Best 5 sleep article online
Still Can’t Sleep?
Sometimes you try your hardest to address our sleep issues on your own. You go to bed on time every night, eliminate caffeine, try hypnosis, and even get a prescription – but sleep isn’t in your repertoire.
If this happens, you need the help of professionals who can help you get to the root of the problem and diagnose your sleep disorder so that you can find a solution that will work for you.
A sleep study may or may not be covered in part (or fully) by your insurance provider – because some consider it elective participation, even if your lack of sleep is causing medical issues. Check with your insurance company to see what kind of coverage they offer for sleep disorder studies.
Most sleep studies are performed at a sleep study center, but some companies will come to your home and set up monitors in-house so that you stay in a sleep setting that’s normal for you. You’ll be hooked up to some wires so they can monitor your sleep and you’ll relax and hopefully fall asleep so they can capture the data they need.
They’ll be conducting a PSG (Polysomnogram) where they record the physiological data while you sleep. This includes an EEG (electroencephalogram), EOG (electrooculography), EMG (electromyography), EKG (electrocardiogram), as well as your respiratory patterns, limb movements, and other variables.
When you go, you’ll be asked to bring two-piece pajamas so they can easily hook up the electrodes. You won’t be able to wear any hair products such as conditioner, hairspray, or gel.
They’ll probably ask you to not drink caffeine afternoon and bring your usual medications with you. Most sleep study centers allow you t bring entertainment materials like books or magazines as well as your favorite pillow.
If you’re having the sleep study done on a weeknight and have to go straight to work the next day, make sure you ask whether or not the center has showers for you to get ready. Some don’t, but you’ll be out early enough to have time to go home and get ready for your workday.
After your night’s sleep, the sleep study will have a professional analyze the data and forward your results to your doctor. They’ll take note of your brain waves, heart rhythms, eye and leg movement, and oxygen levels.
The doctors will be looking at what makes you sleepy, how long it takes you to fall into a deep sleep, and what causes you to awaken during the night. Armed with this information, you and your physician can make a decision about the course of treatment that best suits your situation.
When Good Limbs Go Bad
You’re lying there in bed and all of a sudden, you can’t suppress the urge to move your legs. It makes it hard to fall asleep. Or maybe you lucked out and fell asleep early in the evening, but awaken because your arms or legs began jerking uncontrollably.
The disruption in quality sleep can be frustrating if you have Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) or Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMB). Although RLS is something you control, the urge to move your limbs is so great you can’t even begin to think of sleeping.
Here are some facts about both disorders along with some helpful information on how to treat it if you suspect one of these may be the root cause of your sleep deprivation:
Restless Leg Syndrome is a sleep disorder where your legs are so uncomfortable that you want to move them to make them feel better. Moving the legs makes the feeling go away, but it returns once you try to relax and fall asleep again.
You’ll know if you have Restless Leg Syndrome if you notice a sudden urge to move your legs because they feel jittery, like they’re burning, or as if something’s crawling on them. It will occur when you’re sitting or lying down. If you move your legs and it feels better, it’s assign you might have RLS.
Some people can simply stretch out or change positions in bed, while others have to get up and walk around. There’s no known cause for RLS, but the disorder often runs in families. Scientists are honing in on the chemical dopamine, since it’s what manages your muscle movements.
Controlling RLS may be as simple as controlling your stress, which appears to worsen the symptoms. A doctor can diagnose RLS through a series of questions, but there’s no simple test to confirm it.
To treat it, you’ll want to make sure you have your doctor check to see if you’re suffering from an iron deficiency, because many RLS sufferers have found that their symptoms disappeared after their iron levels were brought back to normal.
Your doctor may prescribe medications similar to what Parkinson’s or epilepsy patients receive. Or, he may recommend a simple muscle relaxant. Lifestyle changes will also be in order, such as cutting back on stimulants like caffeine.
You can help curb the tendency to move your legs by using hot and cold packs, pain relievers, or a warm bath. Meditation, Yoga, a relaxing environment, and exercise also contribute to the elimination of RLS symptoms.
Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (or Syndrome) is when your legs and/or arms move involuntarily while you’re asleep. This can sometimes wake you up, and if you have a sleeping partner such as a spouse, it can disrupt their sleep as well. Sometimes people with RLS also suffer from PLMD.
PLMD occurs sporadically and can strike any age group, although it’s more common in older adults. There are two kinds of Periodic Limb Movement Disorders primary and secondary.
Primary PLMD is when there’s no known cause, while secondary PLMD is the result of another medical issue, such as diabetes, sleep apnea, anemia, and narcolepsy. Someone who suffers from PLMD may not know they’re doing it, since it occurs during sleep.
It’s usually pointed out by a sleeping partner or sleep study expert, who notes that the sufferer jerks their knees and legs, or thrashes around while sleeping for a couple of seconds. Although the person may sleep through it, their deep sleep is disrupted, resulting in daytime drowsiness.
There’s no cure for PLMD, but many medications work to suppress involuntary muscle movements. If you have secondary PLMD, then your symptoms may disappear for good once the underlying medical condition improves. If you’re dealing with primary PLMD, then you may see symptoms return periodically even after they’re under control.
You might be able to get relief without medicating yourself by trying simple relaxation techniques and optimizing your sleep environment. A combination of therapies could help banish the restlessness in your limbs for good!
The Danger of Sleep Deprivation
Not getting enough sleep can have a definite impact on your life. Whether it’s from insomnia, sleep apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), or another sleep disorder, the danger of sleep deprivation is undeniable, manifesting in both minor and major ways and creating problems for your work, school, and day-to-day activities.
Your body requires a certain amount of sleep in order to function properly and if it doesn’t get enough, it will naturally try to find ways to reconcile the problem. For many, a solution isn’t always easy to find.
Many people don’t even recognize they have a problem to begin with, failing to note the subtle symptoms and then, not taking the time to investigate the possible causes. If your body doesn’t get a sufficient amount of sleep, the effects can begin with fatigue and overall drowsiness.
You may feel tired during the day, which could ultimately impact your physical and mental health. For older people, sleep deprivation typically means that restorative sleep is lacking so their bodies aren’t recharging properly for the next day. This pattern accumulates until it becomes a true medical condition that requires attention.
Another physical effect that a lack of sleep can result in is weight change – in particular, weight gain. One of the benefits of quality sleep is that your hormone levels are regulated.
But if you suffer from sleep deprivation, then your hormone levels grow to be imbalanced and as a result, some of your psychological processes – such as appetite – also change. You may feel hungry when you’re not – or in some cases, not full when you are.
Chronic sleeplessness can also lead to depression, irritability, and impatience. Unfortunately, emotional frustration is one symptom that people may feel they don’t need to address.
Some may even fail to see how their mood swings and emotional outbursts or breakdowns are linked to sleep, choosing to assign the blame elsewhere and focusing attention away from the real cause: a lack of sleep.
The dangers of sleep deprivation to one’s physical and emotional well-being range from slurred speech and anger to a slow breakdown of the body’s immune system, making you susceptible to injury, the common cold, and more.
Have you ever driven your car while drowsy? The inherent danger is obvious. And while it may be a dramatic example, it’s also one that’s all too common – a powerful illustration of how important it is to get enough sleep.
Proper sleep is a vital component to being healthy and it needs to be treated with the same concern and care that your other healthcare issues receive. The consequences of ignoring your sleep deprivation could be harmful to yourself or another person, depending on the circumstances.
Medicating Your Sleep Woes
When sleep deprivation continues for a long period of time – even days in a row – you may be willing to try anything just to give you the ability to catch a few Zs. Before you get desperate, make sure you understand how each option works.
The first thing many consumers do when a few nights of sleeplessness cause daytime drowsiness is head for the pharmacy for some over-the-counter solutions. Sleep aids can often help initially, but they don’t get to the root of the problem.
A sleep aid shouldn’t be used as your cure. It might help you function initially, but you want to find out why you’re having sleep issues. Having to rely on a pill to get some sleep isn’t the best option for your health.
Some people get dependent on the pills and can’t sleep without them. Others see too many side effects from the use of sleep aids, or they wind up with complications due to how it interacts with their prescription medicines.
Over the counter sleep aids usually work using an antihistamine, which is what doctors use to treat allergies. They make you feel sleepy and help you stay asleep. Some people report feeling sleepy the next day, so it could interfere with your sleep cycles.
Side effects can include constipation, dizziness, memory loss, blurred vision, and dry mouth. As you grow dependent on them, your need for a higher dosage increases. A doctor might prescribe something stronger, such as a non-benzodiazephine.
These help you feel sleepy by revving up the natural chemical process of your brain. If you want a sleep aid for long-term use, they’re safer than using over-the-counter, short-term remedies, but they can also lead to an addiction.
It’s rare these days, but your doctor might prescribe a tranquilizer if your sleep disorder is severe enough. These slow your nervous system down to make you sleepy. It’s a short-term solution that can leave you feeling groggy the following day.
You might be put on antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications that act as sedatives if your doctor feels it’s the right choice for you. These are common, but don’t have the same potentially addictive features as the other prescription medicines.
If you want to forego the medical options and choose something more natural, then you might consider an herbal treatment for your sleep disorder. Certain herbs have a reputation for aiding in sleep, such as chamomile, which can be consumed in a tea form.
Valerian root, melatonin, and SAMe are other herbal alternatives you can try. Make sure you take the proper doses, because sometimes even too much of a good thing can sometimes result in unwanted side effects.
Using White Noise to Mask Sleep Interruptions
If you have difficulty getting to sleep and are easily disturbed, you may want to consider using white noise to help mask noise that seeps into your resting place. This type of sleep therapy is known to help people who are awakened by peripheral noise, such as traffic from the street or a noisy neighbor.
White noise can help mask these other noises so that you can sleep through them, ideally enabling you to achieve a more restful slumber and the benefits that come with it. White noise is also useful for those who have trouble sleeping when it’s “too quite.”
What is white noise? It’s not simply soft ocean waves or the soothing sounds of the autumn wind blowing through the trees. Technically, it includes all sound frequencies within the range of human hearing combined.
It’s similar to the color white being produced from a combination of all other colors, which may be why they call it white noise. The “noise” is random, meaning it doesn’t have rhyme or reason unless it’s manipulated.
It doesn’t follow a pattern like normal sound does. Rather, it’s mixed up and in constant transformation, creating the “swooshing” effect that our ears absorb. According to experts, the reason why white noise is so soothing is because the masking effect produced covers all other sounds – from high to low pitches.
If your sleep is being disturbed by a dog barking outside, white noise theoretically can help muffle, mask, or cancel-out that sound. On a whole, white noise sounds relatively high-pitched to us (though at a “hum”).
The reason why it doesn’t keep us awake is because the noise essentially overloads our auditory systems and for most of us, provides a distraction from competing sounds. It prevents us from zeroing in on any one sound, so we simply become “numb” to them all.
While we may think of white noise as being tranquil sounds from nature, it’s actually closer to the sound a fan makes. Pure white noise can be “tuned” to more closely resemble these soothing, familiar sounds.
An ocean wave gently rolling onto shore or a light rain against the windowpane are sounds now easily found on white-noise CDs that are sold in stores, which also holds the advantage of volume control and repetition. Set your CD on repeat and let the white noise help you sleep through the night.
Other forms of white noise include a ceiling or box fan, static from a radio or a furnace or air conditioner with a low hum. There are also actual white-noise or sound-conditioning machines, which serve a specific purpose of helping you find the sleep you crave.
Some white noise CDs contain a number of different “scenes” to choose from. All are composed to create an oasis of relaxation and ultimately promote sleep. Find the one that best lulls you to sleep and end those days of feeling tired, drowsy, and irritable.
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