Do you have signs of a sleep disorder?

When you do not get enough sleep at night, it can have serious effects on your overall health, too. Knowing the signs of a sleep disorder can help you live a better and healthier life. According to WebMD, mental alertness and a lack of headaches aren’t the only cues of how they’re handling sleep deprivation. Skipping sleep has been linked to less-obvious problems (think headaches and even life-threatening ones and earlier death). Sometimes we choose to not get enough sleep and other times it seems to be out of our control.  But what we can choose to do is to learn the most common signs of a sleep disorder and know who to contact if we find ourselves living the signs each day. These take place when you:

  •  Are still exhausted in the morning.
  • You snore while you sleep.
  • You often sleep during the day.
  • You have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep at night or suffer from insomnia.

Sleep isn’t the only issue you have but some other existing health condition is making it even more difficult to sleep now. These issues go hand in hand and affect one another.

Lack of sleep due to a sleep disorder can also create issues with memory, cognition, reaction, alertness, learning, social and professional relationships, mood and some serious cardiac conditions. Whether social, emotional or physical the effects, all collectively grow in risk when we do not get enough sleep due to a sleep disorder. You are not alone, though. 40 percent of American adults are sleep-deprived; the average American sleeps less than seven hours per night during the week. Meanwhile, 70 percent of adolescents also fall behind the recommended amount.

Why? There are so many reasons for this. One of our goals is to take the knowledge and expertise of our team of professionals who include Board Certified Sleep Specialists, Pulmonologists, Respiratory Therapists, and Polysomnographic Technicians. We can diagnose and treat multiple sleep disorders and have you living a better life just by improving the amount and the quality of your sleep. In the world we live in, we are constantly on the go. Remember that sleep is important and by monitoring the signs and symptoms of a sleep disorder, you could add years or reduce the risk of serious health issues down the road.

 

 

 

Sleep is More Important than You Know

When you begin to understand the benefits of getting a good night’s sleep, you can then begin to know when you’re sleeping well and when you’re not. You become more aware of your sleep habits, your body’s needs and the effects of

How many hours of sleep do we need?

See how many hours of sleep do you need based on your age.

not sleeping enough. In fact, in studies of humans and other animals, they have discovered that sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions.

It may seem somewhat obvious to you that sleep is beneficial. No one will argue with that. Even without fully grasping what sleep does for us, we know that going without sleep for too long makes us feel terrible, and that getting a good night’s sleep can make us feel ready to take on the world.

Are you getting enough sleep? And how much sleep is enough sleep? Does it vary by age? The answer is that many of us are not getting enough sleep for whatever reason. Sleep loss and even poor-quality sleep can lead to an increase in errors at the workplace, decreased productivity, mood changes and negative effects on your relationships. To know just how much sleep you truly need, we have a graphic which will break it down for you – How Much Sleep Do You Need. Adults need 7.5-9 hours of sleep each night and this is below what many of us actually get. Teens require 8.5-10 hours each night and we know this is probably not the case for the majority, especially with the temptation of technology and social media.

What happens if you try to sleep, but you cannot? That is where we come in. We can start by doing a sleep test and diagnosing why it is that you are not sleeping enough. Asking us why you cannot sleep is the first step in fixing the problem. There are many reasons that you may not be sleeping enough, some of which include too late caffeine consumption, sleep apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome and many more.

So you know you are not getting enough sleep, but what effect is being had on your daily life? Well, in the short term, a lack of adequate sleep can affect judgment, mood, ability to learn and retain information, and may increase the risk of serious accidents and injury. In the long term, chronic sleep deprivation may lead to a host of health problems including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even early mortality.

Awareness can help you improve your sleep habits and in turn your safety. If you or someone you know is not getting the amount of sleep recommended by the graphic, we encourage you to come visit our sleep center and learn more about what we can do together to improve the amount and the quality of your sleep. Life is exhausting enough without getting too little sleep. Sleep more and live better with a little help from our doctors and staff.