Sleeping Disorder

You can find answers of below questions in this page issued by our specialists on sleep disorder.
 

• What is Sleep DisordeR?
• What are Causes of Sleep Disorder?
• What are Types of Sleep Disorder?
• What are Symptoms of Sleep Disorder?
• How is Sleep Disorder Treated?
• What is Polysomnography (Sleep Test)?
• How is Difficulty to Fall Asleep Overcome?
• Which Department Deals with Sleep DisordeR?
• How Can You Evaluate Your Sleep?

You Are As Healthy As Your Sleep

A healthy sleep is essential for a healthy life. If your sleep quality is poor or you have any problem with sleeping, the “Sleep Disorders Center of American Hospital” is ready for help and to find a solution…
 

What is Sleep Disorder?

Sleep is a biological process that should be experienced every day to rest and refresh in order to maintain mental and physical health. The basic aim is to have body and brain rest following a tiring daily life. Being fit and well rested in the morning of a new day implies that individuals have a healthy sleep process.

If the body cannot rest well and the individual feels tired at the beginning of the day, it is necessary to be suspicious of sleep disorders. Failure to sleep long enough and/or the conditions that lead to various problems in day time due to physiological events that occur during sleep are usually classified as “sleep disorders”.
 

What are Causes of Sleep Disorder?

There are various causes of sleep disorders. Failure to sleep well or inefficient sleep process may arise out of various physiological or psychological problems. They may be genetic in nature or they may be caused by other underlying diseases, but they may also be secondary to inappropriate habits or it may a “idiopathic” condition, which implies there is no documented cause. It is very crucial to identify and treat these problems correctly.
 

What are Types of Sleep Disorder?

 

Insomnia:

It is a sleep disorder characterized with failure to fall asleep or maintain the sleep – waking up frequently followed by failure to fall asleep. It may be genetic in nature, but it can also be caused by inappropriate sleep behavior disorders or habits. It influences performance and quality of life negatively in the next day; it may cause problems in work and social life. It can occur in all age ranges, but it is more common in adolescence and young adulthood. Failure to sleep in the evening can be considered as a sleep disorder, if it is persistent and influences the daily life negatively.
 

Hypersomnia:

As the title implies, the disorder is manifested by excessive need to sleep and involuntary sleep conditions. The person needs to sleep more than 10 to 12 hours per day and therefore, social life and work life may be influenced negatively. An advanced stage of the condition is called narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that is manifested by sudden-onset unpreventable sleep attacks and it has genetic background. Potential symptoms are muscle weaknesses that mimics total laxity of knee joint during excitement, anxiety, fear and laughter, daytime dreaming, nightmares, and waking up with strict stiffness like paralysis. Individuals can sleep everywhere, even in the most inappropriate conditions. It causes serious academic failures in school-age children and adolescents and serious problems and accidents in house and work life of adults.
 

Sleep-Related Respiratory Disorder:

Individuals usually complain of snoring, sleep apnea, excessive perspiration at night and waking up frequently (for voiding) along with apparently non-sense tiredness and sleepiness at day time. Underlying causes include sleep apnea and superficial breathing. It is also called apnea disease. It leads not only to problems in social and work life, but it may also cause fatal accidents and life threatening diseases. Therefore, this group of diseases should be diagnosed and treated, if required.
 

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder in Sleep:

The condition characterized with gradually increasing restlessness, discomfort, retraction, spasm and need to move limbs before the time of sleep especially in legs and rarely in arms is called “restless leg syndrome”. Another limb movement disorder in sleep is manifested by involuntary periodical contractions in feet throughout the night. No matter how long or well the patients can sleep; they feel tired and exhausted in the morning. Almost all complaints of patients with insomnia can be observed in this group.
 

Phase-Shift:

The condition is related to the timing of sleep. It is a disorder that is manifested by incompliance of biological circadian rhythm to the social life clock. Individuals with sleep phase shift are sleepy at hours they need to be awake (school, work) and awake at hours they should be sleeping (night), and accordingly, requirements of social life are not duly fulfilled. This condition is colloquially called “night owl”. It can sometimes be hereditary. It is a common condition in shift workers, people who sleep and wake up irregularly and in elderly people who nap often in the daytime.
 
 

What are Symptoms of Sleep Disorder?

Major symptoms of sleep disorders are as follows:

• inability to fall asleep
• Severe sleepiness
• Snoring
• Sleep apnea
• Nocturnal sweating
• Frequent urination at night
• Dry mouth and nasal congestion in sleep
• Reflux – flow of gastric juice into mouth
• Waking up tired, daytime somnolence and drowsiness
• Memory impairment, low mood, poor concentration, irritation, lack of sexual drive

  

How is Sleep Disorder Diagnosed and Treated?

Treatment of sleep disorder starts with identifying the underlying cause correctly – correct diagnosis. Correct diagnosis is the foundation of an efficient treatment. In some cases, evaluation of personal history – the complaints of the patient – is sufficient to make correct diagnosis, but laboratory tests and/or sleep test should be performed in other cases. First, it is required to review healthy sleep behaviors and correct the inappropriate behaviors. Besides, medications and/or respiratory devices that generate pressurized air may be used while sleeping.

What is Polysomnography (Sleep Test)?

Polysomnography (sleep test) is the gold standard for the diagnosis of sleep disorders and it is routinely performed in the Sleep Laboratory of our hospital.

Polysomnography is the title of the test that allows measurement of various activities of the brain and the body during sleep. This method enables us to detect if there is any sleep problem or determine its severity, if any. In polysomnography, the patient’s brain waves, heartbeats, eye motions, breathing-related thoracic and abdominal movements, sounds made by the patient during sleep, oxygen rate in blood and sleeping positions are monitored and recorded during sleep with special recording devices. The patients feel no pain during this test. Receivers (electrodes) that are attached to the body do not hinder the sleeping position, getting out of bed and going to the bathroom. The patients are followed from monitors that are available in the laboratory room by sleep technicians and/or nurses throughout the night, while they also provide help in case of any requirement and ensure that the test is performed properly. Test results are notified to patients within 24-72 hours and necessary referrals are made.

Which Department Deals with Sleep Disorder?

We recommend you sleep disorders centers, where sleep disorders are diagnosed and treated by sleep medicine physicians. Sleep medicine physicians are doctors with special education and training in relevant departments (neurologist, otorhinolaryngologist, family doctor, pulmonary medicine physician, internist, pediatrician, dentist, psychiatrist).
 

Evaluate Your Sleep

•Do you wake up tired and weak no matter how long and well you sleep?
• Do you have difficulty staying awake in the daytime?
• Are you sometimes told by others that you snore severely and have difficulty breathing in sleep?
• Do you have difficulty falling asleep when you go to bed or after waking up very early in the morning?
• Do you feel an irresistible feeling of step especially when you are immobile during the day?
• Do you feel disturbing feelings, contractions, spasms and tingling in your legs at night, especially when they are motionless?
• Do you speak, shout, scream or move unconsciously in sleep?
• Do you want to learn what is necessary for a more relaxing, efficient and healthy sleep?
If your answer is “ yes” for any of these questions, we recommend you to evaluate your sleep by fill in the world-standard “sleep questionnaire” below and visit our experienced specialists in our Sleep Disorders Center.
 

Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale

How frequently do you have tendency to sleep in the following cases?

(Please mark the times you have a tendency to sleep, in contrast to the times you feel just tired.)

NOTE: This test is planned to reflect your recent condition. If you have not done some of these things recently, try to work out how they affected you in your last encounter.

 

QUESTION		NEVER		RARELY			OFTEN			ALWAYS
1	Do you sleep in sitting position while reading a newspaper or a book?	0		1			2			3
2	Do you sleep while watching TV/a movie?	0		1			2			3
3	Do you sleep while sitting inactive in a public place, cinema or theater?	0		1			2			3
4	Do you sleep during an uninterrupted road trip of at least 1 hour?	0		1			2			3
5	Do you sleep while lying down in the afternoon?	0		1			2			3
6	Do you sleep while sitting and talking to someone?	0		1			2			3
7	Do you sleep while sitting quietly after a lunch without alcohol?	0		1			2			3
8	Do you sleep in a car while stopped for a few minutes in the traffic?	0		1			2			3
Total

Evaluation
Total score equal to or above 10 implies that you tend to sleep at day time or you experience daytime sleepiness. In this case, we recommend you to visit a sleep medicine physician.