Understanding the Different Sleeping Disorders and What You Can Do

circadian rhythm sleeping disorders

You may be dealing with a sleeping disorder without you knowing. With this, it is crucial that you know the different types of common sleep disorders. Common types of sleeping disorders include insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. Aside from these, you must know about circadian rhythm sleeping disorders.

Here are some things that you should know about the sleeping disorders and how to deal with it:

What is insomnia?

Insomnia refers to the inability to sleep at night; it can be caused by stress, health condition, medications or jet lag. Whatever the cause of insomnia, you need to improve your sleeping habits and revise your daytime habits. The most effective way is to learn how to relax without relying on sleep specialists.

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is common but a treatable sleeping disorder. It is a condition when your breathing temporarily stops during sleep, which is awakening you all the time. You may not remember the awakenings but you will notice the exhaustion during the day. This is a serious disorder and can be potentially life-threatening. With this, you need to see the doctor right away.

What is narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy involves excessive and uncontrollable daytime sleepiness. If you have narcolepsy, you will experience “sleep attacks” in the middle of driving, talking and working. No cure exists yet but your doctor can prescribe a combination of treatments that can help you control the symptoms and allow you to enjoy normal activities.

good sleeping habits

One famous drug is nuvigil. It is indicated to improve wakefulness in adult patients with narcolepsy. However, before taking, you must know nuvigil side effects like nausea, headache, dry mouth, dizziness, nervousness, and difficulty sleeping at night. If there are any serious side effects (like irregular heartbeat and mood changes), you should tell the doctor right away. You have to ask the doctor as well about nuvigil high.

What are circadian rhythm sleeping disorders?

You already know about circadian rhythms or internal biological clock that regulates your sleep-wake cycle. What you do not know is that light is the primary cue that influences your biological clock. When it is disrupted, you will feel sleepy, groggy and disoriented. Types of circadian rhythm sleep disorders include:

• Shift work sleeping disorder: this happens when your biological clock and work schedule are out of sync. To improve sleep, you should take regular breaks and minimise the shift changes. When changing shifts, you should request a shift that is later rather than earlier as it is easier to adjust to a forward in time. You can also consider melatonin when it is time for you to sleep.

• Delayed sleep phase disorder: this is a condition for a significantly delayed biological clock. As a result, you wake up and sleep later than most people. Typically, you sleep earlier than 2 to 6 am no matter how hard you try.

Sleep is important in the conduct of daily life but too much will not allow you to do productive things. If you are concerned, it is time that you seek out a doctor. You should also promote good sleeping habits.