According to the American Sleep Association, 50-70 million US adults have a sleep disorder of some kind.
While there are many different types, the most common of these disorders is, of course, insomnia. Defined by a struggle to fall or stay asleep, insomnia can take a serious toll!
To be fair though, sleep disorders of any kind can lead to many symptoms and diseases, including anxiety, depression, lack of focus, heart disease, obesity, and more.
Fortunately, a sleep disorder is not a life sentence. There are many treatment options available to help you sleep through the night. At Gingras Sleep Medicine, we are committed to providing the best sleep disorder treatments.
Through consultation appointments and diagnostic sleep studies, we work to find the root cause of your sleep disorder and are determined to find the corresponding best treatment option.
Different Types of Sleep Disorders
As we mentioned earlier, there are in fact many different kinds of sleeping disorders. Some can cause excessive sleepiness, like narcolepsy, while others, like insomnia, cause less sleep.
Sleep disorders can lead to other diseases in the body, and they can also be downright dangerous! In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that drowsy driving causes over 1,500 fatalities and 71,000 non-fatal injuries in vehicle accidents?
If you are having trouble with sleep, the first step is figuring out exactly which sleeping disorder you have.
The best way to do this is to undergo a diagnostic sleep study, where a doctor analyzes your bodily functions while you sleep. A sleep study gives doctors a window into your body to understand what exactly is going on and causing your sleep issues.
Check out a list of some of the more common sleep disorders:
- Insomnia: Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. Insomnia is when you have trouble falling asleep, can’t stay asleep, or wake up too early and can’t fall back asleep. Insomnia is considered chronic when it’s been happening consistently for over three months.
- Narcolepsy: Narcolepsy causes excessive daytime sleepiness. People with narcolepsy can become overwhelmed with tiredness and fall asleep at inopportune times. This disorder can cause other issues, including hallucinations, sudden loss of muscle tone, and sleep paralysis.
Narcolepsy can be dangerous. The Sleep Foundation states that people with this disorder are 3-4 times more likely to be involved in a car accident since they can become overwhelmingly sleepy while behind the wheel.
- Sleep Apnea: Sleep apnea leads to abnormal breathing during sleep. People with this disorder stop breathing for short periods of time throughout the night. While the person may not even recognize the pauses in breath, it can be very harmful to their health.
- Sleepwalking: While sleepwalking is often joked about in movies, it is a very serious sleep disorder. If you are sleepwalking at least once a week, it’s time to see a doctor. Often people will try to do normal activities while sleeping, such as driving their car or walking around the house, which can lead to injuries since the person is actually asleep.
- Restless Leg Syndrome: Do your legs ever feel itchy, twitchy, or downright wiggly when you are trying to fall asleep? There is a chance that you could have restless leg syndrome. This disorder is worse during periods of inactivity, which is why it often affects sleep.
Many people who suffer from restless leg syndrome also struggle with insomnia. They have trouble sleeping due to the uncomfortable feelings in their legs and often have to get up during the night to walk around. Restless leg syndrome is caused by a variety of different things, including iron deficiency, kidney disease, MS, and more.
Symptoms of a Sleep Disorder
The most obvious symptom of a sleep disorder is having issues sleeping at night. Sometimes with disorders like sleep apnea, the person doesn’t even know that they are waking up during the night. In that case, other symptoms to look out for are daytime sleepiness, increased irritability, decreased focus, anxiety/depression, elevated blood pressure, and falling asleep at inopportune times.
If you have been having consistent sleep issues or other sleep-related symptoms, make an appointment to see a sleep specialist.
Best Sleep Disorder Treatments
At Gingras Medicine, we recommend only the best sleep disorder treatments to our patients. After your diagnostic sleep study, we will schedule a follow-up appointment to discuss the results and recommended treatment. Here are some of the treatments we recommend:
- Adenoidectomy – the removal of enlarged adenoids can help cure obstructive sleep apnea.
- Avoidance of alcohol, tobacco, sedatives, or sleeping pills – these substances can alter your natural circadian rhythm and sleep cycle.
- Behavioral interventions – helpful for children with a sleep disorder; interventions provided by parents such as establishing consistent, positive bedtime routines.
- Cognitive therapy – if the sleep disorder was brought on by past trauma or other psychological issues, cognitive therapy can be very successful as it will address the root cause of the disorder.
- CPAP – a machine that provides positive airway pressure to help patients with sleep apnea to breathe at night.
- Dental devices – these devices position the jaw and tongue to prevent obstructive sleep apnea.
- Improved sleep hygiene – education on how to improve your sleep by methods such as going to bed at similar times each evening, establishing a bedtime routine, and getting off the computer/phone a couple of hours before bed.
- Medication – sleeping medication or medication to address a co-existing medical problem that is altering sleep.
- Sleep position devices – these devices can prop you up in a way so that you can sleep and breathe best throughout the night.
- Tonsillectomy – the removal of enlarged tonsils to cure obstructive sleep apnea.
- Weight loss for obesity – being overweight can be a significant contributor to not sleeping at night. By starting an exercise routine and seeing a nutritionist to work on your diet, you can see improvements in your sleep.
While many people suffer from sleep disorders, you don’t have to be one of them forever.
Whether you have insomnia, sleep apnea, or restless leg syndrome, Gingras Sleep Medicine is here to help.
Schedule an appointment to see Dr. Gingras for an initial consultation. From there, we may schedule some diagnostic testing and then recommend the best sleep disorder treatments to help you sleep through the night.
For more information about sleep disorders, testing, and treatments, contact Gingras Sleep Medicine today.