If you toss and turn each night before you are finally able to fall asleep, you are not alone.  Altogether, approximately 60 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders.  Forty million suffer from chronic sleep disorders, while another 20 million suffer from occasional, milder sleep disorders.

Distinguishing The Types Of Sleep Disorders

There are three distinct categories that sleep disorders are typically categorized by.  These categories are: lack of sleep, disturbed sleep, and excessive sleep.  Each category describes the amount of sleep the person affected gets in relation to how much they need.  The average adult needs nine hours of sleep.

Lack Of Sleep

The first category of sleep disorders, lack of sleep, is also commonly known as insomnia.  It is not uncommon to experience insomnia occasionally; however, if it occurs often, then it may be a sign of chronic insomnia.  Failing to get the proper amount of sleep can disrupt daily life in many ways.  Many people who suffer from chronic insomnia worry during the day about not being able to fall asleep, which can contribute to the problem.

There are many consequences of insomnia.  Lack of sleep is known to impact judgment, memory, hand-eye coordination, well-being, and reaction-time.  Additionally, sleep deprivation can damage the immune system.

Disturbed Sleep

Disturbed sleep is the second classification of sleep disorders, and it describes the disruption of normal sleep.  The most common type of disorder classified in this category is obstructive sleep apnea.  Obstructive sleep apnea is caused either by a problem with the windpipe or a neurological disorder, and it results in loud snoring and blocked airways.  Eventually, this sleep disorder can cause a stroke.

Other types of sleep disorders that can be categorized as “disturbed sleep” include Restless Leg Syndrome and Periodic Limb Movement Disorder.  Both are genetic disorders that cause involuntary movement in the arms and legs during sleep.

Excessive Sleep

Finally, sleep disorders can be classified in the category “excessive sleep.”  This is also known as narcolepsy.  Narcolepsy causes patients to have sleep attacks, lasting for as little as a few minutes to as long as half an hour!

Complications of narcolepsy include cataplexy and hypnagogic hallucinations.  Cataplexy is weakness or paralysis of the muscles, and hypnagogic hallucinations are vivid dreams that occur during the stage in between being awake and being asleep.

Getting Help And Support

If you suffer from any type of sleep affliction, you should consult with your doctor to determine what form of treatment would be best for you.  Doctors have the ability to prescribe medications that can help you live a normal life.  They can also recommend discussion groups that you can turn to for support from others who suffer from sleep disorders.

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The Hidden Dangers Of Drugs For Insomnia

Many of us rely on drugs to cure our ailments. Yes, drugs can help cure different kinds of ailments but these drugs can also have some side effects on our bodies. For the past years, several studies pointed out the hidden dangers of drugs for insomnia. Mainly that they can be addictive in that the body can become immune and larger and larger doses are required. Leading to some wicked side effects..

Many of these studies show that drugs for insomnia can cause drug induced stupors. The people who are taking these medication often find it difficult to concentrate on what they are doing. Many cases of driving while sleeping are directly related to drugs for insomnia. There are now some people who question the appropriateness of prescribing drugs for insomnia to some people, especially to children and adolescence.

Aside from driving while sleeping, drugs for insomnia are found to cause hallucinations and nightmares among people who are taking them. Some of these nightmares can be quite violent that the person taking drugs for insomnia gets some really violent jolts that they wake up screaming and sweating.

Another hidden danger in taking drugs for insomnia is that your body may develop immunity to these drugs. Once your body becomes immune to the drugs, you will need to increase the doses to achieve the desired effect. Some people who are desperate to get some sleep tend to double or triple their doses of sleeping pills just to get some rest.

The danger here is that some people often overestimate their capacity to handle the drug that they end up in a drug induced coma. There have been many reported cases of people dying in their sleep after they have accidentally taken an overdone of sleeping pills.

Should We Avoid Using Drugs For Insomnia?

Although there are some sectors that insist on the use of natural treatments for insomnia, some people who are chronic insomniacs simply can no longer sleep without the help of drugs for insomnia. For people who are really having so much trouble getting some sleep, drugs for insomnia may be the only answer.

In these cases, doctors who prescribe to their patients sleeping pills should be very careful when giving instructions to their patients. Doctors should warn their patients to follow the instructions on taking the sleeping pills properly to avoid accidents. Family members and other people who are living with the patient should be involved in monitoring the patient who is taking sleeping pills just to make sure that the patient is sticking to the original dosage. It is necessary that is patient is not taking other drugs that will interfere with the prescribed insomnia medication.

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Just how dangerous is excessive sleep deprivation and how many people suffer from it?

Well the answer to the first question is it is extremely dangerous and the answer to the second question is that more people than you would think suffer from sleep deprivation.

Now the common perception on sleep deprivation is that it is usually caused because you’re under the stress etc or it is because the older we get the less sleep we actually need etc.

Now by and large these two facts are true but they only just scrape the surface of what sleep deprivation is all about.

It is about a whole lot more. The ramifications can be extremely serious if not deadly. If you are not getting enough sleep it is a problem that you have to sort out and resolve before it resolves you permanently if you know what I mean?

So how much sleep is enough? Most adults need between seven to eight hours sleep at night. People who get this amount of sleep are well rested and will not have the urge to cat nap at various points during the day.

Now I know there are those out there who will argue quite strongly that they can get away with 4-5 hours sleep and yes there were legendary stories of a particular well-known British Prime Minister who could get away with three to four hours sleep but to be brutally honest these are the exceptions rather than the norm.

So in general what causes sleep deprivation?

Well actually, one of the most common causes of sleep deprivation is actually that you don’t allow enough time to get any sleep. Bizarre as this might sound it is a side effect of our increasingly stressful day to day lives that we don’t actually allow our self the proper amounts of time to get to sleep.

Other common courses of sleep deprivation range from excessive worry, depression, repeated awakenings as a result of excessive noise etc. Others include working at night, working late shifts or if we travel excessively across time zones (sometimes called jet lag) and mostly sleep deprivation could be caused by a number of medical illnesses with the medical reasons for basic lack of sleep through excessive pain or inability to breathe.

So what is the prognosis of all of this and what are the consequences of sleep deprivation?

Well for starters there are increased numbers of motor vehicle accidents and accidents at work and then also decreased productivity whether that is at work, studying at home or a number of things. A side effect of all of this is that if the sleep deprivation becomes a chronic problem it can cause difficulties within our social relationships with our families and loved ones and work colleagues. If this is not resolved successfully or dealt with properly it causes a downward spiral.

So what is the bottom line to all of this? If you have problems sleeping you need to get it sorted and one of the most common ways of making sure that you at least have the chance of getting a good nights sleep is make sure that you have good mattress to sleep on. This is obvious I know but you would be surprised how many people suffer from not having a good enough bed or mattress to sleep on at night.

About Author

Scott James writes about a number of Health based issues on the Internet. More about being able to ensure you get a decent nights sleep can be found at the following: Foam Mattresses , foam cushion and ArticleTrader.com

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