3 Sleeping Disorders That Are Much Worse Than Snoring
You think snoring is a terrible sleeping disorder? Think again! Although snoring is not something that people want to experience, it is a rather tame sleeping disorder compared to the ones listed below.
In this article, you’ll learn about 3 sleeping disorders that are much worse than snoring. We’ll cover all three disorders in reasonable detail starting from RSL or Restless Legs Syndrome.
In this article, you’ll learn about 3 sleeping disorders that are much worse than snoring. We’ll cover all three disorders in reasonable detail starting from RSL or Restless Legs Syndrome.
(1) Restless Legs Syndrome
Do your legs ache, tingle, or itch just before you fall asleep? Does your bed partner complain of being kicked during the night? If so, you need to consult with your physician.
Restless legs syndrome is a sleep disorder “characterized by disagreeable leg sensations, usually prior to sleep onset, that cause an almost irresistible urge to move the legs.”
The sensations may be pain, discomfort, itching, pulling, tingling, or prickling. If the patient moves his legs, there is partial or complete relief of the sensation, but the symptoms return upon cessation of the leg movements.
Having restless legs syndrome often leads to periodic involuntary limb movements both during sleep and during the day. It is often accompanied by intense anxiety or depression.
Restless legs syndrome is a sleep disorder “characterized by disagreeable leg sensations, usually prior to sleep onset, that cause an almost irresistible urge to move the legs.”
The sensations may be pain, discomfort, itching, pulling, tingling, or prickling. If the patient moves his legs, there is partial or complete relief of the sensation, but the symptoms return upon cessation of the leg movements.
Having restless legs syndrome often leads to periodic involuntary limb movements both during sleep and during the day. It is often accompanied by intense anxiety or depression.
CASE STUDY
A sixty-two-year-old female was referred for evaluation of difficulty in falling asleep, and repetitive leg movements, symptoms she has had for fifteen to twenty years. She describes a creepy, crawly sensation in her legs and feet, with the sensation that she must move her legs.
This tends to come on when she is lying down to go to sleep. For several nights each week it takes her more than thirty minutes to fall asleep. When she develops the crawly sensation in her legs and the feeling that she needs to move about, she will get up and go to another room to read or do other activities.
She dreads going to bed because she is worried she will have difficulty falling asleep. On those nights when she sleeps poorly, she feels she may lie awake in bed or read as late as four to five in the morning before she will fall asleep.
Her anxiety about not being able to fall asleep has become a vicious cycle. The more anxious she gets, the more it prolongs the period of time before she is able to initiate sleep; consequently, if she lies in bed long enough, she will develop more symptoms of restless leg syndrome.
Between 5 and 15 percent of the population suffer from restless legs syndrome. The peak onset period is usually middle age, and it may be seen for the first time in advanced old age. It is more common in females.
Pregnant women, people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, and people who are anemic are at higher risk. Restless legs syndrome is usually treated with prescribed medication, such as Sinemet, Parlodel or Klonopin, and relaxation therapy.
For more information, contact the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation.
This tends to come on when she is lying down to go to sleep. For several nights each week it takes her more than thirty minutes to fall asleep. When she develops the crawly sensation in her legs and the feeling that she needs to move about, she will get up and go to another room to read or do other activities.
She dreads going to bed because she is worried she will have difficulty falling asleep. On those nights when she sleeps poorly, she feels she may lie awake in bed or read as late as four to five in the morning before she will fall asleep.
Her anxiety about not being able to fall asleep has become a vicious cycle. The more anxious she gets, the more it prolongs the period of time before she is able to initiate sleep; consequently, if she lies in bed long enough, she will develop more symptoms of restless leg syndrome.
Between 5 and 15 percent of the population suffer from restless legs syndrome. The peak onset period is usually middle age, and it may be seen for the first time in advanced old age. It is more common in females.
Pregnant women, people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, and people who are anemic are at higher risk. Restless legs syndrome is usually treated with prescribed medication, such as Sinemet, Parlodel or Klonopin, and relaxation therapy.
For more information, contact the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation.
(2) Periodic Limb Movement Disorder
Does your bed partner say that your legs jerk during the night? Is your sleep unrefreshing?
Periodic limb movement disorder is “characterized by periodic episodes of repetitive and highly stereotyped limb movements that occur during sleep. The movements typically occur in the patient’s legs, and consist of an extension of the big toe in combination with partial flexion of the ankle, knee, and sometimes hips.”
This often results in partial arousals from sleep. However, as with sleep apnea, the person remains unaware of the many nocturnal disruptions and does not know why he or she is so tired during the day. The limb movements often disrupt the sleep of the bed partner.
Periodic limb movement disorder may accompany obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and insomnia, and is quite common in people who suffer from restless legs syndrome as well.
Around 34 percent of people over the age of sixty have periodic limb movement disorder. The medical treatment for periodic limb movement syndrome is similar to that for restless legs syndrome.
Periodic limb movement disorder is “characterized by periodic episodes of repetitive and highly stereotyped limb movements that occur during sleep. The movements typically occur in the patient’s legs, and consist of an extension of the big toe in combination with partial flexion of the ankle, knee, and sometimes hips.”
This often results in partial arousals from sleep. However, as with sleep apnea, the person remains unaware of the many nocturnal disruptions and does not know why he or she is so tired during the day. The limb movements often disrupt the sleep of the bed partner.
Periodic limb movement disorder may accompany obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and insomnia, and is quite common in people who suffer from restless legs syndrome as well.
Around 34 percent of people over the age of sixty have periodic limb movement disorder. The medical treatment for periodic limb movement syndrome is similar to that for restless legs syndrome.
(3) Delayed/Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome
Do you find it difficult to fall asleep until well after midnight, yet are able to sleep a normal length of time if you don’t have to get up for work? Or, do you fall asleep too early in the evening and wake up too early in the morning? If so, your biological clock may be out of sync with your preferred sleep-wake schedule.
Someone with delayed sleep phase syndrome has sleep-onset and wake times that are later than desired, but little or no difficulty maintaining sleep once it has begun. Many adolescents, because of their neurophysiology as well as school and social schedules, suffer from this syndrome.
Teens often do not want to sacrifice their social lives or their after-school jobs for the sake of a full night’s sleep. They do not get to bed until late at night and then have to wake up for early-morning classes. The result is that they are “walking zombies” for the first few hours of the day.
Workers on rotating shifts, college students who stay up late to study, and eastbound jet-lagged travelers, can also experience delayed sleep phase syndrome. Effects can be minimized by avoiding alcohol, sedatives, or stimulants and by practicing good sleep hygiene, including maintaining consistent sleep-wake schedules.
Advanced sleep phase syndrome is the opposite of delayed sleep phase syndrome. Sufferers of advanced sleep phase syndrome fall asleep too early in the evening and wake up too early in the morning, often before dawn. Like delayed sleep phase syndrome, advanced sleep phase syndrome becomes a problem when it conflicts with work and social schedules.
The sleep phase syndromes are most effectively treated with bright light (2,000 to 10,000 lux) therapy. (Lux is a measure of illumination. The intensity of office lighting is about 200 to 500 lux. A bright overcast sky provides about 10,000 lux.) Those with delayed sleep phase syndrome are treated with exposure to daylight first thing in the morning, and are asked to avoid bright light in the evening. People with advanced sleep phase syndrome are exposed to daylight full-spectrum light (such as Vita-Lite or Growlux light—the same lamps that people use to grow plants!) during early evening hours.
They must keep their bedroom dark during early morning hours. To establish the proper treatment schedule and to avoid damage to the eyes, consult a sleep specialist before you attempt any bright light therapy.
Someone with delayed sleep phase syndrome has sleep-onset and wake times that are later than desired, but little or no difficulty maintaining sleep once it has begun. Many adolescents, because of their neurophysiology as well as school and social schedules, suffer from this syndrome.
Teens often do not want to sacrifice their social lives or their after-school jobs for the sake of a full night’s sleep. They do not get to bed until late at night and then have to wake up for early-morning classes. The result is that they are “walking zombies” for the first few hours of the day.
Workers on rotating shifts, college students who stay up late to study, and eastbound jet-lagged travelers, can also experience delayed sleep phase syndrome. Effects can be minimized by avoiding alcohol, sedatives, or stimulants and by practicing good sleep hygiene, including maintaining consistent sleep-wake schedules.
Advanced sleep phase syndrome is the opposite of delayed sleep phase syndrome. Sufferers of advanced sleep phase syndrome fall asleep too early in the evening and wake up too early in the morning, often before dawn. Like delayed sleep phase syndrome, advanced sleep phase syndrome becomes a problem when it conflicts with work and social schedules.
The sleep phase syndromes are most effectively treated with bright light (2,000 to 10,000 lux) therapy. (Lux is a measure of illumination. The intensity of office lighting is about 200 to 500 lux. A bright overcast sky provides about 10,000 lux.) Those with delayed sleep phase syndrome are treated with exposure to daylight first thing in the morning, and are asked to avoid bright light in the evening. People with advanced sleep phase syndrome are exposed to daylight full-spectrum light (such as Vita-Lite or Growlux light—the same lamps that people use to grow plants!) during early evening hours.
They must keep their bedroom dark during early morning hours. To establish the proper treatment schedule and to avoid damage to the eyes, consult a sleep specialist before you attempt any bright light therapy.
