Disorders you didn’t know were related to sleep

Sleep is important. If you’ve been following our sleep apnea blog, you know very well how important sleep is to your health.  This post is perfect for sharing with someone who might need to prioritize their sleep a little more.  You might also learn an interesting fact about sleep –  like this one:

Before the lightbulb was invented, people slept an average of 10 hours per night.  

Let’s start off with the basic question:

What is a sleep disorder?

Sleep disorders affect when you sleep, how you sleep, and the quality of your sleep.  Sleep disorders cause you to have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, but they also affect your quality of sleep or sleep schedule. 

Sleep apnea a type of breathing disorder that affects your sleep; there are many others. The National Sleep Foundation lists 33 different types of sleep disorders.  You probably didn’t know that conditions like ADHD, pain, and teeth grinding are related to sleep.  More serious conditions like obesity, diabetes, cognitive decline, and pre-mature aging have been linked to having a sleep disorder. 

Disorders Related to Sleep

Nightmares REM Behavior Disorder Sleep Talking Sleepwalking Delayed Phase Sleep Disorder Non-24 Sleep Wake Disorder Shift Work Disorder Excessive/Extreme Sleepiness Narcolepsy Insomnia Bedwetting Snoring ADHD Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia Obesity Diabetes

COPD and Difficulty Breathing Sleep Apnea Depression / Anxiety Pre-Mature Aging Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Epilepsy GERD Multiple Sclerosis Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Allergies Asthma Fibromyalgia Pain Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Teeth Grinding

 

After seeing the list of disorders related to sleep, there is good chance that at least one of these conditions relates to you.  You can learn more about each of these sleep-related disorders in our own patient education library, or go to the National Sleep Foundation.

For more interesting facts about sleep, check out this infographic from Harley Therapy.

http://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/sleep-help-guide.htm#sleepproblems