Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Sleep apnea involves abnormal breathing during sleep, where people either pause their breathing or breathe significantly less. This causes a person to wake up often hundreds of times during the night, leaving a person very fatigued during the day. Snoring is often a symptom of apnea. People are more likely to suffer from sleep apnea if they are overweight. Apnea is more common in men and it's also more likely to occur as we get older. A key feature of OSA is that patients will make persistent efforts to breathe against the occluded upper airway. When the airway closes, breathing stops, and the sleeper awakens to open the airway. The arousal from sleep usually lasts only a few seconds, but brief arousals disrupt continuous sleep and prevent the person from reaching deep sleep. Manifestations of OSA include excessive daytime sleepiness, nonrestorative sleep, automobile accidents, personality changes, decreased memory, impotence, poor concentration, and depression.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease
Obstructive sleep apnea is a common medical condition that occurs in approximately 5% to 15% of the population. The pathophysiology of OSA is characterized by repetitive occlusions of the posterior pharynx during sleep that obstructs the airway, followed by low oxygenation state, persistent inspiratory efforts against the occluded airway, and termination by arousal from sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with daytime sleepiness and fatigue, likely due to fragmented sleep from recurrent arousals. Substantial evidence shows that patients with OSA have an increased incidence of hypertension compared with individuals without OSA and that OSA is a risk factor for the development of hypertension. Recent studies show that OSA may be implicated in stroke and transient ischemic attacks. Obstructive sleep apnea appears to be associated with coronary heart disease, heart failure, and cardiac arrhythmias.
>Narcolepsy
Characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, narcolepsy is a potentially disabling sleep disorder whereby the person falls asleep uncontrollably in any situation. They usually also suffer sleep paralysis and cataplexy, the sudden loss of muscle power, at times of emotion such as when laughing. The Sleep Disorders Centre can help clients deal with narcolepsy using approaches involving proper diagnosis, medication, and/or changes in behavior.
Insomnia
The most common sleep disorder, insomnia is the inability to get to sleep or stay sleep, which leaves people fatigued and interferes with their ability to function during the day. Insomnia is considered chronic when it goes on for longer than one month.
There is a vital connection between health, happiness, and a good night's sleep. Most of us lead busy lives, and often it is sleep we do without. However, healthful sleep is the most important factor in leading a long life. Various illnesses can arise from ignoring sleep, from heart disease to traffic accidents caused by fatigue.At Westerville sleep diagnostic services we will help you gauge how much sleep you need, the truth about sleeping aids and helpful advice on how to get rid of insomnia. Insomnia is described by how long it lasts.
- Transient Insomnia: lasting for a short time
- Intermittent Insomnia: occurring on and off
- Chronic Insomnia: occurring on most nights and lasting for a month or more.
If left untreated, insomnia may develop into a chronic condition. So, if you haven't been getting the sleep that your mind and body require, make an appointment with us to discuss different option of therapy.
Management of insomnia: three treatment options:
- Psychological or behavioral therapy
- Pharmacologic therapy
- Combined approach (behavioral and Pharmacological)
Psychological or behavioral therapy
Non-pharmacological therapies require the health professional to work closely with the patient. It is important that the patient's progress is monitored and that the patient has the opportunity to discuss the technique and the impact it has had on their sleep problem. Several potential therapies for sleep disorders are outlined below.
Cognitive therapy. Patients often have unrealistic expectations about sleep. This primes them for anxiety about sleep and facilitates the condition of an emotional response associated with the attempt to sleep. Cognitive therapy uses positive thoughts to counteract the negative about sleep. It focuses on identifying dysfunctional sleep cognitions and replaces these with more adaptive substitutes. It may take several visits to reinforce the message and support the patient.
Relaxation therapy. Patients presenting with sleep difficulties are often unable to relax and switch off at night due to stress, worry or anxiety. Relaxation is incompatible with increased arousal, so techniques that help patients relax facilitate both onset and the maintenance of sleep. There are numerous relaxation techniques available, including progressive muscle relaxation suitable for patients experiencing physical tension and mental imagery to stop a racing mind.
Bedtime restriction. Bedtime restriction therapy is based upon the recognition that excessive time spent in bed often perpetuates insomnia. Sleep spread out over a longer portion of the day becomes fragmented, with frequent intervals of wakefulness. During these intervals of wakefulness, negative emotional thoughts become increasingly conditioned to the bed and to the attempt to sleep. Bedtime restriction therapy reduces the amount of time spent in bed. This will ensure that sleep only occurs between the set bedtime and wakeup time. Sleep will then be of higher quality over a shorter period.
Stimulus control therapy. Sleep problems are often triggered by stressful or disturbing life events, such as serious illness, hospitalization or death of a loved one. Once the situation has been resolved, sleep usually returns to normal. However, sometimes the insomnia can remain. This is because a negative association between going to bed and not sleeping has been formed. These negative emotions automatically triggered by going to bed increase alertness and make it more difficult to get to sleep. This type of insomnia is often referred to as conditioned insomnia. The purpose of stimulus-control therapy is to reestablish the bed as the place where sleep happens, rather than the site of sleeplessness. Through this therapy, you are encouraged to go to bed only when it's time for sleep. If you are not asleep within 15 minutes, leave the bedroom and don't return until you are sleepy. You are also encouraged to have a consistent wake time every day, regardless of how much sleep you got, and to avoid naps in any location but the bed. You should not read, watch television, or eat in bed. Thus, most of your time in the bed is spent sleeping.
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking (somnambulism) occurs during the deepest stages of sleep, stages 3 & 4. With this disorder, part of the brain becomes awake while the other part remains asleep. Someone who sleepwalks usually doesn't remember dreaming or anything about the event. Sleepwalking is most common in children, who usually outgrow the condition.
Night Terrors
Night terrors occur during the deepest stages of sleep, stages 3 & 4. This is a disorder of partial arousal (like sleepwalking) in which part of the brain wakes up while the other part remains asleep. The person usually bolts upright in bed and lets out a bloodcurdling scream or shout. They are not aware of the event and eventually return to sleep.
They do not remember night terrors the next day and they usually don't remember dreaming either. Night terrors are common in children and the condition is usually outgrown. Night terrors are generally more distressing to those who witness it than to those who experience it!
Periodic Limb Movements
Periodic limb movements (PLMs) are sporadic and repetitive contractions of the leg during sleep. As with sleep apnea, these abnormal movements may cause a person to awaken up to hundreds of times during the night and, as a result, they cause fatigue during the day. More likely to occur as one ages, PLMs can also sometimes affect the arms.
Circadian Rhythm Disorders
Circadian rhythm disorders occur when the body's internal clock is offset, such as sleeping at a time when you want to be awake. Sunlight and other time cues seem to play a role in setting the circadian clock. Factors such as jet lag and shift work cause our natural rhythms to be upset.
Changes in age also affect the timing of our body's response to time cues. For example, the elderly have an advanced sleep phase, so they fall asleep early in the evening and wake early in the morning. Teenagers, on the other hand, have a delayed sleep phase so they are more apt to fall asleep late at night and can sleep until noon.
REM Behavior Disorder
REM Behavior Disorder is the acting out of dreams. Not to be confused with sleep walking, this disorder occurs during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Normally our bodies are paralyzed during REM sleep so that we won't act out our dreams.
With REM Behavior Disorder, the body is not paralyzed so the person can act out their dreams. People with this disorder often can remember their dream; it usually affects men over the age of 60.
Restless Legs Syndrome
Restless Legs Syndrome occurs at rest, usually in the evening or before falling asleep. With this disorder, a person's legs feel uneasy, as though they have itchy, crawly feelings in them.
The only way to relieve these sensations is to keep moving the legs, which is why it's called restless' legs syndrome, although the arms can also be affected. Most people with restless legs also have periodic leg movements (PLMs) during sleep.
for more information about sleep apnea and Hypersomnia, sleep apnea and Insomnia, sleep apnea and Narcolepsy, sleep apnea and fatigue, sleep apnea and sleepiness, sleep apnea and sexual disfunction, sleep apnea and morning headache, sleep apnea and depression, sleep apnea and Hypertension, sleep apnea and Diabetes, sleep apnea and mood disorders, sleep apnea and heart diseases..... contact us at 614-898-9340.
