Sleeping disorders (also known as sleep-wake disorders) are a variety of conditions that affect the quality, timing, and amount of sleep a person gets at night.
Characteristics/Symptoms:
The numerous amounts of sleeping disorders, about 80 to be exact, create precise ways to go about each one, but they can all be characterized by
The behavior of the person
Problems with natural sleep-wake cycles
Breathing complications
Headaches / feeling overly weak
Difficulty in falling asleep
Feeling overly sleepy during the day
Affects memory
Difficulty moving when waking up
Restlessness / Fidgeting
Types:
There are many types of sleeping disorders, all with mental and physical issues that they have, although considering this is about mental health, the most common ones that cause issues mentally are insomnia and narcolepsy…
Insomnia, known for causing issues regarding falling asleep and even remaining asleep as well throughout the night.
Narcolepsy, a condition identified by the constant feeling of sleepiness throughout the day, even leading to falling asleep suddenly in the daytime.
Causes:
The causes for sleeping disorders usually revolve around how much they disrupt your body’s sleep cycle and maintain any form of awakeness during the day. The causes may vary from the different types of sleeping disorders, some of them related to medical complications like heart disease, asthma, or nerve conditions. Furthermore, sleeping disorders could also be caused by side effects that are in medications, some examples would be heart-related medications, antidepressants, and even stimulant ADHD medications, all causing an imbalance in your sleep cycle in some way. Ultimately, it can also be caused due to genetic factors, specifically a genetic mutation.
Treatments:
In order to achieve a better sleep cycle, there are some treatments that help to diminish how much sleeping disorders affect you.
A basic yet effective treatment is changing your sleeping routine to promote a regular sleep schedule, as well as keeping in check with your sleep hygiene such as consistency, avoiding caffeine, and even exercise.
Another treatment would be medication like sleeping pills or alerting agents, or perhaps supplements like melatonin, which are usually given after diagnosis.
On the contrary, another way to better your sleep would be to balance and keep in mind the other medications that affect you by making you accessible sleepy, always consult your healthcare provider about your medication.
