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Sleep Disorders: Are you dreaming of sleep?

By Dr. Ivan Harris-Janz, B.Sc., N.D.


This night has opened my eyes:

How often have you said: “I’ll get it done, even if it takes all night”, or “I will make up lost sleep later, perhaps on the weekend”. I know I have, more times than I would have liked, in order to push my way through tasks or finish unresolved business. I considered these to be instances of voluntary insomnia, since a conscious choice was made to avoid a healthy amount of sleep. But countless people struggle with sleep night after night for extended periods of time barely sleeping enough to make it through the day or to be able to function at a basic level. I have encountered numerous people who have struggled with bouts of insomnia, which usually corresponded with stressful periods in their lives, and lasted for days, even weeks. In fact sleep disorders affect almost everyone and will affect millions of people in North America this very night. Perhaps you are acquainted with someone struggling with sleeplessness or even you have experienced the frustration due to lack of, or incomplete, sleep; the irritability, the fatigue, the depressed mood; each of these detract from one’s health and quality of life. So what exactly are sleep disorders and is there anything that can be done for those facing them?

What is sleep?

Sleep is defined as a state of unconsciousness from which a person can be aroused, as opposed to a coma, from which a person cannot be aroused. It is an active process within the brain, where neurons (nerve cells) either stimulate or inhibit different parts of the brain. It serves as a restorative process essential for normal human health, affecting the daily activities and functions of the body systems, including the immune system and even mental health. Sleep is imperative for our nervous system to function properly; without it, our immune system would be unable to properly fight infection or endure illness. Sleep is a basic necessity of life, like drinking water and eating food; we all need sleep to be healthy and to face the daily struggles of life.

What exactly is a sleep disorder?

Sleep disorders are used to describe a disturbance of sleep. There are many types of sleep disturbances and related difficulties that range from trouble falling or staying asleep to excessive sleeping to abnormal sleep behaviors, such as falling asleep at inappropriate times. Currently, there are over 100 different types of sleep disorders, each with specific characteristics, causes and effects. This article will focus on the most commonly experienced disorders.

Insomnia:

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep complaints. Whether experienced as difficulty falling asleep or the inability to stay asleep, nearly everyone will be affected by insomnia at some point in their lives. Frequent contributors are stress, tension or worries, jet lag, and a poor diet. Other factors can trigger insomnia as well. The result is a decrease in well-being and performance; in particular, school work, daily tasks and job productivity. Insomnia affects millions of people per year including both short-term and long-term periods. This problem typically increases with age as well, affecting about 1 in 3 people, women more often than men, and may be an indicator of an underlying medical condition.

Sleep Apnea:

Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes a cessation of breathing during sleep. It has been associated with obesity resulting from a build-up of fat and from loss of muscle tone due to aging. These cause the windpipe to collapse during respiration when sleep related relaxation occurs in the muscles (called obstructive sleep apnea). Sleep apnea can also be caused by a malfunction of the neurons responsible for our ability to breath during sleep. It is commonly accompanied by loud snoring, though snoring in itself does not necessarily indicate sleep apnea. In any case, the consequences of this particular disorder may be severe, as sleep apnea increases the risk of strokes, heart attacks, irregular heart beats, high blood pressure and even death from respiratory arrest during sleep.

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