People need sleep to thrive. Insufficient or inadequate sleep can leave people’s bodies run down and prone to disease. Abnormal sleep patterns also lead to emotional turmoil, muddied thinking, irritableness and slow reaction times. Lack of sleep is believed to cause one out of every 6 car accidents in the USA.
It is estimated that as many as 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders. For a long time, it has been known that sleep impacts physical and mental health. It is also known that physical and mental health impacts our ability to sleep. It is a classic case of the chicken and the egg.
While there are several types of sleep disorders, the most common form is insomnia or inability to sleep. Insomnia is also the sleep disorder most commonly caused by stress or depression. In turn, insomnia can lead to depression or stress. It’s a vicious cycle, but one which can be broken.
In some cases, such as jet lag, loss of a loved one or financial problems, insomnia can be short lived. In other cases, it becomes chronic. Mild forms of insomnia can often be overcome by changes to daily habits: relaxation cds, making the bedroom black, warm milk, exercise, staying away from nicotine and caffeine, going to bed at the same time every night, and taking melatonin. If these self-help methods don’t work, it’s best to consult your physician to see if there is a physical factor underlying your insomnia. In time, that doctor may very well refer you to a sleep clinic.
At a sleep disorder clinic, trained clinicians administer a sleep test called polysomnogram. They will observe how you sleep and measure your brain patterns during sleep. Once they have diagnosed your illness, they can take steps to manage it.
Since the causes and treatments for insomnia and other sleep disorders are so varied, it is best to choose a sleep disorder clinic with personnel skilled in several different medical specialties. Most major hospitals, including Baltimore’s University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins and Union Memorial, have well-staffed sleep disorder clinics.
Resource: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Browse/Sleep.html
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