Be Mindful of the Drugs You Take
Pay attention to the drugs you take prior to going to bed. Muscle relaxants, antihistamines and tranquilizers will relax throat muscles and impede airflow. Conversely, you should take care of illnesses that hamper your breathing. Consuming alcohol before bed is not a good idea for the same reasons and will cause a poor night’s sleep independent of apnea problems. Don’t drink alcohol for four hours before sleep.
- Change Your Sleep Habits
This can help to decrease or end the snoring. Sleep on your side rather than your back, for instance, as this will prevent obstruction of your throat as a result of gravity. You can also put a big pillow or stitch some tennis balls into a sock and sew the sock into the rear of your pajamas or nightgown to prevent you from rolling onto your back.
