Sleep disturbances refer to issues with both falling and staying asleep. They encompass a wide range of disorders that make it difficult to get sufficient, good quality sleep on a regular basis.
Common signs of sleep disturbances include:
There are two main categories of sleep disorders:
Dyssomnias cause excessive sleepiness or interfere with sleep quality and timing. Insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy fall under dyssomnias.
Insomnia involves struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep. Sleep apnea causes breathing to repeatedly stop and start during sleep. People with narcolepsy have overwhelming daytime sleepiness and may randomly fall asleep during the day.
Parasomnias interfere with the transitions between wakefulness and sleep. They include sleepwalking, night terrors, REM sleep behavior disorder, and more.
Sleepwalking involves getting up and walking around while asleep. Night terrors cause abrupt waking with screaming or panic. REM behavior disorder causes people to physically act out vivid dreams.
Sleep disturbances can negatively impact your overall health. Ongoing lack of sleep is tied to risks for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity.
If you deal with regular sleep problems, consult your doctor or a sleep specialist. Identifying and properly treating underlying causes can help restore healthy sleep. Lifestyle changes like maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, limiting blue light exposure at night, avoiding large meals before bedtime, and managing stress levels also help manage various sleep disturbances.
At Hormone Harmony Clinic, we offer comprehensive hormone testing to check for hormonal imbalances that could contribute to sleep issues. Our naturopathic doctors can provide customized treatment plans and lifestyle recommendations tailored to improve sleep by balancing your hormones. (increase-testosterone.com) to discuss your sleep concerns and see if our services could help!