14 Apr Did you know that sleep apnea is one of over 80 sleep disorders?
Sleep disorders affect over 70 million people and can cause a host of health issues. Getting a good night’s rest can improve your health. Here are the top 10 conditions:
Obstructive Sleep Apnea results in brief apneic episodes while the patient is asleep. This means that the patient stops breathing for a very short period of time. This happens many times throughout the night, and the cause is often an airway obstruction. The soft tissues at the back of your throat may go slack and slide over the airway opening, eventually blocking it. You are at greater risk for sleep apnea if you have a large neck circumference, a smaller jaw or are obese, among other risk factors.
Central Sleep Apnea – breathing is disrupted regularly during sleep because of brain functions.
Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep.
Hypersomnia is characterized by excessive sleepiness during the daytime where people affected can fall asleep anywhere.
Parasomnias are sleep disorders that can occur during arousals from REM sleep or partial arousals from non-REM sleep. They include nightmares, night terrors, sleepwalking and other disorders.
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder is where the paralysis that normally occurs during REM sleep is incomplete or absent. This allows the person to “act out” their dreams.
Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders are disruptions in a person’s circadian rhythm or the person’s internal body clock.
Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder is a specific kind of circadian rhythm that is common in blind people. People tend to go to sleep later and later in the evening and wake up later and later in the morning until their sleep is schedule is flipped.
Periodic Limb Movement Disorder is characterized by rhythmic movements of the limbs during sleep (Restless Leg Syndrome).
Shift Work Sleep Disorder is trouble sleeping because you work nights and rotating shifts.
Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder where the person has overwhelming daytime drowsiness.
Source: WebMD, World Sleep Day Conference