Sleeping Disorders 365

Medication for Sleep and Sleeping Disorders Causes Bizarre Behavior

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 17:15:00 +0000

America's number-one medication for sleep and sleeping disorders, Ambien, has repeatedly been shown to cause bizarre behaviors in users. In some cases, Ambien can cause severe disinhibition, aggressiveness, and out-of-character behavior.

Sleep driving is not uncommon with Ambien users, which is especially dangerous because users' reaction times are severely impaired. Typically, users do not remember driving on the medication the next day.

One woman who took Ambien allegedly painted her front door in her sleep. Other users report hazy episodes of binge eating after they take the medication.

Hallucinations are also fairly common with Ambien users. Some people report seeing lights and images and entering a conscious dream-like state upon ingesting the drug.

Exploring the Different Types of Sleeping Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:15:00 +0000

A number of types of sleeping disorders exist. Some disorders impair the ability to get to sleep, while others affect physical functioning during sleep.

The most common sleeping disorder, insomnia, manifests in two ways. The sufferer may either experience trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

Another common disorder that affects physiological processes during sleep is sleep apnea. Those with sleep apnea do not breathe regularly during sleep, which results in poor-quality sleep and a host of other physical problems.

Other physically related sleeping disorders include restless leg syndrome and sleep walking. Sleep hyperhydrosis, or excessive sweating while asleep, is also not uncommon.

Possible Sleeping Disorders from Chewing Mint Gum

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:48:00 +0000

You may have heard rumors that you can get sleeping disorders from chewing mint gum. In reality, this is impossible unless the gum you are chewing is a nicotine replacement therapy during a smoking cessation attempt.

To overcome nicotine withdrawal, tobacco users sometimes use nicotine gum to taper themselves off of the drug gradually. The most popular flavor of nicotine gum is mint.

When former smokers use the gum, they are most likely also going through nicotine withdrawal to some extent. One of the possible symptoms of nicotine withdrawal is insomnia.

Consequently, people who chew mint nicotine gum often attribute their sleeping difficulties to the gum itself. However, the sleeping disorder is more likely the result of general nicotine withdrawal that will subside after a few days.

Definitions of Keywords Related to Sleeping Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:28:00 +0000

In this post, we'll provide the definitions of the most common keywords related to sleeping disorders. If you search for sleep disorders online, you will more than likely come across the following terms.

Sleep apnea is a neurological disorder that results when the brain fails to tell the body to breathe or continue to breathe during sleep. As a result, suffers wake up frequently throughout the night and never feel well-rested.

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder most common among those ages 9-18. The disorder is characterized by frequent daytime sleep attacks where the user will lose muscle control and fall asleep at inconvenient or inappropriate times.

Lastly, insomnia is a disorder marked by difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for the duration of the night. Insomniacs may also have trouble waking up in the morning.

Explaining Sleeping Disorders Waking up between REM Sleep Cycles

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:37:00 +0000

Sleeping disorders waking up between rem sleep cycles are one of the most common variations of insomnia. Sufferers wake up repeatedly during the night, leaving them feeling tired and groggy in the morning.

The most common causes of frequent waking during the night are caffeine, alcohol, hormones, and advancing age. The elderly tend to have less deep sleep and thus experience more frequent waking throughout the night.

To help stop night waking, try cutting out caffeine and alcohol. Additionally, you might try exercising earlier in the day to enjoy more restful, deep sleep.

If the aforementioned remedies do not work, you may need to see your doctor about a prescription sleep medication. In some cases, cognitive behavioral therapy also helps alleviate sleeping disorders.

Tips for Helping Sleeping Disorders in Babies

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Sleeping disorders in babies are not as common as with adults, but they do exist. Here are some suggestions on how to recognize and deal with your baby's sleep disorder.

First, by about age 3-6 months, your baby should be sleeping about ten hours per night with three to six hours of daytime napping. If your baby's patterns don't conform to this standard, he/she may have a sleep disorder.

To help your baby sleep better, consider reducing nighttime nursing after six months. Before age 6 mos., babies will need to eat at least every six hours, which will probably require nighttime feedings.

Additionally, you may employ the "Ferber method" for getting your baby to go back to sleep on his/her own. You can do this by waiting longer and longer before you go in to comfort your baby after he/she wakes up. Don't try this method until your baby is 12-18 mos.

Recognizing the Signs of Sleeping Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Did you know over 40 million people suffer from chronic sleep disorders in the U.S.? An additional twenty million have sporadic sleep troubles.

Recognizing the signs of sleeping disorders is important because most of them are readily treatable. Here are some symptoms that might be indicative of a sleep disorder.

On most nights, you can't fall asleep for thirty minutes or more

Early-morning waking

You wake up multiple times throughout the night

You feel extremely drowsy or fatigued while awake

No matter how long you sleep, you awake feeling tired

You snore loudly most of the time

You wake up with headaches or stomach pains

You fall asleep at inappropriate times

Disturbed Sleep and Sleeping Disorders Can Cause Heart Problems

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:56:00 +0000

If you're suffering from disturbed sleep and sleeping disorders like sleep apnea, you should seek treatment immediately. Not only will you get a better night's rest, but you will also have a healthier heart.

A new study out of Ohio State University demonstrated that sleep apnea patients who use a machine called a CPAP, or a continuous positive-airway pressure machine, improve their heart's functioning and structure in just a few month's time. The doctors discovered that patients with severe sleep apnea had a heart with an enlarged right side, but CPAP treatment lessened the swelling.

"If you suspect that you or a loved one has obstructive sleep apnea, get evaluated for it sooner rather than later," says Dennis Auckley, the Center for Sleep Medicine's director. "The treatment cannot only make you feel better, it will improve heart function and potentially reduce the risk for cardiovascular complaints later in life."

About 5% of people in the U.S. suffer from sleep apnea, a disturbance that causes the cessation of breathing during sleep, occasionally for one minute or more and sometimes 100s of times every night.

List of Sleeping Disoders That Are Uncommon

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:31:00 +0000

We've all heard of insomnia, and you may have even heard of hypersomnia, or sleeping too much. However, the list of sleeping disorders extends far beyond these two forms into realms that are much more bizarre. Here are four of the oddest sleeping disorders.

1) REM Behavior Disorder - sufferers do not experience the paralysis normally associated with REM sleep, which causes them to act out their dreams. Occasionally, the sleeper will harm himself or his sleeping partner.

2) Restless leg syndrome - this syndrome is usually most severe when the patient sleeps. It induces a powerful urge to move one's legs or arms to alleviate discomfort or strange sensations.

3) Somniloquy - also known as "sleep talking," somniloquy causes the sleeper to speak out loud. The talking can range from basic sounds to full-fledged speech.

4) Sexsomnia - causes sufferers to engage in sexual behaviors while asleep. Sexsomnia is considered to be closely related to somnambulism, or sleepwalking.

Anxiety Sleeping Disorders Cause Explosion in Prescription Sleep Aid Use

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 07:48:00 +0000

Young adults with anxiety sleeping disorders are turning to prescription sleep aids for relief at alarming rates.

A study published recently reported that college-age adults' use of prescription sleep drugs has almost tripled over the last 8 years. In 1998, just 599 of every 100,000 people took sleeping meds. By 2006, that number had skyrocketed to 1,524 of every 100,000 people.

The presence of psychiatric disorders is a possible explanation of why young adults are increasingly relying on sleeping meds. Mental illnesses like depression and anxiety can lead to insomnia.

Regardless of the psychiatric disorder, physicians concur that habitual use of sleeping medication has deleterious effects. The trend worries clinicians because all sleeping meds are habit-forming to some degree, and chronic use may result in dependency.

Weight Loss Can Alleviate Various Types of Sleeping Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (SJennings) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:23:00 +0000

The secret to a restful night's slumber might be weight loss, physicians say.

People with different types of sleeping disorders who adhered to a reduced-calorie eating regimen and consistently exercised felt and slept better, according to a recent study. Apparently, the more weight the subjects lost, the more their sleep improved.

"In fact, mild obstructive sleep apnea was objectively cured in 88 per cent of the patients who lost more than 33lbs, a statistic that declined with the amount of weight lost," scientist Dr. Henri Tuomilehto explained.

The advantages of weight loss extended beyond improved sleep quality; the subjects' blood pressure, cholesterol, and insulin levels also improved. In some cases, the auxiliary improvements were so significant that the patients were able to discontinue their medications.

Sexsomnia is an Excuse

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:38:00 +0000

When I first heard about sexsomnia I thought it had to be a hoax. It sounded like something a nympho would create as an excuse for what they may do. Can you imagine being a teenager and telling your girlfriend that you have no control over your actions when you fall asleep with her? You would get one look from her and a huge laugh as she gave you the finger. However there have been reported rapes that included people that appear unconscious. To me it seems like a combination of sleepwalking and acting out of the subconscious.

Are There Any Sleeping Disorders from Chewing Mint Gum

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 06:33:00 +0000

The simple answer is yes. There have been noted sleeping disorders from chewing mint gum. However it isn't in the manner you think. Chewing regular gum, mint or any other flavor, will not just unusually cause you to loose sleep; unless you have OCD or something else that can cause you to loose sleep. On the package leaflet for zonnic mint nicotine gum it does state that "sleeping disturbances may be caused" under the side-effects. However this could be caused by simple withdrawal of nicotine. Since nicotine gum slowly removes the levels of nicotine the user would experience a withdrawal and possible sleep due to it; not because of the gum.

The Most Common is Somniloquy

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:31:00 +0000

There are a lot of common sleeping disorders that people know about from experience; like tossing and inability to fall asleep. Some of the strangest for me are sudden jerks and muscle reactions towards dreams. However everyone has heard about somniloquy or better known as sleep-talking. If you haven't witnessed it yourself you might not recognize it. Most of the time the speech is low enough that you can't make out what the other person is saying. Most sleep-talkers are either children or teens. There are a small percentage of adults that do talk in their sleep with very loud and clear speech but it is quite rare.

Some of the Newest Rare Sleeping Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 04:14:00 +0000

There are some really rare sleeping disorders being discussed and diagnosed every year. In 2005 there were a reported 684 deaths in the use caused by sleeping disorders. One of the strangest and newest is called Unexpected Nocturnal Death. It seems to mostly affect those from Southeast Asian and is thought to be caused by stressful dreams. One of the rarest has got to be Fatal Familial Insomnia. It is estimated that maybe 50 families in the world are affected by this genetic defect. An inherited gene is activated at one point in the person's life and causes a gradual insomnia; disallowing the person to never sleep. The victim falls into a coma and dies.

Growing Up With Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS)

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:14:00 +0000

Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) is a known sleep rhythm disorder. Most people with this disorder find it impossible to fall asleep until certain early morning hours. My theory for the disorder includes that it is a learned behavior. It is estimated that 3 of every 2000 adults have the disorder and severe conditions of the case will delay a person's sleep up to 4 hours. These people of course try to avoid jobs and appointments that follow society's 9 to 5 hours. Due to this, DSPS is sometimes referred to as a social jet lag. Teens and pre-teens are some of the highest to be susceptible to DSPS; thought to be around 7%.

Introduction to Bedwetting

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:57:00 +0000

Bedwetting is also known as nocturnal enuresis. Anyone can be a bed wetter; even adults. Adults might urinate involuntarily during a nightmare or while falling asleep during intoxication. The two types of bedwetting are named primary nocturnal enuresis and secondary nocturnal enuresis for children and adults respectively. Surprisingly adult urination in the bed can be around 0.5% to 2.3% of the population. A bedwetting alarm is one way that some people treat this sleeping disorder. This barbaric devices makes an alarm type sound or shocks the accuser with electricity if it senses urination within the bed.

People Prone to Sleep Talking

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:43:00 +0000

Sleep talking is a sleeping disorder that others get a laugh out of. A sleep talker is inclined to mention anything that enters their mind; without inhibition. Sometimes someone that talks during sleep will say things that are not even true because they discuss fantasies or wild dreams they have created. So it can be hard to separate fact from fiction during someone's sleep talk but it can still be embarrassing. This disorder normally happens with other sleep disorders. Interesting enough it is known to follow in family blood lines. It is thought that half of all kids talk in their sleep and less than four percent of adults continue the habit.

Parasomnias are Most Sleep Disorders

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:57:00 +0000

Any irregular movement during sleep or character of sleep is given the label of parasomnias. There are two different types: NREM and REM parasomnias. NREM stands for non-rapid eye movement and REM stands for rapid eye movement. These stages are the normal stages of sleep. An average person will experience maybe 4 REM cycles during a night's rest. Some parasomnias for NREM include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, teeth grinding, or RLS. REM parasomnias are a lot more dangerous. During REM sleepers with disorders in this stage can experience complete muscle lose or violently twitch and act out dreams.

Nocturnal Myoclonus is Different than RLS

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:24:00 +0000

Nocturnal Myoclonus is considered periodic limb movement disorder. This means that the person with the disorder has a movement in either their arm or leg during sleep. Sometimes it can be a small movement with the ankle or a huge twitch from the hip. They can last as long as 5 seconds and even happen every 5 seconds. It can create insomniacs and is active in maybe 4% of all adults. How is it treated? Medications can slow or all together rid the jerking. These medications include dextropropoxyphene and clonazepam. Your doctor can recommend the proper treatment for your symptoms.

The Fear of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:13:00 +0000

By definition alone, obstructive sleep apnea is breathless sleep. Naturally sleeping without breathing is obstructive in several definitions. So what causes OSA? Well in simple explanation a person's muscles relax during sleep; including those in a person's throat. People that have OSA happen to have muscles that relax too much and their airway fails. Sometimes a person will wake violently when this happens or ever so slightly that simply causes a disruption in their sleep pattern. If severe enough a victim of OSA could have a hard time resting and become ill due to the lack of sleep they are receiving.

Jet Lag is a Sleeping Disorder

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:33:00 +0000

Some people, like me, don't even consider jet lag a sleeping disorder. Yes it changes your sleep pattern for a night or two but isn't it expected? You can't change time zones and expect your internal clock to be able to switch with you. However jet lag is considered a sleeping disorder. It may only be a disorder for several nights but it is still a disorder none-the-less. Some people that travel all the time have to deal with this pattern constantly. When you live your life jumping time zones too many times on a regular basis your body will develop some terrible habits.

Pavor Nocturnus Occurs in Adults

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:19:00 +0000

Pavor nocturnus is another name for night terror. Theses terrors are known as parasomnia disorders because a person is locked momentarily into a stressful situation without being able to awake. This is different from a nightmare because the victim is not fully asleep when it occurs and doesn't dream or experience any specific situation except general terror. Adults normally don't have night terrors but they can occur when they are afraid to go to sleep. A situation that might cause this kind of fear is a home invasion or home burglary that occurred during the night. The adult then no longer feels safe to fall asleep and may experience this kind of constant fear that interrupts their sleep patterns.

Products for Night Tooth-Grinding

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:37:00 +0000

Grinding your teeth at night will most likely result in dental damage. With personal knowledge, it also causes pain and discomfort in the morning. It can become a real bad habit that is hard to stop. There are plenty of night tooth-grinding prevention products on the market today. The night guard is a very popular product however the night strip is a new product that let sleepers know how bad their grinding is. After placing the night strip in your mouth and falling asleep it will show signs of grinding if there are marks on the strip in the morning.

Non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome (Non-24) is Considered Rare

noreply@blogger.com (Brandon) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:17:00 +0000

Non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome is a rare sleep disorder because it occurs in less than a half of a percentage in the population. There are several types of circadian rhythm disorders; jet lag is considered one and shift work sleepers. Non-24 is when a victim of this disorder feels like falling asleep at different times of the day; each night it gets a little later and thus they wake later. One night the may get tired at 9 pm. The next they can't fall asleep until 10 pm and the following 11 pm. You can see this would be a problem when they can't fall asleep until 4 am and wake around noon.