Chronic, long-term sleep disorders affect at least 40 million Americans each year, while another 20 million are afflicted by occasional sleep problems. Insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and narcolepsy are the four most common sleep disorders.
However, there are a number of treatment options for each of these conditions.
•Insomnia. People with insomnia have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. They also tend to wake up earlier than they'd like. This happens to everyone now and then -- but, when it happens regularly, that's insomnia.
Sleeping pills are often prescribed for short-term insomnia, but most sleeping pills cease to be effective after several weeks of nightly use. Long-term use of sleeping pills can actually interfere with good sleep, according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
Good sleep habits may help prevent or cure mild insomnia. Light therapy and other methods of altering the body's circadian cycles are being tested as treatments for serious cases of insomnia.
•Sleep Apnea. Sometimes breathing gets interrupted during sleep. That's sleep apnea. Most often what happens is that the windpipe collapses briefly when the muscles relax during breathing, and that obstructs the air flow. The pauses in breathing usually last just 10 to 20 seconds, but they can occur 30 times an hour. And they're usually accompanied by a gasp or snort.
Approaches such as weight loss or preventing a person from sleeping on his or her back often help those with mild sleep apnea. People with more severe sleep apnea might require special devices, such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), or surgery. People with sleep apnea should never take sedatives or sleeping pills to help them sleep because these drugs may prevent them from awakening enough to breathe, NINDS warns.
•Restless legs syndrome. This condition is often described as having a creeping sensation in your legs, along with aches and pains. The feelings most often come on at nighttime and make it hard to fall asleep.
Drug treatments for restless legs include anticonvulsants, opioids and benzodiazepines (central nervous system depressants). Dopaminergic agents, which are generally used to treat Parkinson's disease, are considered the first treatment of choice. All over-the-counter and prescription drugs can have side effects, so it’s important that you discuss any medications you are taking or may want to take with your physician ahead of time.
Prevention is important for those who have mild to moderate symptoms of restless legs syndrome. Measures may include lifestyle changes such as reduced intake of caffeine, alcohol and tobacco, regular moderate exercise, or taking supplements to correct iron, folate or magnesium deficiencies.
•Narcolepsy. This disorder causes excessive sleepiness. It's most noticed because of the tendency of people with narcolepsy to have "sleep attacks" during the daytime, even if they've gotten plenty of sleep the night before. They might last for a few seconds up to a half-hour. The problem isn't psychological. And narcolepsy isn't caused by anxiety. It's a nervous system disorder.
Because of this, the best way to treat narcolepsy, at least to date, has been with drugs such as stimulants and antidepressants. They help reduce symptoms and lower the risk of suddenly falling asleep at improper or potentially dangerous times.
For some people, scheduling periodic daytime naps also helps reduce the number of "sleep attacks" that they experience.
Related Stories:
Treating Sleep Disorders