Getting a good night's sleep is essential to your health and survival. During sleep our body restores itself so we can function the next day. Without the proper amount of sleep our nervous system can become impaired, effecting your memory and physical performance. A lack of sleep can also lead to mood swings, hallucinations, growth inhibition in children and many other health problems. While everyone has trouble sleeping now and then, there are disorders that interrupt sleep on a regular basis and can cause long term serious health concerns if they are not treated.
Identification
When you sleep, there are normally two distinct stages that are identified by different brain wave activity. These stages are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM). In addition the NREM sleep is divided into four stages with stage one being light sleep and stage four being deep sleep. In normal sleep, during a one and a half hour cycle, the body goes through the four stages of NREM sleep, which is followed by REM sleep. The REM sleep stage occurs up to five times in a nine hour sleep period. This is the stage of sleep when dreaming occurs. The brain is very active during REM sleep. Your eyes move rapidly and your body responds as if awake. Your heart rate and blood pressure increase but your muscle tone diminishes making it difficult to move your body. In other words your brain is active but your muscles are not.
Symptoms
If you have REM sleep disorder (also called parasomnia) you still enter the dreaming stage, however you can easily move your muscles which allows you to physically act out your dreams, disrupting your sleep. This disorder is characterized by intense and sometimes violent dreams, accompanied by yelling, jumping out of bed, punching, confusion, sleepwalking and general flailing.
The person experiencing the symptoms often does not remember the event, and they can be completely unaware that they even have a sleep disorder, except for not feeling refreshed upon waking.
Sleep Deprivation
If your sleep is disrupted on a regular basis you will most likely develop health problems. This includes depression, diabetes, obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, memory loss, tremors, slurred speech, blurred vision, emotional disorders and physical challenges. A study led by Sanjay R. Patel of Harvard Medical School, involving more than 82,000 nurses, found an increased risk of death among those who slept less than six hours a night. There is still more research needed to determine the exact effect of sleep deprivation on the body.
Causes
Scientists still do not know exactly what causes REM sleep disorder. However, it does appear to be more prevalent in those with neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, stroke, dementia and multiple sclerosis to name a few. It is also known to occur during alcohol and drug withdrawal, both illegal and prescription. The proper use of some prescribed medications, such as antidepressants can cause sleep disorders as well.
Treatments
Medication is usually needed to treat REM sleep disorder. The most commonly prescribed medication is Clonazepam which has been shown to be effective in close to ninety percent of cases. Unfortunately, this medication is a tranquilizer and comes with side effects. You and your doctor can decide when medication is appropriate and the best way to take it. Since this is a lifelong disorder you may need to stay on medication indefinitely, and your dosage may need to be increased over time. Establishing regular sleeping habits, avoiding alcohol and certain types of medications, and treating coexisting conditions also helps.
Lifestyle Changes
If you have REM sleep disorder you will need to make changes to keep yourself safe. This condition can be especially hard on family members as the patient will oftentimes not remember what happened. You and your spouse or partner may need to sleep in separate beds to avoid injury to the other person. Having a ground floor bedroom, removal of sharp objects, placing items in front of windows, padding headboards and clearing the floors is important if you tend to leave your bed during episodes.
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