Abstract
When a person goes to bed, some take too long to fall asleep while others wake up regularly because of different problems in cohort with difficulty sleeping, others experience excessive daytime sleepiness. Therefore, the sleep disorder is a predicament condition that influences the ability to sleep well and sound on a regular basis and a medical disorder that is related to patterns of sleep of a person or an animal, and it usually interferes with the normal mental, physical, emotional and social functioning of the body.
The most leading sources of sleep problems range from emotional discomfort, physical pain to environmental factors while sign and symptoms of diseases differ from one disease to another. Universal treatments of these disorders constitute changing the lifestyle, improving sleep hygiene, an introduction of medicine such as melatonin as well as relaxing of body muscles through regular gentle exercise.
Introduction
A sleep disorder is a set of condition that affects the ability to sleep sound on a regular basis; thus, it is a medical disorder that is associated with patterns of sleep of a person or an animal, it usually distracts the proper functioning of the mental, physical, emotional and social routine of the body. Sleep malfunctions are facilitated by various issues ranging from physical, medical, psychiatric to environmental, for instance, alcohol, asthma, or depression, and anxiety disorders as well. Other agents that can interrupt with sleeping pattern include genetics, working the night shift, use of overdose medicines and aging conditions. The definite signs and symptoms of the incorporate disorder are consequent up at night, striving for asleep, snoring loudly and feeling during the daytime. Therefore, this discussion focuses on primary disorders and appropriate treatment for each problem.
Common Sleep Disorders
Sleep Apnea Disorder
Sleep apnea is a typical problem in which a person experience pauses in breathing or encounter shallow breaths while sleeping; the break-interrupt with proper breathing process and it continually becomes very shallow during sleep if not treated. Breathing pauses commonly happens between 10 to 20 seconds and may occur around 35 times an hour, and then regular start over again with a loud snort or choking sound, although not often.
Nevertheless, it limits a person from enjoying the natural sleep rhythm which constrains people to spend most of the time in light sleep and little time in deep sleep that enhance the body to be energetic, productive and mentally sharp (Mannarino, Di Filippo, & Pirro, 2012, p. 583-596). The primary forms of sleep apnea involve obstructive sleep apnea which occurs when soft tissues block the airway, central sleep apnea which affects the central nervous system and the complex sleep apnea that is a combination of central and obstructive sleep apnea.
Central sleep apnea is caused by brain failure to convey signals to the breathing muscles which mean that the body makes no effort to breathe for a short period. Besides, Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by relaxation of muscles in the back of a person’s throat which causes the airway to narrow or close as the person breathe in; therefore, an individual fails to get an adequate breath.
The major signs of sleep apnea include loud and habitual snoring, breathing pauses, dizziness, and fatigue in the course of the day, and gasping choking or snorting during sleep.Moreover, symptoms such as irritability, restless or fitful sleep, morning headaches, or depression and waking up with a dry mouth or sore throats are the warning signs of sleep apnea (Schwengel, Dalesio, & Stierer, 2014, p. 237-261).
The disease is treated with the help of using continuous positive airway pressure device (CPAP) which is a mask that fits the nose and mouth, it often blows air to assist air path to remain open during sleep. Other methods such as dental appliances, upper airway surgery, nasal expiratory positive airway pressure, and hypoglossal nerve stimulation are applicable in the treatment of sleep apnea. Changing of lifestyle is an effective means of treating patients with signs and symptoms of this disorder, for instance, engage in gentle exercise to reduce weight, avoid alcohol consumption, and stop smoking (Chervin et al. 2013).
Insomnia Disorder
Insomnia is the major sleeping problem which is associated with difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep when an individual can sleep. Primary insomnia involves sleep problems that are not related to health conditions while secondary insomnia is sleep problems that are related to other disorders such a health condition. Insomnia is further classified into different forms; transient insomnia often last for less than one week, chronic insomnia which is the inability to sleep well consistently for a period longer than a month as well as, acute insomnia which is difficulty falling asleep for a duration less than one month.
Acute insomnia is caused by stress, illness, emotional or physical discomfort, environmental features, diseases such as asthma, and interruption of normal sleep schedule. Consequently, chronic insomnia is influenced by depression or anxiety, chronic stress, and pain or discomfort at night, the symptoms of insomnia often include dizziness during the daytime, general fatigue, irritability, and concentration or memory problems (Morin et al., 2014, p. 319).
The above disorder is remedied by the use of cognitive behavioral therapy that enhances sleep habits and behaviors; it teaches people to acknowledge and modify beliefs that affect their ability to sleep, for instance, learning ways on how to control and eliminate negative thoughts and worries that keep them awake
. The cognitive behavior therapy approaches used from one patient is different from others because they may contain different requirements; they include stimulus control therapy that is a technique introduced to eliminate factors that condition the mind to resist sleep. Time consumed in bed is restricted through sleep restriction treatment to the patients because lying in bed without sleeping is a habit that leads to poor sleep (Van Oot, & Borkovec, 2013, p. 101).
Sleep hygiene is promoted among the patients, and this method incorporates altering of basic lifestyle habits that affect sleep such as, taking too much caffeine or alcohol or failure to engage in regular body exercise. Improved sleep environment can assist in the treatment of insomnia because it gives ways that a person can create a comfortable sleep environment such as hiding clock from view, ensuring that the bedroom is quiet, dark and cold. Other methods such as relaxation training, paradoxical intention or remaining passively awake, and biofeedback are used to treat insomnia because they employ treatment strategies that strive to relax the body and understanding the biological signs of the body (Kaplan and Harvey 2013).
Leg Syndrome Disorder
Leg Syndrome another common sleep difficulty which is restless leg syndrome (RLS), it is a problem characterized by unpleasant leg sensations that affect the process of resting or falling asleep. The primary cause of this disorder is associated with low levels of iron in the brains; it also involves an imbalance of dopamine which is a neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention, learning and the rewarding system of the brain. Besides, this disorder is caused by high genetic components because research has shown that 60 percent of people with this problem have family members with the same condition.
The common signs and symptoms of restless leg syndrome are leg discomfort followed by a strong urge to move them, leg twitching or kicking while sleeping, it flares up at night, and foot sensation start or become worse when an individual is sitting, lying down while relaxing. This problem can worsen during pregnancies and to those patients suffering from conditions such as anemia, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis (Provini, & Chiaro, 2015, p. 215-226).
The appropriate treatment for restless leg syndrome (RLS) is modifying the lifestyle of a patient, use of specialized medicine and sleeping on a regular schedule. Application of warm and cold packs to patient’s legs is also advisable because they relieve the amount of pain in the leg associated with the disorder; it is closely related to relaxation of leg muscles through massage. Additionally, performing of moderate exercise is advisable to the patients because it assists in relaxing the leg muscles; therefore, it is important to build in some relaxation time before going to bed (Comella, 2014, p. 177-187).
Narcolepsy Disorder
Narcolepsy is a constant brain problem that incorporates reduced control of sleep and sleep cycles, people suffering from this disorder experience increased daytime sleepiness and intermittent, uncontrollable episodes of falling asleep during the daytime. This problem is caused by low levels of the neurotransmitter hypocretin that encourage wakefulness; therefore, loss of cells of the brain that produce hypocretin is one of the principal causes of narcolepsy.
An average sleep cycle consist of the early stage of sleep followed by deeper sleep stages and rapid eye movement (REM) that occurs after about 90 minutes of sleep, thus rapid eye movement for people suffering from narcolepsy occurs almost immediately in the sleep cycle and at intervals (Arango, Kivity, & Shoenfeld, 2015, p. 6-10).
Nonetheless, narcolepsy is caused by traumatic damage to a part of the brain involved in rapid eye movement or tumor growth. The symptoms of narcolepsy sleep disorder include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) which is the primary symptom that is experienced by all people suffering from narcolepsy; other symptoms of narcolepsy are cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hallucination, disrupted nocturnal sleep and obesity (Arango, Kivity, & Shoenfeld, 2015, p. 10-12).
Numerous activities are employed to treat narcolepsy: sleep hygiene through promoting the ways of maintaining a regular sleep schedule; research has demonstrated that every person ought to sleep 5 to 8 hours per night while sleeping during the day is significance to people diagnosed with sleep apnea. Besides, central nervous system (CNS) stimulants are used to reduce daytime sleepiness among the patients and improving the symptoms in patients, stimulants such as amphetamine, modafinil, methylphenidate, methamphetamine, and dextroamphetamine sulfate are used to treat sleep apnea.
It is also addressed through the provision of emotional support and counseling to patients and parents, seeking information concerning depression, family conflict, and other distinct psychological issues, and questioning patients about behaviors that stimulate the symptoms like alcohol and drug use (Alberto, & García-García, 2013, p. 11771-1781).
Circadian Rhythm Sleeps Disorders
Lastly, circadian rhythm sleep disorders are some problems that interfere with the accurate timing of sleep and wake time; it is regulated by a master circadian clock that is situated in a control center in the brain known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Types of these disorders include delayed sleep phase disorder (DPS), advanced sleep phase disorder (ASP), shift work disorder, irregular sleep-wake rhythm and free-running disorder among others.
A distinct form of circadian rhythm sleep disorder often experiences several problems such as having difficulty initiating sleep, struggling to maintain sleep and waking up severally during the night, waking up too early and unable to sleep once again, and experiencing a poor quality of sleep (Keijzer, Smits, Duffy, & Curfs, 2014, p. 333-339).
The disorders can be remedied through the change of lifestyle, adjusting of person’s exposure to the daylight, regular timing changes, and active organization of naps. The introduction of sleep hygiene is significance to the patients; it assists them to develop healthy sleep routine and equip them with the knowledge to avoid taking drugs or consuming alcohol in the quest of self-medication.
Besides, patients suffering from these disorders are readily subjected to a bright light therapy, and it usually strives to harmonize the body clock through exposing the eyes of a patient to a secure intense, bright light for a short period at a given period of the day. Consequently, melatonin is taken by patients diagnosed with the disorder at a proper time and accurate doses to eliminate the symptoms because melatonin medication accelerate production of melatonin hormone which maintains the sleep-wake cycle (Auger, Burgess, Emens, Deriy, & Sharkey, 2015, p. 1079-1080).
Conclusion
To sum the discussion, it has clearly analyzed the common sleep disorder, symptoms, and their possible causes; it also focused on the possible treatment of these conditions. Sleep problems affect the effectiveness and productivity of a person because of fatigue and dizziness during the day; causes of these problems are both internal and external factors which people should strive to reduce or eliminate. When people are diagnosed with any sleep disorder, they should work with professional clinicians to enhance an effective treatment plan that may assist the patients to resume to their normal conditions.
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