Sleep Apnea

Do you know someone who stops breathing several times an hour for the duration of several seconds to a minute or longer? If you do, you may know someone who suffers from sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which an individual either stops breathing many times during the night or has shallow breathing while he or she sleeps. Sometimes a person who has stopped breathing will give a noisy choking sound or snort when he or she resumes breathing again.

While individuals with sleep apnea may feel very tired during the day due to poor sleep quality, they often do not know they stop breathing during sleep. Rather, it is typically a family member, spouse, or partner who notices the shallow breathing or breathing pauses that occur during sleep.

Three types of sleep apnea exist:

Obstructive sleep apnea: Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when something either blocks the airway or the airway collapses during sleep, causing a person to stop breathing. This is the most common type of sleep apnea.

Central sleep apnea: Central sleep apnea occurs when a person's brain does not send the right signals or messages to the breathing muscles in the body. According to the National Institute of Health, snoring does not usually occur with central sleep apnea.

Mixed sleep apnea: In mixed sleep apnea, both obstructive and central sleep apnea are present and account for breathing difficulties during sleep.

If left untreated, sleep apnea may lead to any of the following, according to the National Institute of Health: irregular heartbeat, increases the risk for heart failure, increases the risk of suffering from diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, and/or stroke, and increases the likelihood of having a driving or work-related accident.

Fortunately, sleep apnea can be treated. I will discuss the treatment options for sleep apnea in my next post.

Narcolepsy Treatment

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that is very disruptive to one's life. As was discussed in my last post, individuals with Narcolepsy suffer from excessive sleepiness throughout the day and an incredible urge to take brief naps, which may or may not be refreshing and relieve sleepiness for a period of time.

While there is currently no standard treatment for Narcolepsy, the symptoms of the disorder can be managed using a combination of techniques.

First, medication can be prescribed to help alleviate sleepiness during the daytime. Medications typically prescribed to manage Narcolepsy include stimulants, such as Ritalin and Provigil, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) anti-depressants, such as Paxil and Zoloft, and/or tricyclic antidepressants, such as Vivactiil.

Many individuals also develop depression as a result of the sleep attacks associated with Narcolepsy. It is normal for individuals who feel as if they have little or no control over their lives to develop depression.

In order to treat depression, individuals may seek counseling from a social worker, psychologist, or other licensed therapist and/or go to a support group. Anti-depressants may also be prescribed by a physician or psychiatrist in order to treat depression associated with Narcolepsy.

Finally, incorporating specific behavioral changes into one's day can help individuals who suffer with Narcolepsy manage symptoms. Obtaining and maintaining good sleep hygiene is an essential part of managing Narcolepsy. Please visit my post on sleep hygiene to learn what good sleep hygiene is.

Other behavioral practices that can help manage Narcolepsy effectively include taking a few short naps during the day spanning 10-15 minutes each, avoiding operating heavy machinery, driving, and other dangerous tasks whenever possible, exercising regularly, breaking up large and/or tedious tasks into smaller ones, and avoiding ingesting caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.

Additionally, alerting your family, friends, boss, and co-workers to your condition may be helpful to you, as these individuals can help you recall things that happen at work or home if you are unexpectedly hit with a sleep attack. Wearing a medical identification bracelet is also a good idea to alert medical professionals to your condition in any case that you are unable to tell them yourself.

Narcolepsy is a difficult sleeping disorder to handle, but there are treatment options available that may help you or someone you know who suffers from this condition. If you think you suffer from Narcolepsy, talk to your doctor about your symptoms.

Narcolepsy - Sleep Attacks

In high school, when I first became interested in psychology, I was taking a psychology class taught by my high school. I remember learning about the different sleeping disorders and the way I learned to remember what Narcolepsy was, was to think about my cat.

My cat, like most cats, would suddenly stop walking around, lay down on the floor, and begin sleeping. When my sister and I learned that this behavior is seen as Narcolepsy in humans, we started calling our kitty a "Narcoleptic cat."

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder in which individuals who are affected by it have irresistible sleep attacks, typically between 1-6 times each day. These individuals feel sleepiness and an irresistible urge to go to sleep, which can be perpetuated in situations that do not require a lot of energy, such as listening to a lecture in class, sitting in a meeting at work, or reading the newspaper.

Most people with Narcolepsy say they feel refreshed after a sleep attack, but some continue to feel sleepy. Sleep attacks generally last from 10-20 minutes, but can last for longer periods of time.

In my next post, I'll talk about how Narcolepsy can be treated.

Here's to wishing you a good night's sleep!

Getting Sleep

I don't know about everyone else, but I've been feeling very stressed lately. I've been having more trouble sleeping, and thought I'd share a technique that tends to help me. I hope some of my ideas help you, too.

Writing in my journal really helps me get all of my worries down on paper and out of my head for a while. When I do this, I can sleep better because I've already organized my thoughts and feelings.

If I eat a small snack and have some milk, I tend to be able to get to sleep better as well.

What do you do to help you sleep? The comments section is open for anyone and everyone to comment!

Developing Good Sleep Hygiene to Improve Sleep

If you are struggling with sleep difficulties, before you consider taking prescription medication to aid in your sleep, you should ensure you have good sleep hygiene. Good sleep hygiene helps many people get to sleep and stay asleep through the night effectively.

First, set a regular sleeping schedule for yourself. Ensure that you fall asleep and get up at the same time everyday, no matter what. If you cannot fall asleep within a half an hour of laying down, get up and read a book or magazine for a half an hour and try to sleep again. Regardless of what time you actually end up falling asleep, you need to go to bed and get up at the same time every day.

You also need to avoid caffeine at least 4-6 hours before you go to bed. This may be challenging, but it is an important part of good sleep hygiene. If you drink coffee, soda, or tea, make sure it doesn't have caffeine 4-6 hours prior to bedtime.

Before you go to sleep, try to do something relaxing. Take a bubble bath, read a good book, listen to some soft music, or practice some relaxation techniques. Personally, I love to listen to Enya before I sleep. I find her music soothing and relaxing.

Another thing to remember is to avoid naps during the day if at all possible. You may be tired if you didn't get adequate sleep the night before, but napping during the day makes it more difficult to sleep at night. If you must nap, nap for 30-45 minutes at the most.

Your sleep environment also needs to be conducive to sleeping. You need to find a comfortable temperature for your room - not too hot or too cold, comfortable blankets and sheets, and comfortable sleeping clothes. Additionally, refrain from using your room as an office or workspace, as this often leads to sleeping difficulties.

Before you go to sleep, you may want to have a light snack and warm milk. Warm milk tends to help people sleep.

Try to let go of your worries, frustrations, and concerns before you sleep. Worry can keep you awake at night, preventing you from attaining adequate sleep.

Taking these steps will help you develop good sleep hygiene. Developing good sleep hygiene may help you more than you think. It's certainly worth developing good sleep hygiene before you consider taking medication to induce sleep.

Primary Hypersomnia

Primary Hypersomnia is the opposite of Primary Insomnia. Primary Hypersomnia is constituted by excessive sleep or sleepiness. Individuals with hypersomnia sleep for extended periods of time or sleep frequently during the day. These symptoms must occur over a month's period of time for a diagnosis to be made.

Additionally, the hypersomnia must not be better accounted for by another mental illness, medical condition, or substance abuse.

Some of the medications used to treat hypersomnia include tricyclic anti-depressants, manoamine oxidase inhibitors, levadopa, modafinil, amantadine, and pemoline.

Sleep hygiene may also be useful for treating hypersomnia, though its success rate is lower than that of medical treatment.

In my next post, I will discuss sleep hygiene practices that may help with both insomnia and hypersomnia.

Mind Exercise

Here's a little test to exercise your brain.

How many colors can YOU name in five minutes? I could name 37.
http://www.justsayhi.com/bb/view2/colors

Insomnia

We've all had them. Those nights where it's seemingly impossible to sleep. Or the nights we toss and turn and can't seem to get comfortable.

However, the occasional sleepless night doesn't constitute insomnia. Insomnia is a consistent problem. Insomnia is defined by having trouble falling asleep or maintaining sleep for the duration of at least one month. According the the DSM-IV-TR an individual can only be diagnosed with insomnia when mental illness, substance abuse, and medical conditions are ruled out as the cause of the sleeping problems.

Insomnia interferes with an individual's social, occupational, academic, and/or personal life.

While some individuals need prescription sleeping aids to manage insomnia, others are able to manage it naturally. Please see the post below for some natural ways to battle insomnia.

How to battle insomnia naturally

Practically everyone suffers an occasional sleepless night. When this happens, there are some things you can do to help you fall asleep more effectively.

In my article I talk about how you can naturally fall asleep, with home remedies or with certain herbs.

To learn how you can naturally battle insomnia, please visit my article.

Here to good sleep!