They could be robbing you of quality sleep.
If you’re having sleep problems, you’ve probably done your research on how to diagnose or treat the issue. However, there are many problems that can arise from poor sleep quality. And although the causes may vary, the result of any of these disorders is a disruption of your body’s slumber clock. Here are the 10 most common sleep disorders you should have in mind.
1. Insomnia
According to the 2016 Report to the Sleep Health Foundation 2016 by the University of Adelaide, around 20% of Australians suffer from significant insomnia. This means that 2 out of 10 people have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Insomnia can be caused by stress, anxiety, depression or discomfort.
2. Snoring
This problem is caused due to the vibration of your relaxed throat tissues caused by the air you breathe. Snoring can wake the sleeper up or that person’s partner, resulting in a disruption of the sleeping pattern. Around 24% of Australian men and 17% of Australian women suffer from snoring, according to the 2016 report.
3. Obstructive Sleep Apnea
This disorder currently affects 8% of the Australian population and consists of making people lose their ability to breathe normally while asleep. Sleep apnea usually happens when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep. Its intensity may vary depending on the person, causing some people to experience episodes of no breathing, breathing through the mouth, loud breathing, or shortness of breath.
4. Sleep Hypoventilation
Another breathing-related problem, this disorder occurs when the brain fails to deliver a strong enough message to breathe while sleeping. Breathing is restricted in someone with sleep-related hypoventilation, leading to low levels of oxygen or elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. Sleep-related hypoventilation can occur in anyone, at any age, even in babies and young people.
5. Restless Legs Syndrome
RLS, for short, affects 18% of Australians. People with this syndrome suffer from uncomfortable sensations in their legs and an irresistible urge to move their legs to relieve the discomfort. This urge gets stronger when the person is lying down, which is the reason why it’s considered a sleep disorder.
6. Bruxism
If you have ever woken up with a sore jaw, this was probably because you were clenching and grinding your teeth in your sleep; that’s bruxism. It’s normally caused by stress and anxiety and is closely related to sleep apnea. Although it might sound strange to enlist it as a sleep disorder, the damages bruxism does to your teeth and jaw include migraine and potential fractures of the teeth.
7. Narcolepsy
This disorder leads people to experience excessive daytime sleepiness and intermittent, usually uncontrollable episodes of falling asleep during the daytime. In many cases, narcolepsy is undiagnosed and, therefore, untreated. Around 17% of Australians fell asleep on the job in 2016.
8. Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking, talking or doing other things while asleep is caused by a poor quality of sleep. When any of these things happen, your brain is partially awake, which is why it can do things you would do while awake. Although common in kids, it can haunt a person into adulthood.
9. Nightmares
Although considered as strong imagination in children, night terrors occur when a person hasn’t woken up completely. People who suffer commonly from nightmares have a disrupted sleeping pattern, leading to poor sleep quality and also resulting in anxiety when going to bed at night.
10. Rapid eye movement behaviour disorder
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) is the sleeping phase where all muscles are relaxed and where dreams happen. REM Behavior Disorder, on the other hand, means that in this phase, the person’s muscles are active and because of this, actually move their body and act as if they were in the dream. It can result in violent movements.
Now that you’re familiar with the most common sleeping issues, take the time to figure out if you suspect you suffer from any of these illnesses. If so, see your doctor soon and seek professional diagnosis and treatment, if applicable.