Sleep Disoders

What is Sleep Disorder?

Sleep disorders are a group of conditions that affect the ability to sleep well on a regular basis. Sleep is an important activity in our daily living. However, when life’s challenges hit us, they may affect our ability to sleep normally. This is often where sleep disorders begin. Sleep problems are very urgent to treat because they interfere with our daily living by preventing us from living a productive life. Sleep problems also put us at risk of developing further health complications such as coronary heart disease, uncoordinated movements, and visual impairments.

How do you know that you have sleep problems?

• People with sleep problems may have difficulty falling asleep easily

• People with sleep problems may also be sleeping excessively than they normally do

• People with sleep problems may exhibit uncoordinated movements while asleep

• People with sleep problems could experience obstructed breathing while asleep

• People experiencing sleep problems may get up and walk around while asleep

• They may also experience daytime drowsiness

• People with sleep problems may have episodes of screaming while asleep

What are the common types of sleep disorders?

Insomnia: People with insomnia often have problems falling and staying asleep. They spend hours trying to fall asleep but often do not fall asleep.

Hypersomnia: People with hypersomnia often sleep more than normal.

Restless Legs Syndrome: This sleep problem cause people to uncoordinatedly move their legs while asleep

Narcolepsy: People with narcolepsy often experience frequent drowsiness in the daytime.

The treatment can be broadly grouped as follows

Sleep Apnoea: A sleep problem that causes breathing blockage while one is asleep.

Jetlag: This sleep problem mostly occurs among people who travel across different time zones. For instance, people travelling from Nigeria to the United States of America (USA) could experience jetlag because of the different time zones between Nigeria and the USA.

Sleepwalking: People with this sleep problem often get up to take a walk while asleep, and this may put them at risk of home accidents.

Night Terrors: This sleep problem is often a result of nightmares. People with night terror often scream while asleep and sometimes sleepwalk

What are the causes of sleep disorders?

Sleep problems are mainly caused by biological, psychological, or social factors.

Biological factors: For instance, sleep problems can occur because of the effect of certain medications. Sleep problems can also occur because of injuries in the human brain.

Psychological factors: For instance, stress, lifestyle (such as frequent drinking of coffee), experience of recurrent pains, or generalised anxiety problems are potential psychological factors that can cause sleep problems.

Social factors: Sleeping in noisy environments, working during late-night hours, or sociocultural norms can act as social factors causing sleep problems

How can people with sleep problems be helped?

People with sleep problems can be helped through:

Medications: Psychiatrists can prescribe medications such as zaleplon, temazepam, or zolpidem to help people with sleep problems.

Psychotherapy: By practising relaxation techniques before bedtime, by accepting stressful events that we cannot change instead of thinking about them, and by changing our thought patterns, sleep problems can be reduced.

Lifestyle Modification: By changing nutrition, engaging in exercise, reducing stressful activities, and going to bed early, people with sleep problems may be helped