Introduction
Sleep is regarded as a dynamic mechanism when the brain is very active. Sleep is very vital for the healthy functioning of body mechanisms. It has been noted that the sleeping duration is dependant on age. For example, young children are known to sleep for about 16 hours while teenagers and adults sleep for 9 and 7 hours respectively. This is not the case always as some people that suffer from sleep disorders have been observed to lack sleep, have disturbed sleep, or sleep excessively (Michael 2003).
Diagnosis of Sleep Disorders
Medical History
An accurate medical background is vital for the diagnosis of a sleeping disorder. Therefore patients that suffer from sleep disorders should have an accurate record of all their daily activities. There should be a record of all the times they go to sleep when they sleep and their sleeping behaviors should also be noted down, that is whether they were snoring or not. Other important aspects that should be reported to the physician are whether the patients abuse any drugs and which one. This information is very necessary for determining the kind of sleeping disorders they suffer from, their causes, and their medication.
Polysomnography
This is an advanced study of the sleeping disorder that involves the use of electrophotography to measure and monitor the heart rhythm, activities of brain and muscle, and breathing process. This information is also very important as it can be used to determine the type of sleeping disorder and its causes (Michael, 2003).
It is believed that there exist more than 70 sleeping disorders. These disorders can be grouped into three categories:
- Insomnia
- Disturbed Sleep
- Excessive sleep
Types Trends and Causes and Treatment
Insomnia is the condition where one lacks sleep. This is a common phenomenon to majority of people but is more prevalent in women and the elderly. It is mostly associated with intake of drugs such as caffeine and alcohol. Short term remedy can be achieved by the use of sleeping pills. Long term solutions involves determining the underlying causes that involves both cognitive and behavioural mechanism such as sleep hygiene, relaxation, stimulus control and sleep restriction. The current management of Insomnia is exploring the effectiveness of discontinuous hypnotic treatment that will elevate the need of Insomnia victims use of night medications. These strategies involves non-nighty flexible where the patients will treat themselves at night when the symptoms occurs, non night y semi flexible which is a dosing that is to be taken when a patients anticipates lack of sleep. Non-nighty fixed dosing that involves the patient taking the drug at certain days of the week. The last one is flexible timing dosage where the patient administers the dosing while at bed at experiencing problems in sleeping(Michael, 2003).
Disturbed sleep is a condition where one experiences interrupted sleeps at night. This occurs mostly due to a mechanical problem with the wind pipe but can also occur rarely due to disorders with neurons. Sleep apnea is characterised by snoring and blocked air flow that makes victims to wake more often during the night. This disorder is common also in people that are overweight (Derek, 996).
Sleep Apnea can be cured in various ways. For apnea patients that are overweight should be treated by putting these patients in a loss weight program that will enable the loss the extra weight. Restraining sleeping on the back can also help overcome this problem and also those with treatable conditions such as enlarged tonsils should be operated (Derek, 996).
Excessive sleep is a condition that where it makes people to fall asleep during the day. It can make one to sleep at any time despite what one is doing. The sleeping can range from less than a minute to more than thirty minutes. This disorder makes people have abnormal sleeping disorders where one sleeps without going through the whole sleeping metamorphosis. Some causes of this problem can range from heredity, stress, pregnancy or some illness. Patients suffering from this abnormality feel very tired more often (Roxanne, 1998).
There is no known cure for narcolepsy but its symptoms can be managed through medication and stimulus to keep one awake during the day. Antidepressants can be administered during the night to make one sleep well (Roxanne, 1998).
Conclusion
Sleeping disorder is a growing problem and it is an issue that has an adverse impact on the healthy functioning of the body which negatively affects performances greatly both at work and home. Therefore appropriate measures should be employed to curb it.
References
Derek S (1996) Snoring From A to Z: Proven Cure for the Nights Worst Nuisance. Prentice Hall: New York.
Michael S (2003) The Sourcebook for Sleep and Sleep Disorders. Oxford University Press: London.
Rogers F (1993) Sleep Disorders: American’s Hidden Nightmare: Oxford University Press: London.
Roxanne N (1998) If You Think You Have a Sleep Disorders. Oxford University Press: London.