0
Sleep Disorders
Sleep disorders are a group of syndromes characterized by disturbance in the patient's amount of sleep, quality or timing of sleep, or in behaviors or physiological conditions associated with sleep. There are approximately 70 different sleep disorders that may be the result of serious medical conditions, including breathing difficulties or thyroid disorders, or external factors, such as stress or substance abuse. Manifestations include insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy.
1,416 Questions
Is there a diagnosis or remedy for someone who falls asleep whenever he or she sits down?
I have actually fallen asleep when I had gotten back in the car while I was putting gas in the car. It sounds like sleep apnea. It can be debilitating. It had destroyed my health. The narcolepsy is a remote possibility. A sleep study can diagnosis the problem. Wearing a CPAP machine at night is a real pain, but it does work. Believe me, sleep apnea can develop into a very serious illness. My sleep study revealed that I was stopping breathing on the average of 15 times an hour throughout the entire night. Don't ignore this.
It does sound like sleep apneoa. We all learnt about narcolepy in Med School but my understanding is that it is exceedingly rare. Sleep apneoa is probably quite common and typically affects the truck driver coming the other way. Do you have a partner who notices that you sleep very fitfully, with long periods 30-45 sec of not breathing followed by a loud snore. This goes on all night and your partner may have moved to another room or left you. This can be treated by positive pressure ventilation through a mask during the night.
Hi Val
This sounds very much like a condition called narcolepsy. Here, people have a tendency to fall asleep in quiet, calm surroundings or even during mundane tasks, at an abnormal rate.
It may also be associated with a sudden loss of muscle tone resulting in collapse, or sleep paralysis. Some people report vivid hallucinations in the moments before they sleep, although some patients do not experience any of these other symptoms.
Narcolepsy affects as many as 1 in every 2000 people and is probably due to the lack of a substance called hypocretin in the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord.
Unfortunately, narcolepsy is not that easy to treat. Drugs such as dexamfetamine, or a low dose of tricyclic antidepressants may be of some benefit - speak to your doctor.
Hope that is of some use, best of luck!
I'm wondering if low blood sugar could play a part in this problem. Or how about just being under too much stress so when you finally quit moving, you fall asleep?
Sleep apnea can deprive you of ever having a good nights sleep. This can cause one to fall asleep very easily while doing simple tasks such as driving or even waiting for a page to come up on the computer. Usually the afflicted snores when asleep. A good thing to rule out if nothing else. Any ear, nose and throat doc can help. The condition can be treated and greatly improve your well being. Ignoring this condition can cause high blood pressure and other health problems, including death.
It could also be that you have a partner who snores, comes in late, or turns on the light while you are sleeping? Noise and light are known to reduce the quality of sleep, as well as caffeine and pseudo-ephedrine. Even though you are asleep, apparently two hours of sleep without caffeine or Nyquil in your system are better for you than four hours of sleep on cold medication. I know it's hard to find time, but you should REALLY try to get two hours more sleep a night, and try to make sure it's QUALITY sleep. If you find you can't sleep in bed, even if you're really tired, the next day you should try going for a jog. You may be surprised how much just fifteen minutes of exercise can improve sleep!
In other words sleep deprivation could cause some to fall asleep while sitting or doing some tasks.
Sleep apnea is not really a sleep problem, it is a breathing problem that happens while sleeping. Many over weight people get this. the person stops breathing for a few seconds, many times throughout the night and is very tired the next day of course. There IS a treatment for sleep apnea. Now Narcolepsy is a disease that makes a person uncontrollably fall asleep, during work,meetings or ANYWHERE else. They do not have to be bored to fall asleep. My best friend has it and she can fall asleep during dinner etc.
- Sleep Apneoa
- What is it?
It is a sleep related breathing disorder that causes your body to stop breathing during sleep. The following are the two primary types of sleep apnea:
- obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- central sleep apnea (CSA)
OSA happens when the tissue in the back of the throat collapses and blocks the airway. This keeps air from getting in to the lungs. This is a very common sleep disorder. It happens because the muscles inside the throat relax as you sleep. Gravity then causes the tongue to fall back and block the airway. Blockage of the airway can happen a few times a night or several hundred times per night.
CSA occurs when the brain fails to tell the lungs to breathe. As this signal is lost, the lungs do not take in the oxygen that your body needs. This happens most often as people are falling asleep.
Who gets it?
Sleep apnea can occur in men and women of any age.
OSA is most common in obese, middle-aged men. There is a strong relationship between weight and OSA. A man's neck gets thicker as he gains weight. This increases the level of fat in the back of the throat, narrowing the airway. With more fat in the throat, a man's airway is more likely to be blocked.
Children with large tonsils may also have OSA.
CSA is most common in the elderly and in patients with heart disease. It can also occur as a result of a stroke.
How do I know if I have it?
About 1/2 of people who snore loudly have OSA. Snoring is a sign that your airway is being partially blocked. While you may not think you snore, ask the person you sleep with. He or she can tell how often you snore and whether or not you stop breathing.
Many patients with OSA are sleepy during the day. They find that they are still tired even after a nap. When you stop breathing, your body wakes up. It happens so quickly, you aren't even aware of it. This disrupts your sleep process. You can stop breathing hundreds of times in one night. This will make you feel very tired the next day. OSA patients are often obese and have a neck size of more than 17 inches. Many patients with OSA also have high blood pressure.
Loud snoring is not a factor with CSA. Patients may not know they have it unless someone watches them as they sleep. CSA may be a result of an illness such as a stroke or heart disease. Many older people have episodes of CSA as they fall asleep, but they have no major consequences.
It is also important to know if there is something besides sleep apnea that is causing your sleep problems.
What are ways you can fall asleep or get help falling asleep with?
Your body prefers a schedule. Pick a specific time to go to bed and specific time to wake up and stick to it! Make sure the room is dark and slightly cool. It's best to make sure you are not near any loud noises. Create a bed time routine and use the bed only for sleeping. If you cannot fall asleep within 30 minutes, get up, do something productive but calming for a bit and then try laying down again.
When did Tim wake up to the meaning of war?
Ware; aware., A contest between nations or states, carried on by force, whether for defence, for revenging insults and redressing wrongs, for the extension of commerce, for the acquisition of territory, for obtaining and establishing the superiority and dominion of one over the other, or for any other purpose; armed conflict of sovereign powers; declared and open hostilities., A condition of belligerency to be maintained by physical force. In this sense, levying war against the sovereign authority is treason., Instruments of war., Forces; army., The profession of arms; the art of war., a state of opposition or contest; an act of opposition; an inimical contest, act, or action; enmity; hostility., To make war; to invade or attack a state or nation with force of arms; to carry on hostilities; to be in a state by violence., To contend; to strive violently; to fight., To make war upon; to fight., To carry on, as a contest; to wage.
Can you be diagnosed over the computer with ADHD or narcolepsy?
It is tempting to "self-diagnose" using questionnaires that you may find on the internet. These can be useful in that they may help you to become aware of a potential illness and point you toward consulting a professional. However, these conditions are complex and require a full diagnostic work-up by a qualified health care provider. This is important because other illnesses or problems may be the cause of the symptoms, not necessarily ADD or narcolepsy. Also, proper treatment sometimes requires professional help, using medications, behavioral treatments, and/or psychosocial counseling. Ideally, if ADD is suspected, one should consult with a psychiatrist. For narcolepsy, a neurologist, sleep specialist, or psychiatrist should be consulted. Both of these are serious, often life-long conditions that warrant professional treatment!
Is cpap machine uncomfortable?
The CPAP machine is not really something that affects comfort, in and of itself. The mask can take some getting used to for a new patient. Is is different, especially having something attached to your face while you slept, when previously this has never been an issue.
Most patients adjust to the use of CPAP pretty easily. For some, there is some minor discomfort. These problems can usually be addresses by changing the type of equipment. Some people feel claustrophobic having to wear a mask that covers their face. For these patients, an apparatus is made that uses nasal prongs called pillows. These are gently placed under the nostrils and usually solves the issue of claustrophobia for most.
Some people can get get by with just a nasal mask. This type of mask just covers the nose and bridge with a cushion that seals to the skin to provide therapy and can work quite successfully without felling like there is something touching all over your face.
Many people discover that after they have gotten used to one type of delivery system, they want to try something else. Initially i only wanted the nasal mask because I didn't like the thought of something covering my entire face. Now I have moved onto using a hybrid mask that covers the mouth and the nasal passage. This worked better for me, because I am a mouth breather who usually spends some time of my sleep cycle on my stomach. This delivery system ultimately worked better for me than just the nasal and after getting used to having the nasal, the thought of the mask covering more of my face didn't affect me as much.
A nightmare could cause a person to wake up screaming.
How do you know when someones in an rem sleep?
You will know when someone is in REM sleep when there eyes-lids are moving really fast back and forward. REM sleep is a sleep that is after your first 4 stages of sleep and is the stage of sleep that you dream.
You should go to a neurologist who specializes in sleep. You will first be sent for a blood test to rule out other conditions, as well as a specific test to determine if you are predisposed to narcolepsy (this is a relatively new test). Then you will go in for an over night sleep study, and daytime sleep test. They will connect wires to your head, face, neck and legs while you sleep at night. When you wake up in the morning, they will disconnect some of the wires, however, the wires on the head and neck will remain. They will then instruct you to take a nap every two hours, and they will measure how quickly, or if you enter REM sleep during a daytime nap. You will take around 5 naps before you are released that evening.
If you enter REM sleep quickly during daytime naps, that is an indication of narcolepsy. Most people take 45 minutes to enter REM sleep, however narcoleptics can complete a REM cycle in as few as 15 minutes.
Does everyone need the same amount of sleep every night?
Do you need 8 hours sleep every night? Nope....You can sleep only 4 hours a day like Napoleon Bonaparte did or 10 hours of sleep in a day just like Albert Einstein. You can set your alarm for when you go to bed and when you would like to get up from bed that fits your lifestyle. Remember... the most important thing is that you have a good night's sleep!
Can you take sleeping pills with 5-htp?
I Would Not Recommend Taking Sleeping Pills With 5-HTP.Even When Sleeping Pills Contain Diphenhydramine.You Don't Know How Your Body Will React To It.
What would 8 kalms sleeping pills do?
It would without doubt 'wipe' you clean off you're tree. Best to stay away from that volume of tablets man.
go to the doctors, it could be chronic fatigue
Is high protein and uric acid the same or how do they differ?
some of the food you eat are protein's, some of these proteins are high in a material known as purines. this is especially the case in offal meats kidney liver etc followed by red meats, any foods with yeast in them most alcoholic beverages and so on. as a mater of the proteins that are part of your own cells also have purines. these purines are turned into uric acid in your blood and then removed largely by the kidneys but also via the large intestine and along with perspiration. Uric acid is not the same as the protein that causes the creation of uric acid. It is a poisonous by product.
Parasomnias are primary sleep disorders in which the patient's behavior is affected by specific sleep stages or transitions between sleeping and waking.
This symptom could be cause by Sleep Apnea, too. Before being diagnosed with this myself, I had lots of RLS during the night. There could also be a medical condition other than Apnea causing this, so it's best to consult a medical professional and have some tests run. Just changing the type of bed is not going to solve the RLS condition.
What does it mean if you do not eat or sleep much?
It depends what you mean, if you mean you can't get enough sleep or you just can't eat then I would say that you should go to a doctor, but if you mean that you just don't eat enough and sleep enough, then I would try eating smaller meals and more meals and trying to make yourself tired when you go to sleep.
Is narcolepy different than Narcolepsy?
Usually when people fall asleep they experience 90 minutes of non-REM sleep, followed by REM sleep. People with narcolepsy, enter REM sleep immediately and it occurs during every sleep attack.
If you are are in labor can use sleeping pills so it dont hert when the baby comes out?
I can assure you that you are not going to sleep through labor, with or without sleeping pills, but there are other ways that doctors can make the process less painful. Consult your gynecologist, and DO NOT try to prescribe your own medication.
What type of vitamin or herb will help with being tired all the time?
Vitamin B Complex will help, but you must take it consistently every day.
