Why do some people have trouble sleeping?
The amount of sleep that we need varies among individuals. As the book states, normally we need about 7 1/2 hours of sleep, but some people can get by with only 3 hours of sleep and feel no consequences. Which I think is pretty extraordinary considering I am among those people who treasures every moment I am sleeping. If I have not slept at least 6 hours I feel like crap. There are varied types of sleeping disorders which are referred to as insomnia, which I am sure everyone has heard the word before, but the Wikipedia definition is as follows, "inability to fall asleep or stay asleep as long as desired." The two main questions that arise when trying to diagnose someone experiencing signs of insomnia would be, "Do you experience difficulty sleeping?" or "Do you have difficulty falling or staying asleep?"
The causes of insomnia can vary. These would include: noise, uncomfortable temperatures, stress, pain, diet,and medications, but insomnia cannot just be brought on by outside sources it can also come from problems within the body. Insomnia can also be the result of epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, depression, brain tumors, anxiety, or other conditions. I even read in the book that some infants have trouble sleeping because they are "milk-intolerant" and their mother does not realize it and feeds them milk before bedtime. Another reason why people can suffer from insomnia is just the mere fact that before they fall asleep they are thinking about things they do not want to take on when they awake. Simply rearranging some tasks can help a person sleep better at night.
The book mentions about 5 different types of insomnia, but I will touch on one kind of insomnia. One branch of insomnia is referred to as sleep apnea, which is the "impaired ability to breathe while sleeping." Individuals with sleep apnea have breathless periods of more or less a minute which causes them to awaken gasping for breath. Some people may not notice that they in fact do awaken throughout the night, but the consequences are noticeable throughout their day. They would experience things such as impaired attention, depression, being more sleepier throughout the day than usual, and sometimes heart problems. People with this condition are advised to lose weight and refrain from alcohol...imagine that.
The following brief video explains the affects of sleep apnea and the way someone can improve their condition.
Sleep Apnea is a preventable sleeping disorder. I know a couple of people with this disorder and they do fall asleep during the day. It is true they do not get enough sleep during the night. Now try multiplying that by the number of days in a week or months. Sleep apnea is a very stressful disorder not only for the one suffering it but also for the partner. Good Post
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that I am not one of those people who can sleep very little and be fine the next day. I'm just not a morning person. Even some nights when I get 7 hours of sleep, I feel terrible. But it's odd: if I go to sleep late at night and wake up late during the day with about 7 hours of sleep, I feel okay. If I go to sleep not super late but wake up earlier in the morning with about 7 hours of sleep, I don't feel great. I guess it varies due to the time of day? The video you posted on sleep apnea is very informative and it's staggering that as many as 18 million people suffer from sleep fragmentation. I like that the video also goes into the CPAP treatment.
ReplyDeleteSleep is very important to me because I cannot function that well with only a couple of hours of sleep. It is amazing some individuals can do it but it is just not for me. Insomnia is the first to pop into my mind when I hear of sleep disorders and to think many suffer from it is quite interesting. Great video!
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