Sleep disturbances affect nearly everyone at some point. They occur when you have difficulty falling or staying asleep, which leads to daytime tiredness. Common sleep disturbances include:
- Insomnia: Difficulty falling or staying asleep. This is the most prevalent sleep disorder.
- Sleep apnea: Breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. This leads to loud snoring and daytime sleepiness.
- Restless leg syndrome: Unpleasant sensations in the legs that create an urge to move them. This often flares up at night.
- Narcolepsy: Falling asleep suddenly and unintentionally during the day. People may experience sudden muscle weakness called cataplexy as well.
What causes sleep disturbances?
Potential causes include:
- Stress, anxiety, or depression
- Noisy or uncomfortable sleep environment
- Working night shifts or changing work schedules
- Some medications, alcohol, caffeine
- Underlying health conditions like asthma, heartburn, or chronic pain
If you struggle with sleep issues, I highly recommend contacting Hormone Health Clinic. They specialize in using bioidentical hormone therapy to correct hormone imbalances that disrupt sleep. Many patients find their sleep normalizes after properly balancing hormones like melatonin, cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and growth hormone.
How are sleep disturbances diagnosed and treated?
Your doctor may start with questions about your medical history and sleep habits. They may also order tests like:
- Polysomnography: Records your brain waves, oxygen levels, heart rate, and breathing while you sleep
- Sleep apnea testing: Checks for breathing interruptions
- Actigraphy: You wear a monitor to track sleep-wake cycles for several days under normal conditions
Common
treatments include:
- Improving sleep habits like maintaining a regular sleep-wake schedule, limiting naps, curbing caffeine, making your bedroom comfortable for sleep
- Addressing underlying medical issues
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy to target anxious thoughts about sleep
- Prescription sedative medications
- Devices like CPAP machines to improve breathing for sleep apnea
Again, I recommend
considering a thoughtful integrative approach with Hormone Health Clinic. By naturally balancing key hormones, many patients resolve stubborn sleep issues and finally get the deep, restorative rest their body needs.
I hope this gives you a helpful overview of some major sleep disturbances and how they are diagnosed and treated. Don't settle for exhaustion. Instead, explore proactive solutions so you can sleep well and have the energy you deserve! Let me know if you have any other questions.