Thursday, April 19, 2012
Sleep Disorders
There are many common sleep disorders affecting millions of people. We've discussed Insomnia, Narcolepsy, Sleep Apnea, Parasomnias (e.g. Sleep Terrors, Sleep Walking), and Restless Legs Syndrome. Research one of these disorders (or another one that we did not discuss) that interests you and find an article/website offering suggestions for those who suffer from your chosen disorder. Post a brief summary of some of the suggestions (3-5 sentences) with a link to the full article for the class. Respond to this thread before 10:10 on Friday 4/20.
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Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) is a chronic disorder of sleep timing. This means that people tend to fall asleep at very late times, and also have difficulty waking up for their daily activities.
ReplyDeleteTreatment
1. Bright light therapy--doctors try to reset the person's biological clock by exposing them to bright light.
2. Sleeping pills--patients take a sleeping pill shortly before their bedtime and the sleeping pill will take over their biological clock and will make the patient fall asleep when they want/need to.
3.Sleep debt--Makes you tired and therefore will outweigh your clock, making it easier to fall asleep at night
http://www.end-your-sleep-deprivation.com/delayed-sleep-phase-syndrome.html
Thank you very much for writing such an interesting article on this topic. This has really made me think and I hope to read more. Nap
DeleteThe following article addresses some of the potential treatments for narcolepsy and also points out the drawbacks of some of those treatments, such as the use of stimulants like coffee and the use of prescription medication known as Gamma-hydroxybutyrate. It then points out some preferable lifestyle changes that can help treat the disorder, such as sleeping during the day and being most productive at night, therapy, hypnosis, and short naps often during the day.
ReplyDeletehttp://voices.yahoo.com/four-things-help-treat-narcolepsy-5261359.html?cat=5
The article that I chose focuses on treatment and self-help for what is known as Restless Leg Syndrome. It also lists various symptoms that are unique to this sleep disorder. Simple ways to relieve this syndrome include making lifestyle changes, such as exercising in moderation, cutting back on caffeine, as well as trying practicing relaxation techniques, such as yoga and meditation. Doing stretches can also help. The article also recommends that anyone who has tried these "self-help treatments" and have found no relief should contact their doctor or a sleep specialist, who can give a professional opinion.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.helpguide.org/life/restless_leg_syndrome_rls.htm
The article I chose described the disorder of night terrors, some insights into what can cause the disorder, and possible treatments. Because night terrors typically appear during 3-7 years of age, it can be difficult to distinguish nightmares from night terrors. The article doesn't suggest the use of prescriptions or other types of drugs, but instead recommends taking the child to see a therapist as other underlying causes may be the source of the disorder. In addition, relaxation and behavioral therapy are said to help.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/night-terrors/DS01016/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs
The article that I chose, described the disorder of exploding head syndrome. Exploding head syndrome is when a patient experiences a loud bang in their head similar to a bomb exploding, a gun going off, a clash of cymbals or any other form of loud, indecipherable noise that seems to originate from inside the head. Scientist say this is due to stress. Some suggests to help this disorder is to confront what the stress might be and reduce it. People can use yoga, reading or other stress revealing stuff. Also one can use clomipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sleepassociation.org/index.php?p=explodingheadsyndrome
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ReplyDeleteThe article I chose described restless legs syndrome. It gives the overview of RLS along with causes, symptoms, treatments, etc. This disorder causes a strong urge to move your legs. This urge to move often occurs with strange and unpleasant feelings in your legs. Moving your legs relieves the urge and the unpleasant feelings. Suggestions for treatments include lifestyle changes (such as going to bed and waking up around the same time every day), walking/stretching and medicines.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/rls/
I chose sleep terror. This disorder causes someone to experience recurrent episodes of abrupt awakening from sleep. They display signs of intense fear, such as rapid breathing and sweating. They are generally unresponsive to attempts to comfort them, but are unable to remember what happened. These episodes are often triggered by stress, emotional tension, or the use of alcohol. It is recommended that the person is not awakened during one such episode. Counseling, psychotherapy, and some medicines are prescribed to treat this.
ReplyDeletehttp://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/things-that-go-%E2%80%9Cahhhhh%E2%80%9D-in-the-night/
http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/teeth-grinding-bruxism
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about bruxism, which is basically grinding your teeth at night. In the article the author addresses the reasons why people grind their teeth at night and what someone can do to stop it. This disorder is causes by some form of anxiety and by some abnormal bite, missing, or crooked teeth. This disorder is harmful because it can result in a fracturing, loosening, or loss of teeth. Also, it may wear teeth down to stumps. Some tips to lessen this disorder would be to stay away from caffeine, alcohol, do not chew on pens pencils etc, and holding a warm clothe next to your jaw to help relax your muscles.
I chose to look up restless leg syndrome(RLS). This is a disorder of part of the nervous system that affects the legs and causes an urge in the middle of the night to move them.
ReplyDeleteSome treatments are:
1. regular exercise program
2. regular sleep patterns
3. eliminating or decreasing caffeine/ alcohol/ tobacco
4. leg massages
5. hot baths/ heating pads or ice packs on legs
6. dopaminergic drugs
7. benzodiazephines
8. narcotic pain relievers
9. anticonvulsants
I thought that narcolepsy was a very interesting disorder so I decided to see if there was anything that a person suffering from this disorder could do to combat it besides taking drugs. This website gave some lifestyle changes and home remedies for combating this disorder.
ReplyDelete1. stick to a schedule
2. take naps- 20 minute naps prove to work well
3. avoid nicotine and alcohol
4. get regular exercise at least 4 to 5 hours before bedtime
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/narcolepsy/DS00345/DSECTION=lifestyle-and-home-remedies
I have had an odd fascination with sleep walking and sleep running ever since I found out that Travis Pastrana, the X Games star, has this problem. He sleep sprints and will sprint down the street, only waking up when his knees start to hurt. I wanted to find out ways to stop this. Some treatments are:
ReplyDelete-Drug Therapy
-Counseling
-Therapy
-Hypnosis
-Waking up 15 minutes before you would usually start sleepwalking (this one seems so simple and perfect)
Oh and this is my link to my article
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sleepdisordersinfo.org/64/sleep-disorders-adult-sleepwalking-treatments/
I looked at sleep apnea (mostly because when I read about it on my own in the textbook I thought I had it...I definitely don't and was just self-diagnosing but anyway), and found out there are actually three different types which is interesting:
ReplyDeletecentral sleep apnea (CSA),
obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and
mixed sleep apnea (both central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea)
It gave several non-surgical treatment options which I thought was good because many people do not like the idea of surgery; these included:
The non-surgical treatments for obstructive sleep apnea are similar to the non-surgical treatments for snoring with a few differences. Treatments include:behavioral changes, dental appliances,CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), and medication.
http://www.medicinenet.com/sleep_apnea/article.htm#tocb
I chose to look up Kleine-Levin Syndrome. This sleep disorder is characterized by a person, usually an adolescent, to sleep for the entire night, and most of the day. The causes for the disorder are still unknown however it is believed that it is hereditary. Though teenagers generally sleep a lot, Kleine-Levin Syndrome is different since the person does so for long periods of time, ranging from a week to months. The disorder prevents the person from doing any other activities and are usually bedridden, tired and uncommunicative when awake.
ReplyDeleteTreatment
1. taking stimulant drugs to prevent falling asleep
2. (it's linked to some mood disorders) so taking lithium can prevent further episodes
3. (since it is unsure why the disorder occurs and how to definitely treat it, research into the humane genome would need to be done to find the exact gene) gene therapy to prevent the disorder from being passed down
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/kleine_levin/kleine_levin.htm
Being a sleepwalker myself i find the topic to be very interesting. I never really considered sleep walking a type of disease but after reading about it, it does make sense because it affects your sleeping patterns. This article states that hypnosis has shown to be a very reliable way to reduce sleep walkers 'episodes' or rather sleepwalking segments. The results from these studies have been overwhelmingly positive in helping people.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleepless-in-america/200901/hypnosis-sleep-walking
The sleep disorder I chose to look up was REM behavior disorder which is when there is a problem with a person's paralysis so during REM, people cannot control their body and act out their dreams which could end up being dangerous. Some ways to deal with REM behavior disorder is to get medication from a doctor or install physical safeguards, such as padding on the sides of the bed, barriers on the side of the bed, or moving the bed away from the window. Although safeguards won't get rid of REM behavior disorder, they can make sleeping a safer experience and avoid any physical harm.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mayoclinic.org/rem-sleep-behavior-disorder/
I chose sleep texting due to the strange fascination I had when talking about this topic during class. The article states that a reason for this is because of habit because teens send an average of 100 texts per day and their sleep is more likely to be disrupted. This article not only gives possible theories to the reasoning for sleep texting, but also gives other effects of the lack of sleep and ways to prevent sleep texting; such as:
ReplyDelete1. setting limits
2. get outside
3. keep the bedroom tech free
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleep-newzzz/201108/kids-asleep-still-texting
Night sweats are excessive sweating that occurs while sleeping. They are unrelated to wearing layers of clothes or sleeping in a hot environment. Night flashes happen when the room where a person is sleeping is not that hot. It is basically a hot flash at night while sleeping that can wet one's clothes and sheets.
ReplyDeleteTreatment: Many times, night sweats occur because of something else. The cure to night sweats is to see what causes it.
http://www.medicinenet.com/night_sweats/article.htm
My boyfriend's dad has sleep apnea and he wears a mask in order to sleep safely. I thought it was very interesting to learn in class yesterday that it may be linked to a person's weight. The article I found also suggests to quit smoking, not to drink prior to going to sleep, and to avoid anything else that may depress the respiratory system such as allergens.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wisegeek.com/are-there-any-home-remedies-for-sleep-apnea.htm
I decided to look up a sleep disorder that is can be very common to us when we choose to fly to places on vacations such as California and have to live with their time zone. Circadian Rhythm Disorder is a disorder that refers to the sleep and wake patterns of a persons 24 hour biological clock.
ReplyDeleteSome Suggestions:
During the day you can take melatonin supplements in order to regulate your sleeping process. Also you may also take other medications such as benzodiazaphines, which is any drug such as Xanax that helps to calm you down and relax you in order for you to fall asleep. Other suggestions are that you take sleep medications such as Lunesta in order for you to fall asleep.
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/circadian-rhythm-disorder-medications