The term “sleep disorder” encompasses awakenings, snoring, certain types of muscle pain, or just overall discomfort due to the positioning of the person who is trying to remain asleep. Sleep disorders fulfill a large percentage of medical problems that found in general medicine, family practice, and the field of psychiatric medicine today.
The human body tends to have specific mechanisms that involve hormones, cells, and muscle tissue that all work together in order to provide a person with the sleep he or she needs. Sleep disorder patients tend to have symptoms and difficulties that show up during the day.
Sleep tests and polysomnograms (PSG) are often needed to properly diagnose and thoroughly investigate the physical issues someone may have that are keeping him or her from getting the right amount of sleep.
Sleep Disorder Statistics
Sleep disorder visits are becoming an increasing stop for patients in medical clinics worldwide. The statistics that have been compiled for sleep disorders are quite astounding in numbers. Each year, a large percentage of Americans, 20-40% to be exact, complain of sleep problems experienced at some point in their life.
Among those complaining of sleep disorders, many victims also report an insufficient amount of sleep. 20% of adult patients these days approach their doctor and tell them they may have insomnia, or the inability to sleep.
Sleep Disorders are Caused by Many Factors.
People who work during night shifts tend to complain of irregular sleep patterns and difficulty falling asleep. Our brain relies on an internal system that is responsible for controlling the amount of physical and mental activity throughout a 24-hour period.
This regulatory mechanism is thrown off-beat at times as its normal behavior is to respond to natural cues, such as sunrise and nightfall. When people have problems with biological clocks, they fail to fall asleep when the darkness should otherwise serve the onset of sleepiness.
Mental illness such as depression has also been known to cause abrupt sleep patterns. A vast majority of patients who have complained of sleep disorders also complain of depression. As a result, they have difficulty going back to sleep after occasionally (and unintentionally) waking up early in the morning time.
Hormonal and chemical changes in the body can also cause sleep disorders. Physical diseases that involve hormonal imbalances can result in certain biological changes. Medications being taken in response to specific disease can also worsen sleep disorders if they are known to have contraindications to insomnia.
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References:
WebMD
MedicineNet.com
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