Do you always wake up more tired than when you went to bed? Or has a restful sleep at night regularly become elusive? If so, you could be having a sleep disorder.
Sleep disorders generally refer to conditions that either hinder you from falling and staying asleep altogether or prevent you from getting restful sleep. As a result, you will feel excessively sleepy or unable to function during the day.
Let’s get a better understanding of sleep disorders by exploring their causes, their different categories and types, and how they’re treated.
Causes of Sleep Disorders
There are various factors that can affect your body clock (circadian rhythm) and either disrupt or exaggerate your sleep. These include the following:
· Aging
· Diet
· Genetics
· Irregular work schedule
· Medical conditions- Heart diseases, diabetes, and asthma
· Mental health conditions (PTSD, depression, anxiety disorders, etc.)
Categories and Types of Sleep Disorders
There are 4 main categories and over 80 types of sleep disorders. They are often classified based on why they occur or how they affect a person.
Sleep disorders are divided into four main categories:
- Disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS) – insomnias
- Disorders of the sleep-wake cycle – circadian rhythm disorders and sleep apnea
- Disorders of excessive somnolence (DOES) – hypersomnias
- Dysfunctions related to sleep, sleep stages, or partial arousals – parasomnias (hallucinations, sleep paralysis, and the like)
Listed below are the common types of sleep disorders:
- Insomnia- This refers to the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep through the night.
- Sleep apnea– This is a condition characterized by abnormal patterns in breathing while you are asleep.
- Restless legs syndrome (RLS)- This is a type of sleep movement disorder that gives you an uncomfortable sensation and an irresistible urge to move your legs while you try to fall asleep.
- Narcolepsy- This is characterized by extreme sleepiness and falling asleep suddenly during the day.
Treatment
There are many solutions for reducing the risk of sleep disorders. You can adjust your environment, diet, lifestyle, sleep pattern, and activity. However, some cases do require expert care. It proves prudent to visit a sleep medicine doctor for an appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
Your sleep medicine doctor can help diagnose your condition through an overnight sleep study in a sleep lab. The rooms in a sleep lab are specially designed with an atmosphere conducive to restful sleep and equipped with technology that can record your sleep activity.
After the staff records the data, your sleep medicine doctor will analyze the results and will then devise the proper treatment plan for your condition.
Sleep Medicine in South Carolina
At South Carolina Internal Medicine Associates & Rehabilitation, we are dedicated to providing exceptional care to patients with sleep disorders and sleep-related problems. We offer high-quality sleep medicine services through our state-of-the-art, on-site sleep lab—Sleep Lab of Columbia.
Dr. Joseph Gabriel, one of our board-certified internal medicine specialists, is a sleep medicine expert, and he holds the distinction of being one of the few physicians in the Midlands region who is certified by the American Board of Sleep Medicine
If you want to find out more about sleep medicine and our other services or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Gabriel, you can contact us at (803) 749-1111 or request an appointment online. You can also call (803) 732-2433 directly to know more about the Sleep Lab of Columbia.
