Do you have a sleep disorder?

You may if the following symptoms exist:

• Difficulty in falling or staying asleep at night
• Snoring, snorting, and holding your breath while sleeping
• Loss of bed partner due to sleeping behavior
• Falling asleep while driving or when attending a meeting at work
• Legs jerking while sleeping feeling restless at night
• High blood pressure or heart problems
• Excessive sleepiness during the day, loss of energy, or morning headaches

Sleep Disorders in Children exhibit unique symptoms from adults, such as hyperactivety, decreased physical and mental growth, nightmares, sleep terrors, sleep walking and talking, bed-wetting, in addition to the classic symptoms.

common sleep disorders

Snoring - Snoring is the act of breathing through the open mouth in such a way as to cause a vibration of the uvula and soft palate, thus giving rise to a sound which may vary from a soft noise to a loud unpleasant sound. This most commonly occurs during sleep. The cause of snoring is having a blockage in the airway passage. When the airflow in the breathing passage becomes irregular due to the blockage, the soft palate will start vibrating. This vibrating of the soft palate is what causes the snoring sound.

Snoring is a problem if:

• You stop breathing during sleep and have to wake up to catch your breath,
• You are disturbing your sleep partner, or
• You are losing sleep because of your snoring.

In addition to problems stemming from sleep deprivation, snoring can cause more serious health problems. Snoring has been linked to increased risk of stroke; diabetes; high blood pressure; and heart disease. Snoring can also be a symptom of sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea - The most severe and widespread sleep-related breathing disorder. Symptoms include difficulty of breathing or stoppage of breath during sleep, trouble staying awake during the day, headaches and snoring. Potentially life threatening, believed to be an independent risk factor for high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

Narcolepsy - Patients complain of being so tired they fall asleep even after a full night's sleep. Other symptoms include cataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle function, sleep paralysis and frightening hallucinations.

Parasomnias - Abnormal physical behaviors that occur while sleeping that include sleepwalking, night-terrors, REM behavior disorder (violence while dreaming), rhythmic movement disorder (banging of head or rocking of body while sleeping), bed-wetting and teeth-grinding.
Other Disorders - Snoring, hypersomnia, restless legs syndrome, periodic limb movements in sleep, delayed sleep phase syndrome and advanced sleep phase syndrome.

Insomnia - The most common sleep complaint. Poor sleep attributed to difficulty falling asleep and waking up prematurely.