Sleep disorder or insomnia (insomnia) is a general term that includes poor sleep, problems staying asleep, and waking up early. As a result, during sleep, a person is not able to fully restore strength and work ability, which reduces the quality of life. Almost half of the adult population has some degree of sleep disturbance, but only 9-15% have such a problem that is clinically significant. Chronic insomnia is more common in the elderly than in the young, in more than 55% of cases.
In case of any sleep disorder, a person reports fatigue, decreased attention or memory, depression, depression, decreased vital activity.
Types of sleep disorders
According to the cause of sleep disturbance, primary and secondary insomnia are distinguished. In the case of diagnosis of primary insomnia, no organic, mental, neurological causes of sleep disturbance are found. Secondary insomnia is a consequence of various diseases, medication or adverse external conditions.
Sleep disorders can be acute (transient), short-term (up to 6 months) and chronic (more than half a year). Acute sleep disturbance can occur in anyone due to stress, overexcitement, or time zone change. Chronic insomnia develops in people with a predisposition to the latter, which is especially pronounced in the elderly, women, as well as people who for one reason or another sleep less than 5 hours a day. Among them are also people who have not had a job for a long time, are divorced, have suffered psychological and mental traumas, suffer from chronic diseases, etc.
Possible causes of sleep disorders
Difficulty sleeping is the most frequent complaint of patients. The desire to sleep while lying down disappears for various reasons. They can be unpleasant thoughts and memories, inability to find a suitable position due to leg discomfort, pain or itching, extraneous sounds. Light drowsiness is disturbed even by the slightest noise, and after falling asleep, sometimes he considers that he “didn’t sleep for a minute”.
There are many reasons for difficulty sleeping, in particular, insufficient fatigue, staying in bed for a long time, irregular sleep, anxiety, diseases that cause itching and pain, etc.
One of the frequent complaints is the unpleasant feeling of the lower limbs (as if ants are crawling, shivering, tingling, burning, cramping), which forces you to constantly change the position of your legs (restless legs syndrome). Symptoms significantly weaken or completely disappear during movement. Regular walking or just standing often gives the best effect.
Recently, the number of patients with sleep disorders caused by the consumption of stimulating drinks in the evening (tea, coffee, energy drinks), as well as the abuse of drugs (caffeine, psychostimulants, some antidepressants, neuroleptics, nootropics) has increased.
Problems with maintaining sleep are mainly manifested by frequent awakenings, after which it is difficult to fall asleep again, as well as feelings of “surface sleep”. The reasons for waking up are various (dreams, fears, nightmares, breathing disorders, palpitations, urges to urinate).
Chronic insomnia can often be a symptom of neurological and mental illnesses.
Complaints of poor sleep are characteristic of people suffering from stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Such mental illnesses as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety-manic states are also accompanied by sleep disorders.
In most cases, waking up frequently during the night is associated with sleep apnea syndrome. These respiratory disorders are caused by the collapse of the soft tissues of the pharynx during inhalation during snoring and are characterized by a brief cessation of breathing, accompanied by a decrease in the level of oxygen in the blood and interruption of sleep.
Disturbance of the circadian rhythm almost always leads to chronic insomnia. This situation occurs during shift work, as well as after sitting for a long time in front of the TV or computer in the evening. In the evening and at night, the excess of blue light from screens causes desynchronosis, which causes sleep disturbances.
Frequent awakenings can be the result of cardiovascular (arrhythmias, arterial hypertension), pulmonary (chronic obstructive lung diseases), musculoskeletal (arthritis, rheumatism), genitourinary (prostatitis, incontinence) and endocrine diseases.
Problems with waking up early in the morning are seen in the elderly, people suffering from depressive disorders and panic attacks. As a rule, sleep is interrupted at 4-5 in the morning and is no longer restored. Immediately after waking up, patients report an attack of negative thoughts. In the morning and during the day, they complain of a “broken” state, decreased work ability, constant sleepiness.