A sleep disorder is a situation that frequently impacts your capacity to get enough quality sleep. While it’s usual to occasionally experience difficulties sleeping, it’s not normal to regularly have problems getting to sleep at night, to wake up feeling exhausted, or to feel sleepy during the day.
Frequently having trouble sleeping can be a frustrating and debilitating experience. You sleep badly at night, which leaves you feeling dead-tired in the morning and whatever energy you have quickly drains throughout the day. But then, no matter how exhausted you feel at night, you still have trouble sleeping. And so the cycle begins again, taking a serious toll on your mood, energy, efficiency, and capability to handle stress. Ignoring sleep problems and disorders can damage your physical health and lead to weight gain, car accidents, impaired job performance, memory problems, and strained relationships. If you want to feel your best, stay healthy, and perform up to your potential, quality sleep is a requirement, not a luxury.
Even if you’ve struggled with sleep problems for so long that it seems usual, you can still learn to sleep better. You can start by tracking your symptoms and sleep patterns, and then making healthy changes to your daytime habits and bedtime routine. If self-help doesn’t do the trick, you can turn to sleep specialists who are trained in sleep medicine. Together, you can identify the underlying causes of your sleeping problem and find ways to improve your sleep and quality of life.
Signs and symptoms of a sleep disorder
Symptoms of sleep disorders contain being very sleepy during the daytime and having trouble falling asleep at night. Other symptoms are breathing in an unusual pattern or feeling an uncomfortable urge to move while you sleep.
Types of common sleep disorders
Insomnia
Insomnia, the inability to get to sleep or sleep well at night, can be affected by stress, jet lag, a health condition, the medications you take, or even the amount of coffee you drink. Insomnia can also be caused by other sleep disorders or mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder in which your breathing temporarily stops during sleep, awakening you frequently. If you have sleep apnea you may not remember these awakenings, but you’ll likely feel exhausted during the day, irritable and depressed, or see a reduction in your productivity. Sleep apnea is a serious and potentially life-threatening sleep disorder.
Restless legs syndrome (RLS)
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep disorder that causes an almost irresistible urge to move your legs (or arms) at night. The urge to move happens when you’re resting or lying down and is generally due to uncomfortable, tingly, aching, or creeping sensations.