Why Am I Having Sleep Disorders?

By Author: Steven Johnson
Total Articles: 494
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Sleep disorders are characterized by the disruption or abnormality of the sleep pattern characteristic for a give person. Some sleep disorders are severe and serious enough to affect the overall wellbeing of the patient, affecting his or hers mental and physical condition.

Sleep is a biological necessity of any living creature for normal activity. Doctors and scientists are still researching sleep itself, trying to get deeper into the meaning of it, however one thing's for sure - sleep is very important and if something goes wrong with the sleeping pattern, there will be more problems later. It is estimated that only in United States there are 40 million people suffering from chronic sleep problems, while another 20 million people have occasional problems with their rest.

The causes of sleep disorders are quite varied and sometimes people even don't suspect that these conditions could be linked to their sleep problems. The following are some of the most common causes for sleep disorders to occur:

Heart problems

A range of heart problems such as coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure ...
... are known to cause sleep apnea. If these conditions are treated or at least control there may be an improvement with the sleep disorder too.

Hormonal imbalance

Hormonal changes as well as such hormonal disorders as thyroid gland issues and diabetes are known to cause sleep problems. People with hormonal problems usually suffer from insomnia and fragmented sleep.

Mental problems

Mental conditions such as anxiety disorders, depression, excessive stress, bipolar disorder, mental illnesses and others are known to strongly affect the quality of a person's sleep. The most common types of sleep problems such patients experience are insomnia and inconsistent sleep. Some medications used for treating mental disorders can also cause sleeping problems as a side effect.

Limb and joint conditions

Joint and limb conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis, which are characterized by chronic pain, are also known to decrease the quality of sleep. People suffering from these conditions often have a hard time falling or staying asleep.

Foods

Your diet can also be the cause of sleep problems such as insomnia or fragmented sleep. Certain types of foods that are rich with acid can cause GERD, which is quite a common cause for sleep fragmentation. Besides, consuming too much caffeine, sugar, sweets and carbonated drinks can strongly affect the ability to fall asleep.

Sleep deprivation

Continuous sleep deprivation or interruption of normal sleeping patterns (for example, working in night shifts) can cause occasional and chronic insomnia. Normalizing the sleep time usually helps overcome such problems, however it has to be done gradually in order to avoid excessive mental and body stress.

If you suffer from any of the aforementioned health problems, you should first try to improve them. This will certainly result better sleep. However, if your problems persist you might need a special treatment course with the use of drugs like Ambien. Pay your doctor a visit and see if Ambien or any other drugs can help you in improving the quality of your sleep without interfering with medications that will be used for the actual treatment of underlying causes. Don't try to be a doctor on your own and address a specialist if you want to make things right.