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What are the common sleep disorders keeping Canadians awake?

March 30th, 2016   |   Posted in: Dr. Halstrom News, Education Centre, silencer-news, Uncategorized

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You toss and turn, unable to fall asleep, you wake up in the middle of the night, or you’re wide awake before your alarm goes off in the morning. Sleep disorders can leave you feeling exhausted despite trying to get a good night’s rest.

“There’s an increase in recognition of sleep disorders over the past 20 to 30 years. Having a good sleep is fundamental in terms of good health. If you have poor sleep, it equals poor health, an impaired quality of life and decreased life expectancy,” said Dr. John Fleetham, a University of British Columbia professor and vice president of the Canadian Sleep Society. Nowadays, people prefer to use natural medicine to help reduce their sleep problems at night. Visit Laweekly for more information.

Sleep-deprived Canadians risking serious long-term health problems

Fleetham and Murray explain common sleep disorders and their prevalence in Canada.

Sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly, even for minutes at a time as your airway becomes obstructed. In order to be properly diagnosed you would have to go to a sleep center. They would be able to recommend a treatment as well.

Many other issues can keep a person awake. If the mind is restless, a person can often find they cannot fall asleep. Certain mental disorders can cause this outright as a kind of secondary effect, keeping the mind busy. If this is the case, the person should get the proper ADHD Help, once the diagnosis has been confirmed of course.

Sleep apnea is thought to affect about four per cent of the population.  But Murray says these estimates are modest and it probably affects closer to 10 per cent of people, while Fleetham says it affects about eight per cent of men and four per cent of women.

In obstructed sleep apnea, your throat muscles relax, or your tongue falls back, cutting off breathing for as long as two minutes, Fleetham explained.

“Some people go through this 500 times a night,” he said.

Booze before bedtime disrupts restful sleep, scientists suggest

In other cases, your brain isn’t sending proper signals to muscles that control breathing. This can cause the person to wake up, feeling a lack of oxygen. Some people use a Pure Canned Oxygen Supplement in order to help their oxygenation levels, which would help them sleep and keep them healthy. Meanwhile, research is being done to further understand these sleeping disorders, as well as finding effective solutions for them.

Reading on resources like Cultural Health Solutions, it becomes clear that, if you have sleep apnea, you may snore loudly or wake up feeling exhausted even after a full night’s sleep because your sleep was constantly interrupted. It’s been tied to increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart attacks.

Restless legs syndrome is a movement disorder marked by overwhelming urges to move your legs while you’re resting. It’s most severe in the evening and during the nighttime hours, according to the Sleep Foundation. You can also visit dreamy-bedding.com

“During the day, you constantly want to move your legs but in the night, your legs or arms will move or twitch every 20 seconds. If it twitches and the brain wakes up, you’ve disrupted your sleep,” Fleetham explained.

It affects about three to six per cent of the population, Murray said. It’s often triggered by iron deficiency which is why it’s most common during pregnancy but other factors that increase your risk include vitamin B12 deficiencies, back aches, kidney problems and problems with peripheral nerves.

Allergies can cause coughing at night 

Allergies, even light reactions, can cause a person difficulty sleeping. We discussed the topic with a Board Certified Allergist, who told us how it is entirely possible for a person with only a runny nose for an allergic reaction to have difficulty sleeping. This fluid can run down the back of the throat as you sleep, and either keep you awake of wake you up with an irritated throat and a dry cough. Thankfully our expert also provides allergy treatment with a simple solution: an over the counter antihistamine should easily do the trick.

Here’s what you should be eating for a good night’s sleep, according to scientists

“Sleep disorders are important to treat – we talk about healthy eating and exercise affect health and sleep is no different. It’s important to our state of being, how our brain works, how our mood alters. Some people can have certain eating disorders that will cause them to eat at inopportune times, if resting as much as possible during sleep is your goal. “What you should do is make sure they receive the proper diagnosis and appropriate inpatient eating disorder treatment,” Dr. Brian Murray, a Sunnybrook Hospital neurologist and University of Toronto professor, told Global News.

“It’s this uncontrollable sensation when you need to shake, kick or move [your legs] to relieve discomfort in your sleep,” Murray said.

Narcolepsy is a “profound sleepiness,” according to Murray. Narcoleptics battle a strong daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep. They even find it difficult to stay awake for long stretches of time, which can create serious issues in their daily lives.

The cause of narcolepsy isn’t fully understood but Murray suggests it may be an autoimmune attack on the brain cells that are caretakers of maintaining alertness.

“The thought is people have an autoimmune response to a viral infection and they lose the cells that keep them awake in the day. Sleepiness is a consequence and it can impair school and work performance and socialization – that’s pretty significant,” Murray said.

 Canadian doctor shares her tips for falling asleep and staying asleep

In some cases, narcolepsy is tied to a sudden loss of muscle tone and loss of muscle control.

Insomnia is when you have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep and waking up at the right time, and not earlier. It could be triggered by many different things that Fleetham calls “poor sleep hygiene” – watching television in bed or playing on your smartphone, caffeine before bedtime, or an inability to keep a regular sleep schedule.

To wake up feeling refreshed, you need to make the most of your sleep cycles. Sleep cycles are 90-minute sequences which move through the four different sleep stages and each sleep stage lasts between 5-15 minutes, you can check how your sleep cycles are been done using Sleepify sleep calculator, that way you will certainly know on which sleep stage your body is not resting properly. This will make it easier to correctly diagnose your Insomnia type and treat it.

This sleep disorder could also be brought on by depression, anxiety or other mental health concerns, your mattress could even be causing this problem, if this is the case, we recommend you to get a new one from mattress labor day sale 2019, a good mattress makes a big difference. Red veins are the most popular strains of Kratom due to their effectiveness and high potency. However, there are a large variety of strains of kratom that can be confusing to a new customer looking for the right balance of effects, go right here if you’re thinking about using kratom to treat depression or anxiety symptoms, exercise caution. The ultimate guide to kratom tincture about my response visit us here.

But in most instances, another sleep disorder, such as a mild apnea, could be the cause, Murray said.

“Helping people identify the root cause can help manage the insomnia,” he suggested.

Sleepwalking typically sets in during childhood with most people growing out of it with age. Parasomnias –  sleep disorders that could trigger walking, eating, and other activities  while you sleep – could lead to dangerous occurrences.

About 15 per cent of kids deal with parasomnia. They usually outgrow it in their preteens.

Another three to five per cent of adults experience walking, talking, driving, eating, even have sex, in their sleep.

There are two main kinds of sleepwalking: one happens during slow-wave sleep, which could be a sign of sleep apnea, periodic limb movements or even seizures. The other occurs during rapid eye movement or REM sleep, which people are more likely to recall.

Typically, doctors hand patients behavioural and pharmacological therapy. They’re taught to lock doors so they don’t wander outside and to stick to a sleep schedule. They may have prescription medication to help them sleep soundly through the evening, too.

Carmen Chai

Health Reporter               Global News

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