3 Common Sleep Disorders Among Adults

July 27, 2010
By Pat Miller

Sleep is one luxury many mature adults, as well as adolescents simply don’t spend enough time doing. It’s been estimated that nearly 68 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep condition. Getting the right amount of sleep is one of the most important parts of healthy living that most adults, and many adolescents, often neglect. Even men and women who exercise regularly, do not smoke and avoid drinking excessive alcohol often only get a small amount of the sleep their bodies really desire to stay healthy.

Lots of people have a hard time sleeping for any number of reasons. Sometimes health issues such as excessive weight, over indulging on alcohol or food or simply living a stressful lifestyle can lead to sleep problems. Here are some of the more severe sleep conditions seen in most people today:

Snoring or Sleep Apnea: Snoring is a classic symptom of sleep apnea, which is a sleep condition that causes a person to stop breathing shortly during sleep. Sleep apnea can be classified as obstructive, which means soft tissues in the back of the throat collapse slightly while a person is sleeping, momentarily obstructing the airway and disturbing sleep. Central sleep apnea occurs when a person’s brain actually “forgets” to tell the lungs to keep breathing during sleep.

Bed Wetting As an Adult: Normally only considered a sleep issue which plagues small children, it is estimated that over 7 million adult suffer from bed wetting episodes, though those numbers are believed to be under reported. Adult bed wetting occurs when a mature person or adolescent does not wake to eliminate urinate during the night time sleep period. Obviously, this may lead to a fear going to sleep, increase stress about sleeping and ultimately disrupt sleep cycles which can worsen the condition.

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS): This sleep condition causes a person to feel a crawling, tingling or even pulling sensation in the leg when they lay down to go to sleep or sit for long periods of time during the evening hours. The muscles of the leg can cramp and the person may feel the urge to get up and walk around to cause the feelings to dissipate. These feelings prevent sleep and can be more than just bothersome if they happen every night. While it is often used for combatting leg cramps, the quinine in most tonic water will often decrease the symptoms of restless leg syndrome.

All of these sleep disorders are treatable and some can be prevented. You may want to speak with your doctor if you suffer from any of these conditions yourself. Getting the right amount of sleep is very important to your overall well-being and can greatly improve your quality of living.

A lack of sleep can negatively impact your overall health and well-being. Visit our site to learn more about what causes leg cramps and the options available to you.

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