Saturday, December 15, 2007

Sleep disorders

Sleep disorders are the disorders in sleep pattern. Sleep is a complex neurological state. Its primary function is rest and restoring the body's energy levels. Repeated interruption of sleep by breathing abnormalities such as cessation of breathing (apnea) or heavy snoring, leads to fragmented sleep and abnormal oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood, all these things lead to sleep disorders.
Sleep consists of a rhythmic combination of changes in physiological, biochemical, neurophysiological and psychological processes. When the circadian rhythm is disturbed or the individual processes are abnormal during sleep, a variety of sleep disorders may result.
Two types of sleep occur with distinct physiological patterns, rapid eye movement sleep (REM), and non-rapid-eye-movement sleep (NREM) or deep sleep. In normal sleep, REM occurs about 90 minutes after a person falls asleep.
The REM and NREM recur in cycles of about 90 minutes each, with four non-REM stages (light to deep slumber) at the beginning and REM towards the end. The amount of sleep needed by each person is usually constant although there is a wide variation among some individuals.
Some sleep disturbances are simply temporary inconveniences while others are potentially more serious. Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder. Other serious sleep disorders are narcolepsy and clinical insomnia.
"Jet lag syndrome," caused by rapid shifts in the biological sleep-wake cycle, is also an example of a temporary sleep disorder. So do the sleep disorders experienced by shift workers.
Prone People for Sleep Disorders :
Some of the people most likely to have or to develop a sleep problems include:
People who are overweight, or have some physical abnormality in the nose, throat, or other parts of the upper airway.
People who habitually drink too much alcohol.
People with depression and other psychotic disorders.
Elderly men and women.
Adults who fall asleep at inappropriate times and places (e.g., during conversation, lecturing, driving) and who exhibit nighttime snoring
Night-shift workers.
Postmenopausal women.
Blind individuals who tend to develop impaired perception of light and darkness and have disturbed circadian rhythms, the cycles of biologic activities that occur at the same time during each 24 hours.
Tips to overcome Sleep Disorders and have a nice sleep:
You can overcome the sleep disorders and have a good sleep using these tips:
Regular exercise is known to be good for helping people sleep properly
Avoid caffeine, found in tea, coffee, colas and chocolate
As alcohol acts like a diuretic, avoid for good nights’ sleep
Some medications cause sleep disorder; notice the drug, which affects your sleep and avoid it.
Eliminating stress and depression

<--Sleep Disorders Introduction
Sleep Disorders-->

No comments: