Our last article was on insomnia, one of the most common sleep disorders. But there are such disorders, including sleep apnea, snoring, restless legs, narcolepsy, excessive sleepiness, parasomnias, night sweats, and nightmares. Many of these are related to or cause insomnia, but they are issues in themselves. Let’s take a look at some of these and at what can be done
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea, which affects 12-25 million Americans, is a condition in which breathing stops for up to a half minute when the throat muscles become too relaxed and collapse, blocking breathing. The person, usually an overweight, middle-aged male, wakens in order to breathe. Although sleep apnea interferes with sleep and involves a period of not breathing, it is rarely fatal.
A person with sleep apnea typically sounds like this to a sleep partner: snoring, followed by a period of no sound or breathing at all for up to a minute, followed by an abrupt loud snort and sometimes a physical startle reflex, then a few normal sleep breaths, and then a return to snoring.
Losing weight can help with sleep apnea. Both the overweight, if present, and the sleep apnea can be symptoms of hypothyroidism. Both sleeping pills and alcohol before bedtime can actually worsen sleep apnea by suppressing breathing and relaxing the throat and tongue muscles. A machine called CPAP is sometimes used for severe cases.
Snoring
Snoring affects about 40% of adults, a percentage that increases with age, and is much more common in men. Causes of snoring include drinking alcohol, especially before bed; overeating, smoking. Nasal allergies can cause snoring, because the air flow is reduced. Snoring is associated with sleep apnea but can be a problem on its own.
Snoring is associated with overweight. Excess fat can be deposited in throat’s lining, narrowing it. Losing the extra weight can often cause the snoring to resolve. Snoring is also associated with aging, since older people are more likely to be overweight and to have less muscle tone, including in their throat and soft palate
Snoring is more likely to be an issue to a sleep partner than to the snorer himself. There are various devices that can help with snoring, including a chin strap to hold the mouth closed, nasal strips to keep the nose open, and oral appliances.
Restless leg syndrome
Restless leg syndrome is an irresistible need to move the legs at night, often accompanied by severe insomnia. Restless leg syndrome affects up to 12 million Americans. It is especially common after age 50. There may be a genetic connection.
Restless leg syndrome risk factors include obesity, sedentary lifestyle, caffeine use, and smoking.
Low iron can cause restless legs and restlessness in general. Folate, B vitamins, and vitamin E can help, as can the minerals potassium and magnesium. Nutritional assessment can be done at CAM to determine whether your problem is related to nutrition, and supplements can be taken if needed. Restless legs can be improved by stretching the feet, pointing and flexing the feet.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a condition causing one to fall asleep abruptly during the day, sometimes many times a day. This is different from a growing feeling of sleepiness during a dull lecture or long drive. It affects about 1 in 2000 Americans. More than an inconvenience, it can be dangerous if these sleep attacks occur while driving or operating machinery. Narcolepsy is sometimes found along with sleep apnea, as the body tries to make up during the day the sleep missed at night.
Narcolepsy can be due to food sensitivities. Follow an elimination / detoxification diet such as the one at CAM to see whether narcoleptic episodes diminish or end. If so, introduce foods one at a time to see what foods bring on near-instant sleepiness. Eliminate these from the diet or be treated for them by an allergist such as Dr. Dave Nelson. Exercise and resetting of sleep patterns can help narcolepsy.
Excessive sleepiness and fatigue
Excessive sleepiness and fatigue aren’t necessarily the same thing. One can feel severe fatigue and yet not have the desire to take a nap. Chronic fatigue is discussed in a book, available at CAM, called Ending Fatigue, Pain, and Reactivity.
Parasomnias
Parasomnias are arousal disorders, including sleepwalking, sleep talking, eating while asleep, teeth grinding, and headbanging and body rocking during sleep. They are more common in children, and most childhood sleep disorders are parasomnias.
In sleepwalking, the person walks around and does things without waking up or remembering the episode on awakening.
Signs of sleep eating are unexplained weight gain, food missing from kitchen, especially high carb and junk food, unexplained kitchen mess the next morning, and daytime sleepiness. Sleep eating is more likely when the person consciously restricts food intake during the day.
Talking in sleep can be intelligible words, disconnected words, or unintelligible noises.
Night sweats
Night sweats can cause you to awaken, and they can be severe enough to require a change of bedclothes. Causes are menopause, diabetes, pregnancy and hormonal shifts, AIDS, and toxicity. A too-warm room or too many bedcovers can lead to episodes of sweating; less external warmth is needed after you fall asleep, and sleep tends to be better in a cooler room anyway.
Nightmares, night terrors, and disturbed dreams
Nightmares are dreams with frightening content. Night terrors are similar, but the dream is typically not recalled, only a feeling of waking suddenly in fear and panic along with physical symptoms such as thrashing and rapid heartbeat. A person having night terrors can be hard to awaken.
Some causes of night terrors and nightmares are trauma, PTSD, abuse, alcohol and some other drugs.
What can be done about sleep disorders?
There are sleep clinics that monitor your sleep, both visually and with medical scans, to determine whether you in fact have a sleep disorder. If you know you have a problem, speak to the practitioners at CAM, who will address the sleep problem at the root cause level.
