Are you having trouble sleeping? You're not alone. Many people struggle with sleep. Learn about the common issues that people face and whether you may be suffering from a sleep disorder.

Common Sleep Disorders

Credit: Demaerre

The lack of sleep, both in terms of quality and quantity, can leave you exhausted and exasperated. You don’t just feel tired, cranky, and desperate for relief the next day, but if the problem isn’t fixed, your health and quality of life are also severely compromised.

Over 80 different types of sleep disorders affect 50 to 70 million people in the US alone. The state of sleep health in America is so bad that the CDC categorized it as a public health epidemic. This tells us that there’s a desperate need to find a solution. But it isn’t possible without creating awareness about the various sleep problems that people experience.

5 Most Common Sleep Disorders

Considering there are over 80 different types of sleep disorders, we can’t possibly discuss them all. But here are the most prevalent ones:

1. Insomnia

Characterized by the persistent inability to fall and stay asleep, insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. It can occur due to an underlying health condition. It can also be a result of lifestyle factors, such as:

• Stress

• Poor sleep hygiene

• Excessive consumption of alcohol or caffeine

• Eating big meals too close to the bed

However, it doesn’t always have an obvious cause. Many times, people develop insomnia for no apparent reason. Research also suggests that your genes can also play a role in it. Certain genes can put people at a higher risk of developing insomnia. Similarly, some people have genes that make them less likely to have it. The inability to sleep (well) at night causes fatigue. It also often results in excessive daytime sleepiness, bad mood, and cognitive impairment. Though only one night of sleep deprivation can have disastrous impacts on health, insomnia is only considered a chronic condition when someone cannot fall or stay asleep at least three times a week, and it continues to happen for a minimum of three months. Treating insomnia often requires a comprehensive approach involving medical intervention(s) and lifestyle modifications.

Some of the treatments commonly used for insomnia include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy

• Light therapy

• Sleep hypnosis When these therapies do not work (alone), doctors may prescribe sleep medications.

2. Sleep Apnea

This is a sleep disorder characterized by the reduced ability to breathe freely or properly while sleeping. It occurs due to blockage in the upper airway and often results in excessive and loud snoring. The point where this respiratory issue becomes a sleep disorder is when it causes the sleeper to wake up multiple times during the night for having trouble breathing properly. The wake-up intervals are very brief, and the person often has no memory of them. But they disrupt sleep and cause excessive tiredness and sleepiness during the daytime.

Sleep apnea can be divided into two types:

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea – Characterized by a physical obstruction in the airway due to fluid buildup, fat deposits, large tonsils, and genetic facial syndromes like cleft palate.

• Central Sleep Apnea – Characterized by brief interruptions in the brain’s signals to the muscles that control breathing. This may happen due to obesity, brain infection, stroke, issues of the brain stem, or excessive use of sleep medications and narcotic painkillers.

If not treated, sleep apnea may lead to serious health complications. It can even put the patients at risk of stroke and heart attack. Thankfully, there are treatments available for it.

The most commonly used approach involves using a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. It works by blowing air at a certain pressure to keep the respiratory tract open all night, resulting in smooth, uninterrupted breathing and sleep. The biggest problem with sleep apnea is not the treatment but the diagnosis. It often remains undiagnosed.

According to the American Medical Association, about 30 million people have this obstructive breathing-related sleep disorder. But only 6 million have a formal diagnosis. If you feel that you have may be suffering from sleep apnea or are experiencing symptoms like snoring, lack of energy throughout the day and headaches, you should contact your physician for a diagnosis and to discuss solutions. If you snore, there are alternative solutions to help people stop snoring.

3. Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking is a sleep-related behavior disorder that results in action (walking) that we don’t normally do while sleeping. It’s also called parasomnia and occurs during the deep sleep stage. When this happens, the person exhibiting the abnormal behavior is straddling between the state of sleep and wakefulness. In other words, they are neither fully asleep nor completely awake. However, they are more sleepy than awake.

When sleepwalking, the person may have their eyes open, and they may even talk. But their speech is usually incoherent and limited to self-talk, meaning they won’t respond if you ask them anything.

An important thing to note here is that although sleepwalking primarily involves walking during sleep, it isn’t just limited to that. The patients may also perform various routine tasks or display unusual actions or behaviors during a sleepwalking episode. These may include:

• Dressing up for school or work

• Moving things around

• Urinating in inappropriate places

• Displaying sexual behaviors

In more advanced cases, the patients may even try to go out of the house and attempt to drive. Most sleepwalking episodes finish in about 10 minutes. But they may be shorter, lasting only for a few seconds, or longer, going on for half an hour. It’s more common in children than adults.

There is no definitive cause of sleepwalking. But the factors that may contribute to it include:

• Sleep deprivation

• Stress

• Genetics

• Family history

• Certain medications

Restless Leg Syndrome

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a condition that causes an uncomfortable feeling, creeping or painful sensations, or restlessness in the legs. It may occur in one or both legs and usually goes away by moving or kicking the limbs. Though it may occur at any time of the day, the worst episodes are usually during the night, leading to sleep disruptions.

Iron deficiency is a common cause of restless leg syndrome, but it is not its only cause. Another factor that’s commonly associated with RLS is faulty dopamine. There are medications available to treat both.

5. Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy isn’t as common as other sleep disorders we have discussed. But it is serious and can have far-reaching impacts on health. On the face it, the condition just causes excessive sleepiness. But it is problematic because it leads to daytime sleepiness and includes periods where you cannot resist it. The condition is called irresistible sleepiness and may occur anytime, even when you’re in the midst of an activity.

Narcolepsy also causes sudden episodes of extreme muscle weakness. This is believed to be often triggered by strong bursts of emotions and can cause them to slump over or fall. It may also cause some people to hallucinate and/or experience brief episodes of sleep paralysis. Treatment of narcolepsy involves behavioral interventions, lifestyle modification, and medications.

What Causes Sleep Disorders?

Every sleep disorder may have certain distinctive causes, but there are also several factors common to them all. These include:

• Stress

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Excessive use of caffeine or alcohol or consuming them too close to bedtime

• Poor daytime routine, such as taking long naps during the day Irregular schedules, such as not having a fixed bedtime or working in shifts

• Unhealthy eating habits; eating heavy meals just before going to bed

• Poor sleep hygiene

• Aging

These factors do not necessarily lead to sleep troubles but often play a key role in them. Therefore, it’s important to consider them when struggling with sleep problems.

How to Know You Have a Sleep Disorder?

It’s not uncommon for many sleep disorders to remain undiagnosed. It often happens because people often perceive their symptoms as a normal part of the sleep routine. Similar to the causes, there are distinctive symptoms of each sleep disorder, but they also have several in common. These include:

• Taking more than half an hour to fall asleep.

• Waking up several times during the night

• Difficulty going back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.

• Excessive snoring, gasping for air, or making choking sounds while sleeping.

• Feeling too sleepy during the day

• Not being able to resist falling asleep during the day.

• Always feeling tired and sleepy, no matter how long you sleep at night.

These are some of the common symptoms of sleep disorders. However, if you experience them only sometimes and not regularly, you may not have a sleep issue. For these to qualify as the symptoms of sleep disorders, they must happen regularly or too frequently for a considerable period.

The Final Word

The fast-paced, busy world has made getting enough sleep feel like a luxury when it’s a basic human need for good health and mental and psychological well-being. Without enough sleep, you’re at risk of numerous health problems that can severely impact your body and quality of life. Therefore, it’s important to fix your sleep issues and take every measure needed to ensure you get an adequate amount of quality sleep every night.

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