Sleep Disorders and their Cause Essay

Thesis: Sleep Apnea is becoming more of a dangerous disease that more people are starting to be diagnosed with. It is extremely important that Sleep Apnea is emphasized so that more people are aware of it.

Sleep can be simply defined as "a reversible behavioral state of perceptual disengagement from and unresponsiveness to the environment" (Kryger, Roth & Dement). As far as the sleeping disorders are concerned, they involve the difficulties that are associated to sleeping. When an individual has difficulty in falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at wrong times, falling asleep unnecessarily, or shows other abnormal sleep behaviors, he/she is said to have a sleep disorder.

As stated in a previous statistic, sleep disorders unfortunately target a wide variety of ages. Children are commonly affected by Sleep Apnea, teeth grinding, Night Terrors, Nightmares, sleep walking, Restless Leg Syndrome, bedwetting, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Adults tend to be affected by Insomnia, Hypersomnia, Sleep Apnea, Narcolepsy, Sleep Paralysis, Hypopnea Syndrome, and Noctoria. Sleep disorders are very common and also very dangerous in some circumstances. Ill treating or ignoring sleep disorders can lead to lethargy, poor mood, lack of motivation, and may negatively impact

This "gasp for air" is literally a life saver when the mouth and throat muscles tense up to allow air back into the body. Most sleepers are unaware of this occurrence, although it often shakes their bed partners, roommates, and even neighbors to the core. Another sign is when a person falls asleep at inappropriate times like work, driving, sitting in a chair, or in front of a television.It can also be a sign of sleep apnea if a person frequently has morning headaches, memory difficulties, low energy levels, agitation, shortness of breath, or leg swelling. These are the main symptoms seen when someone could possibly have sleep apnea.

          The dictionary defines sleep as “The natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored” (Webster’s 638) If one is waking up on an average of 300 times per night, the chances of complete body restoration are minimal. The Greek word apnea literally means “without breath”. An estimated 30 million Americans stop breathing during their sleep sometimes 30-40 times per hour and often for a minute, or longer each time. Of these, about 20 million are in the early stages, and about 10 million have progressed to a level of severity that requires treatment. According to the National

Sleepiness can characterized by excessive daytime sleep and it can cause to cataplexy (abrupt loss of muscle tone) hallucinations and sleep paralysis.

What is Sleep Apnea? Sleep apnea is sleep related breathing disorder. It disrupts a person's normal breathing pattern while sleeping. This serious disorder decreases the levels of oxygen in the blood during long periods of sleep when the breathing repeatedly stops and starts while asleep. This chronic condition happens when the muscles at the back the throat relaxes and narrows the airway causing breathing pauses or shallow breaths, a common condition called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). This occurrence significantly affects the quality of sleep that explains the feeling of tiredness and sleepiness during the day.

Obstructive sleep apnea remains the most common and occurs when the throat muscles relax when a person sleeps. These muscles support the structures of the mouth, such as the tonsils and soft palate. When they relax, the airway closes down, temporarily halting the passing of air. When the brain realizes this is occurring, it wakes the person up to allow the airway to reopen. Most individuals don't fully wake up when this happen, and the person may actually snort when the airway reopens. This can occur hundreds of times throughout the night.

The two most common causes of sleep disorder is central and obstructive sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea is when our breathing is interrupted throughout the night because your brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs with blocked airways and your struggle to breathe triggers coughing or snoring – in actuality your body is grasping for air.

Non 24 Hour Sleep Wake Disorder-This is a condition in which an individual has a normal sleep pattern but lives in a 25-hour day. It affects individual's sleep occurs later and later each day, with the period of peak alertness also continuously moving around the clock from day to

Sleep apnea is defined as the repeated, temporary pauses in breathing during sleep. This makes sense when you know that Apnea is the Greek word for “want of breath.” Loud snoring or episodes of snoring coupled with pauses in breathing are typical signs of sleep apnea.

There are many people who struggle to sleep at night. One reason that they might struggle is because of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is defined as “a reduction or cessation of breathing during sleep” (Medicine Net; Nov. 2105). With the help of many types, treatment, medication, and devices changes your lifestyle Can help with sleep apnea.

Apnea is a greek word meaning “no breath”. When you sleep and experience a complete collapse of the upper airway caused by relaxation of the muscles controlling the soft palate and tongue you have an apnea or a total cessation of air flow in the throat.

Unfortunately all sleep disorders are not caused by the same condition. There are several types or disorders and several conditions that can produce a them. (Fritz p82).

Insomnia affects almost half of adults living in America. (# 8, 2012) This is a shared sleeping disorder that many people across the universe are diagnosed with. Several causes of insomnia include exercising too much, stress, withdrawal from alcohol or a certain drug, physical circumstances, and diseases. People with insomnia usually have trouble going to sleep or staying asleep, which causes people to have poor-quality sleep, which will affect their mood, energy, and productiveness for the next day. (MediLexicon, Intl., 2012) More symptoms of insomnia include waking up earlier than needed, having trouble falling back asleep, and being in a bad mood the following day. Insomnia can cause many more problems such as weight