Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders

Sleep apnoea - This disorder causes people to stop breathing abruptly while they are asleep. During this brief period, carbon dioxide builds up in the blood and the sleeper wakes suddenly to gasp for breath. The length of time that the sleeper stop breathing can vary from a few seconds to so long that the individual’s skin actually turns blue from oxygen deprivation    

Narcolepsy - Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder where the affected individual falls asleep without warning. A person with narcolepsy can fall asleep while driving or while filming their family on vacation. The inability to control their sleep obviously causes challenges in their everyday lives 

Sleepwalking & Night Terrors - Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, is characterized by periods of getting out of bed while asleep. Night terrors are most frequently seen in very young children (between the ages of 2 and 6), but people of any age can be affected by this sleep disorder. Typical symptoms include excessive sweating, shaking and obvious fear.

Sleep apnoea

Sleep Apnoea is a sleep disorder in which the person's muscles become so relaxed that the airways become blocked and the person has trouble breathing and actually stops breathing momentarily). These people tend to snore a lot. The big problem here is that the person is not getting enough oxygen. Each time they stop breathing their blood oxygen level drops until it gets so low it wakes them momentarily (usually not noticed by the sleeper). This cycle (stop breathing and then waking) can happen hundreds of times a night. In addition to dangerously low blood oxygen level, the person can't get enough slow-wave sleep so they usually feel tired and complain of poor sleep.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) – apnoea caused by obstruction of the upper airways, preventing efficient passage of air to the lungs.
Central sleep apnoea (CSA) – apnoea caused by problems in the brain’s control of breathing and respiration

Treatments:

OSA – surgery can widen the upper airways if they are physically obstructed, weight loss can also be a key element; also popular is the use of a breathing mask during sleep that creates continuous positive airway pressure.

CSA – more difficult to treat as the problem is probably in the brain mechanisms of respiration.  Drugs to help the underlying condition of heart failure or cerebrovascular disease can directly help in CSA               

Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder that leads to periods of intense sleepiness during the daytime. People suffering from narcolepsy often experience bouts of overwhelming sleepiness and may fall asleep for brief periods of time during the day. These…