Sleep disorders limit a person’s ability of having effective, consistent sleeping cycles. As a result, this can have many negative effects on the bodily processes that take place during this time.

Types of Sleeping Disorders:

The most common sleeping disorders include insomnia, sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome (RLS):

• Insomnia: Insomnia is characterized by difficulty falling and staying asleep. This may lead to daytime issues including drowsiness, fatigue, mood changes and memory/concentration troubles. Insomnia can result from a variety of factors such as stress, a health condition, medication, diet or even other sleeping disorders. This condition may be long term or short term. Unfortunately, it is very common, as around every 1 in 10 people are expected to experience insomnia. Treatments for insomnia may be therapeutic or medicinal/prescribed depending on the individual.
• Sleep Apnea: A person with sleep apnea typically experiences interrupted breathing. There are two distinguished forms of sleep apnea: obstructive and central. Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by airway blockage. This results in snoring, fatigue, restlessness as well as concentration issues. Meanwhile, central sleep apnea occurs when the brain does not order the body to breath. Central sleep apnea is less common. Sleep apnea is a very serious condition, and it should be examined by a doctor as soon as possible if in effect. Treatments include self-care (weight loss, physical activity), surgery, specialists, an supportive care (airway management and breathing assistance devices).
• RLS: Restless legs syndrome occurs when person has the constant urge to move their legs or change one’s sleeping position. This makes it very difficult for an individual to fall or stay asleep, resulting in daytime irritability, drowsiness and concentration troubles. Common treatments are therapy, medication, specialists, and lifestyle changes/self care (physical activity, consuming less caffeine, quitting smoking, etc.).

 

Other prevalent sleeping disorders one might consider looking into include narcolepsy, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders (i.e. jet lag, shift work sleep disorder, sleep wake phase disorder) and sleep paralysis.

Primary care doctors will typically diagnose a sleeping disorder based on the person’s symptoms as well as a physical exam. From here, they may provide treatment personally or refer you to a sleep disorder clinic. If you are having trouble sleeping on a consistent basis, please contact your doctor immediately. It is important to remember that ineffective sleep may result in many other health related issues over time.  

Over time, we have discovered that rather than serving as a passive state, sleep is the time that many bodily process take place. As you sleep, you cycle through two main processes: REM sleep and non-REM sleep.

To begin, REM refers to rapid eye movement, and this occurs differently among sleep stages. Brain and body activity change throughout sleep stages, and throughout a sleeping “cycle”, people are expected to transition through the 4 stages of REM and non-REM sleep in a particular pattern.

The following table explains the differences between REM and non-REM sleep as well as how your body reacts to these specific stages:

REM

non-REM

Rapid eye movement takes place. A person will enter an REM sleeping stage after having gone through the non-REM processes. Typically, in this stage, a person’s eyes move underneath their eyelids. This is considered the state in which most “dreaming” takes place. Some studies support the idea that information is stored for long term memory during this sleeping stage. This stage takes up a larger proportion of sleeping cycles among younger people (and begins to decrease with age).

Rapid eye movement does not take place. There are 3 distinguished stages of non-REM sleep: N1 stage: In this stage, an individual is beginning to enter a sleeping state. They will experience drowsiness as well as signs of light sleeping. Muscle relaxation, slower breathing as well as hypnic jerks are common in this stage. It is estimated that the N1 stage only makes up around 5% of one’s sleeping cycle. N2 stage: The N2 stage makes up over half of one’s sleeping cycle. This is considered another form of relatively light sleep in which muscles relax, heart rate/breathing slows, and eye movement decreases even further than they did in N1. N3 stage: This is a deep sleeping stage where blood pressure and muscle activity decrease, and there is no eye movement. The body becomes less responsive to outside factors, making one harder to wake up. About 15% of a person’s sleeping cycle consists of this stage.

 

The following table shows the estimated amount of sleep different ages should get each night:

Age	Recommended hours of sleep per night
0-3 months	14-17 hours (each day)
4-11 months	12-15 hours
1-2 years	11-14 hours
3-5 years	10-13 hours
6-13 years	9-11 hours
14-17 years	8-10 hours
18-64 years	7-9 hours
65-over years	7-8 hours

There are many tips and routines one can follow in order to improve their sleeping cycle. The following list explains some of the most effective methods that I have found:

• Create a “sleep schedule”: Attempt to maintain a consistent bedtime and wake up time. This will allow for your body to prepare itself by creating a regulation pattern.
  Increase exercise
• Adjust room conditions: temperature and noise level are factors that can make or break one’s sleeping state. Other distractions that may need to be treated include snoring and light in the setting.
• Find a comfortable setting: oftentimes it is necessary to find a typical mattress or pillow that satisfies you and your needs
• Reduce irregular/daytime naps
• Supplements: melatonin, glycine, magnesium and lavender are common supplements that have been linked to improving sleep

Through recent studies, insufficient sleep has been linked to several health issues including:

• obesity
• diabetes
• cardiovascular state – increased stress hormone levels, irregular heartbeat and
• hypertension are common
• common cold
• weakened immune system
• high blood pressure
• mood changes
• memory/concentration troubles
• metabolism and weight changes

These cases can develop over time as a result of many factors: poor nutrition, genetics and more. However, lack of sleep contributes highly to these common problems. Without proper sleep cycles, one’s body cannot function properly.

Causes of Chronic Sleep Loss
Chronic sleep loss have become more common, especially among teenagers, as a result of busier schedules, and young adults are more susceptible to the negative effects associated with lack of sleep.

The 3 E’s:
Education – many teenagers and young adults are vulnerable to sleep deprivation due to their large home-workload. Increasing pressure on students to do well in school has been linked to chronic sleep loss.
Employment – money making activities are very time consuming among all ages. As a result, they have affected the amounts of sleep people have on a long term basis.
Entertainment – particularly through increased use of media, entertainment has led to intentional sleep deprivation.

Many people consider sleep a passive state in which the body restores itself by shutting down. However, research has shown that sleep is instead a very active period where the body and brain work together in order for many important processing and strengthening functions to take place. Sleep allows for an individual to store gained information. It also helps the body to recover by undergoing growth processes and maintaining its chemical balance. Sleep is an important aspect of physical health that is often overlooked. Many people don’t realize the long-term consequences that lack of sleep will have on one’s body. Sufficient and effective sleep is necessary for one’s lifestyle in many ways. In this site section, you will find the importance and effects of sleep on an individual’s body and mind.