What Are the Symptoms of Sleep Problems?
Need to learn more about sleep disorders? Sleep problems, including snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, sleep deprivation, and restless legs syndrome, are common among millions of Americans. It’s important to understand why sleep is necessary for optimal health, how the natural hormone melatonin affects sleep and wakefulness, and how the different states and stages of sleep impact sleep quality, quantity, and sleep dreams.
Sleep Disorders
Sleeping disorders are now considered a well-known and recognized medical issue. A child who falls back to sleep after rocking or holding is not necessarily suffering from sleeping disorders.
Sleep apnea, a condition that causes victims to stop breathing while asleep, is also a concern of children and adults. The rate of sleep apnea jumps sharply after menopause, affecting 9% of postmenopausal women.
An important part of the sleep cycle is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep–the deepest level of sleep, and the level necessary for the restorative and healing aspects of the body. The sleep cycle is highly important to maintain a healthy demeanor and immune system; and sleep disorders throw this into disarray.
Fortunately, sleep disorders can be managed and even treated. On average, a healthy adult needs approximately 7-8 hours of undisturbed sleep per night.
Those with sleep disorders experience the persistent problem of going without the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep, leading to a weakened immune system, increased anxiety, and a worsening of pre-existing medical conditions.
Daytime sleepiness is one of the most common signs of a sleep related disorder. People often attribute daytime sleepiness to aging, lack of exercise or being overworked. For these and many other reasons, people live with persistent daytime sleepiness without realizing that it may be a symptom of a sleep disorder.
Effects of Sleep Disorders
While it is possible to suffer from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and be completely unaware of this during the evening, these interruptions in a woman´s sleeping patterns will surely have a noticeable effect on her daily life.
The rate of insomnia rises among women at a rate of 40% during the transitional period of menopause to post-menopause. Below is a list of common effects of sleep disorders:
- Reduced capacity for learning, speech, and memory.
- Inability to concentrate on daily tasks.
- Higher chance of car accidents.
- Tendency towards weight gain.
- Weakened immune system.
- Damage to business and/or personal relationships.
- Increased irritability.
- Depression/fatigue.
Signs and symptoms of sleep disorders
Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Not everyone who snores has a serious sleep disorder, but loud snoring with other symptoms may suggest the presence of sleep apnea. Excessive daytime sleepiness is the primary symptom. Some people will deny sleepiness but feel fatigued. Other symptoms are snoring, snorting, and gasping sounds when you sleep often first noticed by a sleeping partner. Restless or unrefreshing sleep is also typical, as are headaches in the morning.
Insomnia: The most common type of sleep disorder
Insomnia, the inability to get to sleep or sleep well at night, is an all-too common sleeping problem—in fact, it’s the most common sleep complaint. Insomnia can be caused by a wide variety of things including stress, jet lag, a health condition, the medications you take, or even the amount of coffee you drink. Insomnia can also be caused by other sleep disorders or mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
Always Feeling Tired
You’ve slept for eight hours but when you wake up, your body continues to feel tired and not fresh. During normal sleep cycles, body alternately experiencing deep sleep and light sleep. This makes a person could remain awake during sleep. However, if you are still sleepy after a long sleep, chances are there is something that inhibits the body and brain to sleep deeply and soundly. You only sleep lightly, so when you wake up not feeling refreshed and just tired.
Sleepwalking Disorder
Repeated episodes of rising from bed during sleep and walking about, usually occurring during the first third of the major sleep episode. While sleepwalking, the person has a blank, staring face, is relatively unresponsive to the efforts of others to communicate with him or her, and can be awakened only with great difficulty. On awakening (either from the sleepwalking episode or the next morning), the person has amnesia for the episode.
Restless Leg Syndrome
The primary warning sign is the irresistible urge to move your legs shortly after you get into bed, in the middle of the night after awakening, or even when wide awake during the day. A “creepy-crawly” or twitching feeling in your calves, feet, thighs, or arms are symptoms of restless leg syndrome the sensations of discomfort can be quite varied. Kicking or twitching leg movements during sleep, may be warning signs.