What causes sleep problems?

If you are having trouble sleeping or have some feeling of fear during sleep. Here are some causes that may interfere deep sleep. 

There are many reasons you may experience sleep problems. Common causes of sleep problems are:

• a poor sleep routine – going to bed too early or too late, or not relaxing properly before bed
• a poor sleep environment – sleeping somewhere uncomfortable, or with too much light or noise
• changes to sleep patterns – working night shifts or sleeping in a new place can be a problem if your body doesn’t adjust
• unhelpful psychological associations – developing anxieties or phobias about going to sleep after a period of poor sleep, or associating the bedroom with being active
• physical illness – being uncomfortable or in pain, having a physical sleep condition such as snoring or sleep apnoea (problems breathing while sleeping), or having a hormone or neurological disorder such as an overactive thyroid or Parkinson’s disease
• alcohol, street drugs and stimulants – (including caffeine and nicotine)
• medication – having trouble sleeping as a side effect of certain medication, such as epilepsy and asthma drugs, or antidepressants
• stress, worry and anxiety – feeling nervous about a specific issue, such as work, money, family or relationships; or a specific event, such as an interview or appointment
• trauma – finding it hard to sleep after experiencing a traumatic event, such as an accident or a bereavement; experiencing long-term sleep problems as a result of long-term trauma or abuse, particularly if the trauma happened during childhood
• mental health problems 

How Sleep Talking Happens During Your Sleep?

Why Sleep Talking Happens—and How to Silence It

Sleep talking (also know as "somniloquy") is a sleep disorder that involves unconscious talking when you're asleep. The presentation can vary greatly between people, with some spontaneously talking while others notice it happens when someone talks to them in their sleep. Sleep talking can range from gibberish, nonsensical mumbles and rants, to complicated and totally coherent statements.

Sleep talking can happen to anyone, though it does appear to be somewhat inherited and affect males and children more often than women. The most common triggers are sleep deprivation, alcohol and drug use, fever, increased stress, anxiety and depression. It is also seen as a symptom in the context of other sleep disorders: night terrors, confusional arousals (waking up in a confused state), sleepwalking, sleep apnea and REM behavior disorder.

Sleep talking can happen at any time during the night and during any stage of sleep. In the earlier part of the night, people tend to be more in the deeper stages of sleep (stage 3/4), and their brain is essentially turned off and repairing from the day's events. During this stage, sleep talking tends to sound more like mumbling or gibberish. Sleep becomes lighter as the night progresses, with our brain becoming very active, processing emotions and memories (REM sleep and sleep stages 1 and 2). During these sleep stages, sleep talking tends to be more understandable to a bed partner and can become a narrative.

Though it isn't physically harmful, sleep talking can be extremely embarrassing for people. It can also be a major annoyance to anyone nearby who is trying to sleep, even leading to insomnia in those who share the room. Patients who sleep talk may avoid sleeping around others for concern that it might disrupt someone else's sleep, and sleep talkers often worry about saying something while asleep that might be embarrassing or problematic.

Many people try to decode their sleep talking experiences, but the reality is that the content can either be completely random or vaguely linked to past or present experiences. As a result, trying to decode it may be impossible. Interesting fact: Since sleep talking happens outside of conscious awareness, it isn't even admissible in a court of law.

For most people, sleep talking is typically short-lived and doesn't require any treatment. If it is happening multiple times per week, disrupts a bed partner's sleep, or if you have fears of sleeping around others, talk with a sleep specialist to rule out any other underlying medical or psychiatric disorder that might cause or worsen the problem. If sleep talking starts after the age of 25, it can typically be seen along with other medical or psychiatric issues. In severe cases, sleep talking may be associated with nocturnal seizures.

Proper sleep hygiene (e.g. keeping a regular bed and wake time, avoiding alcohol and tobacco at night, avoiding caffeine from the afternoon onwards), obtaining a full night's sleep each and every night, and minimizing stress and anxiety are all helpful and can reduce sleep talking events. Although it usually doesn't require treatment beyond proper sleep hygiene, more severe cases of sleep talking can be helped by medications and/or psychotherapy.

Bed partners often report that silicone earplugs, a fan or a white noise machine can help reduce noise from the sleep talker. If the sleep talking is especially loud or frequent and disrupts a bed partner's sleep, it might be best to sleep in separate rooms until the sleep talking is under control. Sound sleep at night will lead to less friction between couples and boost everyone's mood.

- by Shelby Freedman Harris, Psy.D.

Resources: Yahoo

Sleep Disorder or Sleep Deprivation? A 2-Week Experiment to Help You Find Out

Diagnosing a sleep disorder can be tricky because some of the most typical symptoms—fatigue, loss of concentration, irritability—are often overlooked or dismissed by doctors and patients alike. People tend to blame their personality changes on stress, being overworked, or the fact that "it's just the way I am."

These same symptoms, however, can also be the sign of a different type of sleep problem: deprivation. While sleep needs are different for every person, not getting the right amount for you can wreak havoc on your physical and emotional health, whether you realize it or not.

"A large percentage of Americans think they function just fine on six hours of sleep, but they’re not getting the duration of sleep that they need," says Jed Black, MD, director of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic in Palo Alto, Calif. "It’s really quite remarkable how many sleep deprived people there are."

When patients come to Dr. Black's office complaining of fatigue or a potential sleep disorder, he screens for conditions such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and restless legs syndrome. If his evaluation doesn’t uncover anything and his patients report getting less than seven and a half hours of sleep a night, he sends them home and tells them to truly devote eight hours to sleep every night. If people are used to getting by on less than that, they may start to feel more refreshed right away.

"That takes care of a large subset of the folks who have sleepiness during the day," he says; they learn to readjust their schedules and can treat themselves.

On the other hand, some of these patients will be unable to sleep, even when they make time for it. This may lead to an insomnia diagnosis, in which case cognitive-behavioral therapy or short-term medication may be appropriate treatment options. If other patients do sleep the full eight hours each night and are still excessively tired during the day, they might need a sleep study to determine what's keeping them from being fully rested in the morning: It may be a parasomnia (a relatively uncommon disorder) or a more subtle form of one the disorders covered in the initial screening.

Before you see a doctor, monitor your sleep schedule for two weeks and ask yourself the following questions. Does it take you longer than 30 minutes to fall asleep? If you get up during the night does it take you more than 30 minutes to fall back asleep? How early do you get up in the morning? And most important, How do you feel during the day? It may help to write down your sleep patterns—and any daytime habits that might affect them—in a sleep diary.

Article Source: Health.Com

What are signs and symptoms of sleep deprivation?

Feeling tired or drowsy at any time during the day is a symptom of not having enough sleep. Being able to fall asleep within 5 minutes of lying down in the evening also may be a sign a person may be suffering from sleep deprivation. People who suffer from sleep deprivation often experience so-called "microsleeps," which are short bursts of sleep in an otherwise awake person.

Sleep-deprived people perform poorly on tests such as driving simulators and tests of hand-eye coordination. Sleep deprivation can also magnify the effects of alcohol, meaning that a sleep-deprived person will be more susceptible to becoming impaired after alcohol consumption than a well-rested person. Caffeine and other stimulants cannot successfully overcome the drowsiness associated with sleep deprivation.

Common symptoms of sleep deprivation include:                                   

• purple ball   tiredness 
• purple ball   irritability, edginess 
• purple ball   inability to tolerate stress 
• purple ball   problems with concentration and memory 
• purple ball   behavioral, learning or social problems 
• purple ball   frequent infections 
• purple ball   blurred vision 
• purple ball   vague discomfort 
• purple ball   alterations in appetite 
• purple ball   activity intolerance

It must be noted that many of these symptoms can be related to disabling conditions. This overlap of symptoms may make it difficult to determine if they are caused by sleep deprivation or the disability.


Some suggestions to help you determine the cause of your sleep deprivation include talking to your health care provider, and keeping a log (that contains signs and symptoms, situations affecting your sleep, medications, diet, etc.). Remember to take the log with you when you discuss your sleep problems with your health care provider.

10 Sleep Deprivation Symptoms

1. Sleepy – Yup, lack of sleep has been known to make you sleepy. Yawning and slurred speech are obvious signs that you’re neglecting your down time.

2. Poor cognitive function – Reduced sleep will severely impact your ability to concentrate, pay attention and make good judgements. This can be a problem at work and can seriously affect a child’s learning at school. A lack of sleep may affect your short-term memory, mental arithmetic and your ability to gauge risks.  

3. You’re easily stressed – If you’re struggling to sleep, your tolerance to stress is virtually nil. Sleep deprivation causes irritability, mood swings, increased stress hormone levels, bad tempers and feelings of impatience or nervousness. This not only puts a strain on your own health, but on relations with friends, family and colleagues.

4. Poor motor skills – Being tired can have similar effects to being drunk. Hand tremors and poor reaction times mean you’re dangerous behind the wheel. Remember that caffeine and other stimulants are not effective against severe sleep deprivation. 

5. Medical problems – Sleep deprivation puts a real drain on your body and puts you at increased risk of diabetes, higher blood pressure, fatigue, head aches and infections. Chronic tiredness can also make you more sensitive to the cold.

6. Aching muscles – Without sleep you body can’t produce sufficient growth hormone to help your muscles recover and repair. Even if you’re not training, a lack of sleep can leave you feeling tired and sore all over.

7. Depression – Over time, poor sleep patterns may lead or contribute to low moods and depression. This is characterised by many symptoms including feelings of sadness, anxiety and restlessness.

8. Psychiatric problems - Extended periods of sleep deprivation can lead to disorientation, hallucinations and paranoia.

9. Eye problems – Apart from the dark eyes and bags, lack of sleep can lead to nystagmus (rapid involuntary rhythmic eye movement) as well as blurred vision and difficulty focusing.


10. Weight change - Sleep deprivation can cause varying changes in appetite, leading to possible weight loss or gain. Being tired will affect your tolerance levels and with reduced control you’re more likely to reach for unhealthy foods.

Sleep Deprivation Takes a Serious Toll on Your Health

You can have the healthiest diet on the planet, doing vegetable juicing and using fermented veggies, be as fit as an Olympic athlete, be emotionally balanced, but if you aren’t sleeping well it is just a matter of time before it will adversely, potentially seriously affect your health.

Sleep deprivation is such a chronic condition these days that you might not even realize you suffer from it. Science has now established that a sleep deficit can have serious, far reaching effects on your health. For example, interrupted or impaired sleep can:

• Dramatically weaken your immune system
• Accelerate tumor growth—tumors grow two to three times faster in laboratory animals with severe sleep dysfunctions, primarily due to disruptedmelatonin production. Melatonin inhibits the proliferation of a wide range of cancer cell types, as well as triggering cancer cell apoptosis (self destruction). The hormone also interferes with the new blood supply tumors require for their rapid growth (angiogenesis)
• Cause a pre-diabetic state, making you feel hungry even if you've already eaten, which can wreak havoc on your weight
• Seriously impair your memory; even a single night of poor sleep—meaning sleeping only 4 to 6 hours—can impact your ability to think clearly the next day. It’s also known to decrease your problem solving ability

What are the Best Sleep Disorder Treatments Available?

We all need to get sleep. But what happens if you find you're experiencing restless nights or worse? What are the best sleep disorder treatments available?

1. Keep to a routine

If you go to bed at 9pm one night, midnight the next then your body will get confused. It will start getting ready to sleep but you'll keep it awake for a few more hours. For more details www.activities-little-fingers.com This isn't good. Night shift workers can experience this kind of sleep disorder because of the nature of their work. But if you have the choice, do your best to make going to sleep a routine thing in much the same way as you set your alarm clock to wake you at the same time the next morning.

2. Stay cool but don't freeze

Keeping a cool temperature in the bedroom is good. Obviously you don't want to be sleeping in a blizzard, so don't take this to extremes. But your bedroom should be cooler than other parts of your house. Adjust the thermostat on your heating or set the heating clock so that your bedroom has time to cool down before you retire for the evening.

3. Don't stress about going to sleep

This is maybe easier said than done. But the more you think about not sleeping, the more likely you are to stay awake. The boredom of counting sheep may not work for you but there are other things you can do to reduce the stress you bring on yourself when you start to worry about not sleeping. Start by yawning. This has a couple of effects: you'll probably feel a little sleepier as we associate yawns with sleep and you'll take a longer, slower breath. Your breathing naturally slows down whilst you sleep. Give it a helping hand by slowing down your inhalations and exhalations. If your stress is generated by work and your everyday life, look into other relaxation techniques such as meditation.

4. Go dark

As long as we've been on this planet, we've associated dark nights with sleep. Make sure your bedroom reflects this. For more details www.tips-getting-healthy.com The reflection of your alarm clock on the ceiling or wall isn't good. Nor are the trickles of light that can come in under doors or through your curtains. Think about adding a blackout lining to your curtains if they regularly let in too much light.

5. Lay off the caffeine

Steer clear of caffeine in the latter part of your day. It's a stimulant and that's the exact opposite of what you want to help you go to sleep. Remember that it's not just coffee and cola that have caffeine in them. So does tea, green tea and most energy drinks. Cut down gradually to avoid withdrawal effects and if you need your caffeine fix, experiment to see how you can gradually reduce this caffeine dependency.

6. Skip the nightcap

Alcohol is disruptive to sleep patterns. Pure and simple. Cut out the nightcap for a few nights and you'll start sleeping better. If you "need" a glass of wine to unwind when you get home, drink it early to give it time to work its way through your system.

7. CPAP and VPAP or BiPAP

The use of this devices help in giving your more air pressures to your body which our body needs to maintain its normal flow of oxygen. CPAP can also help in treatment for the person who keeps a loud snore at night. It is also use to treat sleep apnea which makes you awake at night catching your breathe.


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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/what-are-the-best-sleep-disorder-treatments-available-769858.html

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gurujione

The author is based at Chandigarh, India. He writes the growth oriented articles.