Insomnia Help: When You Don’t Sleep Well, It May Not Be Insomnia!

Insomnia is not the only known sleep disorder. This is difficulty with falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early for no apparent reasons. It can be induced by stress. The condition is fairly common in teenagers, whose body clocks are typically changing as a matter of habit – causing them to want to sleep late and wake up later.

However, not every person who is having sleep problems necessarily suffers from insomnia. Sleep Walking, Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD) and Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), Narcolepsy and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea are just examples of four other sleep disorders.

Apart from insomnia, most people are not familiar with other less known sleep disorders which I hope to briefly introduce.

Sleep Walking

The condition is more common among children. It is often associated with bed-wetting. Those suffering from the condition would behave in weird manners like walking or doing things while remaining in deep sleep.

In adults sleep walking may be caused by lack of sleep or effects triggered by medications.

After waking up, the affected person commonly does not remember anything and would behave as though nothing has happened.

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD) and Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)

Both conditions often go together. Those suffering from PLMD involuntarily jerk their limbs while sleeping. Those jerks disrupt their sleep causing them to wake up unrefreshed. People affected by RLS can’t lie still. They typically feel an irresistible urge to move their arms or legs while in bed. Others get a tingly or creepy sensation in their limbs which will get relief with movement.

Narcolepsy

This is a sleep disorder that causes a person to fall asleep abruptly, usually when doing some monotonous routines. It has been observed to happen in the middle of a conversation or a meal.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

This is a potentially dangerous condition in which breathing stops for a few seconds, rousing the patient enough to start him or her breathing again. Studies have shown this sleep disorder can happen 20 to 30 times an hour, disrupting rest, wearing the patient and leaving the person exhausted the next day.

More People with Sleep Problems

It has been reported that the number of people seeking help with sleep problems have gone up significantly over the years. Hospitals have to ramp up manpower and facilities to handle the surge in demand for treating those problems.

These include finding it hard to go to sleep or staying asleep, or having breathing problems like snoring or sleep apnoea.

A Disturbing Trend

Sleep disorders can have their roots in stress, shift-work, obesity or medical conditions, and are not confined to adults.

Both doctors and educators say the trend is worrying because lack of sleep can make children obese, raise their risk of infections and accidents as well as sap their ability to learn. More studies have found that adults and children who get enough of good sleep tend to be more alert, think faster, assimilate more and make better decisions.

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