Sleep Deprivation is lacking the proper amount of sleep for your brain and body to function normally. Sleep Deprivation affects 95% of people worldwide, and usually goes undiagnosed. Any one of the other sleep disorders on this website likely results in Sleep Deprivation. Sleep deprivation can cause slurred speech, irritability, weight gain, slow reaction time and depression. Mild forms of Sleep Deprivation may occur due to occasional nightmares, but for people with chronic sleep disorders like insomnia or sleep apnea, sleep deprivation makes daily life incredibly difficult.
Sleep Deprivation, like other sleep disorders, will probably affect you at one point in your life. Sleep Deprivation can be brought on from stress at work or a traumatic event, like loss of a loved one. Sleep schedules can also be disrupted by medication or recreation use of drugs and alcohol. Even your diet and lifestyle choices (like lack of exercise) can contribute to Sleep Deprivation, which can cause other medical problems. Sleep deprivation disrupts leisurely and work activities, and can put a strain on personal relationships.
A wide variety of treatment options are available for sleep disorders, but ignoring sleep disorders can be dangerous and costly. Lack of sleep can lead to serious medical issues including heart disease, hypertension, and depression. If you believe you are suffering from Sleep Deprivation, or any other sleep disorder, it is important to contact a doctor for more information on how to manage sleep disorders.
What Causes Sleep Deprivation
Sleep Deprivation is caused by a number of factors, which can be categorized as: lifestyle issues, health related issues, medication issues, and clinical sleep disorders.
Before learning more about the role each of these play in sleep deprivation and other sleep disorders, it is important to be aware of some very common symptoms that indicate you might have a sleep disorder. These signs include: snoring or waking up choking, inability to fall asleep for a period of several weeks, chronic feeling of tiredness, chest pain or shortness of breath with tiredness. If you have suffered from one or more of these conditions, contact a sleep disorder professional. Continue reading to learn more about what may be causing these symptoms.
Lifestyle Issues: The way you live your life has a tremendous impact on the way you sleep at night. Many sleep disorders are common in people who are overweight, and are often linked to breathing issues. This results from a lack of aerobic exercise. Exercise not only works to help weight loss, but also strengthens the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Consuming drugs and alcohol alters the chemical functioning in your brain, and can make falling asleep more difficult (if you have taken a stimulant) or can cause an overly deep sleep with unhealthy breathing (if you have taken a depressant). Certain foods either promote or inhibit sleepiness, and sleep can also be affected by what time you eat and the size of your meals. Staying up late on a regular basis, or failing to establish a regular sleep schedule upsets your circadian rhythm and makes falling asleep very difficult.
Health Related Issues: Health issues unrelated to sleep disorders can be the cause of sleep deprivation. Sleep can be affected by physical and mental health conditions. For example, while physical health problems such as asthma may make sleeping difficult, mental health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, can lead to insomnia. If you are having trouble sleeping, aren’t on any medication, and don’t have lifestyle habits that affect your sleep, seek medical attention to identify whether or not you suffer from any other medical condition that may be upsetting your sleep. In most cases, treating the underlying disorder will significantly help to improve your sleep. Many different conditions can have a negative impact on sleep including: ADHD, anxiety, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, immune system disorders, mood disorders, obesity, Parkinson’s PTSD. If you suffer from any of these conditions, consult with your doctor on how these illnesses can affect your sleep.
Medication Issues: Some sleep deprivation may be caused by medicine you take. It can interfere with the natural rhythms of your health and prevent you from sleeping. Often people will decide to use a sleep medication to overcome their inability to sleep, which may only further complicate their condition. Most sleep aids are not intended for long-term use and dependence on these medicines only masks the problem rather than solving it. Sleep deprivation related to medicines should be discussed with a doctor experienced in sleep disorders. When you start to take a new medication, be aware of its impact on your sleep by keeping a sleep diary. Determine if the medicine does impact your sleep habits and contact your physician immediately if it does.
Clinical Sleep Disorders: If you suffer from Sleep Deprivation and don’t believe your lifestyle, medicine or unrelated health issues are the cause, you may have a clinical sleep disorder. There are many, many sleep disorders. Some of the more common medical disorders include: Sleep apnea, insomnia, sleep paralysis, snoring, nightmares, restless leg syndrome, REM sleep disorder, narcolepsy, sleepwalking and hypersomnia. Each of these disorders, how to recognize them, how to treat them and how to prevent them will be discussed in more detail on this site.
Treating Sleep Deprivation
Sleep Deprivation which is a problem over a long period of time should be addressed by a sleep disorder physician. As we have discussed sleep deprivation sleep disorder can be caused by conditions which are not related to specific sleep disorders which include your lifestyle, medicines you may be taking or an unrelated medical condition. Certainly it may be caused by one of the specific sleep disorders we have referenced above which include: sleep apnea, insomnia, sleep paralysis, snoring, nightmares, restless leg syndrome, REM sleep disorder, narcolepsy, sleepwalking and hypersomnia you should see a sleep doctor trained to treat those disorders. Furthermore, even if your sleep deprivation is related to lifestyle, medicines or non-sleep and the impact on your well-being is significant, you should also seek medical advice and possible treatment. Treatment is essential to your good health. Sleep deprivation can have a negative impact on your physical and mental stability, lifestyle choices and emotional disorders; it may be hard to identify exactly what is disrupting your sleep.
In diagnosing you, your doctor will likely perform a series of tests and ask you about your lifestyle as he attempts to pinpoint the cause of your sleep deprivation. Knowing what is preventing you from falling and staying asleep, or even getting quality sleep is essential to you getting the right treatment. For example, if you are taking medications that are interfering with your sleep, your doctor may prescribe you an alternate medication. Similarly, if depression is the underlying cause of your sleep deprivation, then therapy and the right medication to treat this psychiatric disorder may help repair your sleep. When you meet with your doctor make sure to tell them if you have started to take any different medication, since this could potentially be the cause of your Sleep Deprivation. You should also tell your doctor if you have had any major changes in your life. For example if there has been a death in your family or losing your job.
Help Stop your Sleep Deprivation at Home
- Try and make sure you get at around 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Sleep is very important to a healthy lifestyle.
- Try to find out what is causing your stress, regardless if you think it’s the root cause of your Sleep Deprivation. Relieving stress can help stop diseases like Depression and other sleep disorders.