Sleep disorder: Knowing how good sleep helps healthy living

Good sleep is necessary for physical and mental health as well as good quality of life. However, insufficient sleep is a pervasive and prominent problem in the modern almost 24 hour, seven day work society. A considerable body of evidence suggests that insufficient sleep causes hosts of adverse medical and mental dysfunctions. Insufficient sleep is […]

Good sleep is necessary for physical and mental health as well as good quality of life. However, insufficient sleep is a pervasive and prominent problem in the modern almost 24 hour, seven day work society. A considerable body of evidence suggests that insufficient sleep causes hosts of adverse medical and mental dysfunctions.

Insufficient sleep is associated with a range of negative health and social outcomes, including a declining performance at school and in the labour market. Also, reduced sleep duration has been linked to seven of the 15 leading causes of death across the globe.

The evidence suggests that the link between inadequate sleep and negative outcomes is more direct, whereas the link between excessive sleep and negative outcomes seems to be more indirect (that is excessive sleep is driven by underlying chronic health conditions and not vice versa).

In Nigeria, dysomnias is the commonest sleep disorder, seen in 230 (56.1%) subjects, of which insomnia constituted the majority (48.7%) followed by snoring (32.2%). Overall the commonest sleep problem was insomnia, with a prevalence of 27.3%.

An Internal Medicine Physician, Dr Ezeokeke Chikaodinaka, said Sleep Disorder (SD) has to do with abnormality in sleeping which can either be excess or less sleep.

She said sleep is very important but most people neglect it, adding that research has shown that people who sleep less than seven hours have higher risk of mortality rate than those that have quality sleep.

“Therefore, it is very important to have good hours of sleep no matter how tight your schedule is for healthy living,” she stated.

She said there are different types of sleep disorders. They are:  insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome and rem sleep behaviour disorder and it can either occur as a primary or secondary cause. “It is primary when it is caused directly and secondary when it is as a result of some underlining issues.”

Dr Chikaodinaka said, the inability to sleep or sleep well at night could be caused by stress, a health condition, the medications you take, or even the amount of coffee you drink or too much consumption of sugar, among others.

She said sleep disorders, could be caused by what you take in, e.g. food intake such as beverages, nicotine, use of drugs, too much consumption of sugar and others. But the most common are behavioural changes which can be prevented also.

It can be as a result of some medication intake which makes people to urinate too much at night thereby disturbing their sleep.

“Most people occasionally experience sleeping problems due to stress, hectic schedules, and other outside influences. However, when these issues begin to occur on a regular basis and interfere with daily life, they may indicate a sleeping disorder.

“Depending on the type of sleep disorder, people may have a difficult time falling asleep and may feel extremely tired throughout the day. The lack of sleep can have a negative impact on energy, mood, concentration and overall health,” she said.

The expert said sleep disorder could also in some cases, be a symptom of another medical or mental health condition, explaining that it may eventually go away once treatment is obtained for the underlying cause.

“It’s important to receive a diagnosis and treatment right away if you suspect you might have a sleep disorder. When left untreated, the negative can lead to further health consequences.

“It can also affect your performance at work, cause strain in relationships, and impair your ability to perform daily activities,” she said.

Dr Chikaodinaka, however, said general symptoms of sleep disorders include: difficulty falling or staying asleep, daytime fatigue, strong urge to take naps during the day, unusual breathing patterns, unusual or unpleasant urges to move while falling asleep, unusual movement or other experiences while asleep, unintentional changes to your sleep/wake schedule, irritability or anxiety, impaired performance at work or lack of concentration, depression and excessive weight gain.

She said treatment for sleep disorder could vary depending on the type and underlying cause but it generally includes a combination of medical treatments and lifestyle changes.

She said, “The lifestyle changes include; adjustment to sleep time, good diet (consider incorporating more vegetables and fish into the diet) and reducing sugar intake, reducing stress and anxiety by exercising and stretching, creating and sticking to a regular sleeping schedule, drinking less water before bedtime, limiting your caffeine intake, especially in the late afternoon or evening, decreasing tobacco and alcohol use, eating smaller low carbohydrate meals before bedtime and maintaining a healthy weight based on your doctor’s recommendations

“Going to bed early and waking up at the same time every day can also significantly improve your sleep quality. Avoid watching late movies, avoid addiction to phones and not sleeping early as a result.”

The medical expert further said, while having less sleep is a great problem, sleeping too much could be dangerous which she said occurred in patients with liver or kidney problem.

“Excessive sleep is more of an emergency than less sleep. For sleeplessness, we tell the patients to recount their activities in the day time, when he or she sleeps and wake up time and others.”

She said the remedy is that they look out for where loopholes are and see how to address it when patients come with complaints.

She said medical experts advise  patients to reschedule their activities, counsel on behavioural changes, tell them to work with specific timetables, re-adjust their body to sleep once it is bedtime, leave social media late in the night, take cool bath and sleep well even when they are not feeling sleepy.

She also advised that people should do away with drugs that keep them awake at night such as nicotine, some herbal tea, and others while those with underlining ailment, should get treatment because you cannot successfully treat the disorder without first treating the causes.

“Seven hours of sleep every day is recommended for every adult. Do away with distraction when it is bedtime; clear your bedroom of TV and other things that will take sleep away from your eyes. The bedroom is meant for relaxation and sleep,” she advised.