Ok so recently, I've been writing about sleeping. This will be the last blog that I cover sleep disorders in. In this blog, we will be talking about sleep apnea, insomnia, and night terrors. So let's get started!
Let me start with a personal story about sleep apnea. Ever since I was little, it has been a joke in my family about my dad's snoring. We have to turn the TV up very loud at night because he snores so loud. Also, we end up throwing pillows at his feet to get him to wake up or stop snoring. My dad has had some health problems in the past, but refuses to go to the doctor (that's a whole other story :) ). Anyway, my mom and I have said over and over that my dad has sleep apnea. He, of course, doesn't think so. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm such a daddy's girl; I love him a lot. HOWEVER, he can be such a stubborn man sometimes. To prove to my dad that he has sleep apnea, we did an online questionnaire through STOPBANG.org. The questions include:
Snoring?
Tired?
Observed?
Pressure?
Bmi?
Age older than 50?
Neck size?
Gender?
STOPBANG
Each question has a yes or no bubble that allows you to click it and receive feedback for the whole questionnaire. My mom and I completed the questions with my dad, and his results indicated that he is at high risk for sleep apnea.
So an official definition of sleep apnea is: a disorder where a person has one or more episodes of stops in breathing while one sleeps, causing the person to start awake and start breathing by snorting or gasping for breath. To see a great animation of sleep apnea, go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea. If you or someone you know have sleep apnea, there are some home tests you can do. Try the Snore Score, the STOPBANG test, or the Epworth Sleepiness Scale.
Next, insomnia. Insomnia is basically the inability to sleep; not sleeping. A few summers ago, I dealt with insomnia for about 2 months. It was terrible. Nothing I did would make me tired. I laid in bed for 3 and a half hours (on average, every night) before getting up and watching TV. Then, after about 2 months, it just kind of went away. I know some family members of mine still deal with it on a daily basis. My aunt takes medication to make her tired because her insomnia is so bad. Just like sleep apnea, there are home tests you can take to determine if you have insomnia. No final medical diagnosis should be made by anyone but your doctor. See this website for a simple evaluation of insomnia: http://njsleepdisorderscenter.com/sleep_quiz.htm
Lastly, night terrors. My brother, who is 2 and a half years older than me, had night terrors when he was about 4 or 5 years old. According to my mom, he would be on his stomach but he pushed himself up to elbows. He would be screaming and yelling garble, and his eyes would be open too. She says that it would only last 5 minutes or so, and then the rest of the night, he would be perfectly fine. Even when he was a teenager, he didn't have night terrors, but sleep talked a lot. He's grown out of it now (which is good, because it kept me awake :) ).
Night terrors, or sleep terrors, occur in the first few hours of sleep and cause feelings of intense or debilitating fear. It is common among sleepwalkers. Sleep terrors are very rare in adults but are mostly seen in young children (ages 4-12). Sleep terrors should not sound the alarm because sufferers usually grow out of it. If, however, sufferers are experiencing fear of going to sleep, dangerous injury to oneself or others, frequent bouts of sleep terrors, or persistence into the teenage years, a visit to a doctor may be necessary.
Both night terrors and sleep apnea can occur in different stages of sleep. Most often, they occur right before REM sleep. Both can occur in REM sleep, but it is very uncommon.
There are many other sleep disorders, but these are just a few that I wanted to cover since I've been talking about sleep recently. Check back next time!
References
What Is Sleep Apnea? (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2015, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea
American Sleep Apnea Association. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2015, from http://www.sleepapnea.org/treat/test-yourself.html
STOPBang.ca. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2015, from http://www.stopbang.ca/screen.php
Sleep Quiz, Sleep Apnea, Insomnia, Restless Leg Syndrome, Narcolepsy, Symptoms. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2015, from http://njsleepdisorderscenter.com/sleep_quiz.htm
Sleep terrors (night terrors). (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2015, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/night-terrors/basics/symptoms/con-20032552
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