It can be hard to know that you have a Sleep Disorder. The key reason is, well, rather obvious: you’re asleep when it’s going on! How on earth are you meant to know that you snore, or if you have Sleep Apnea or any related condition?
Well, there’s a few things you can look out for, mainly in terms of general effects experienced during the day, with a brief explanation of what this could mean. We will be leaving ‘enraged partner keeps complaining about your explosive snoring’ off this list!
A few common symptoms of Sleep Disorders include;
Excessive tiredness during the day, even after a full night’s sleep. This might suggest that you have been suffering from interruptions to your sleeping pattern, often caused by OSA. Obstructions to the airway can force your body to jolt itself out of the normal patterns of sleep to tense the muscles of the throat and get you breathing again. This is a reflex action which helps to resolve the original problem, but reduces the quality of the sleep you are getting.
Waking up with an aching or dry throat: This is another sign of Sleep Apnea, or constricted airways. If your throat is having a hard time passing air through it during your sleep, this pressure may end up drying out the soft tissues of the throat. If you notice yourself feeling unusually thirsty when you wake, this may be a sign that your snoring has been effectively scouring your throat dry during the night (as well as your partner’s eardrums!).
Waking up during the night; the obvious one, really; if you find that you are unable to remain asleep for a full 8-hour cycle, then you’re likely to have some kind of sleeping problem. This can quite easily start to form a vicious cycle- sleep deprivation can lead to hormonal problems like increased blood pressure and obesity which can then create further sleeping problems.
Regular use of caffeine or other stimulants to maintain energy levels during the day: Whilst it’s not a sign of a sleep disorder per se, a lot of people who do have sleep problems find that their base level of energy is something akin to exhaustion, and that to function properly they have to keep themselves ‘topped-up’ with coffee or other caffeinated drinks. This, again, is a vicious cycle which can mean that you never get proper rest.
Emotional Outbursts: Everyone knows that getting bad sleep can make you grumpy and irritable; I myself find a sense of overwhelming irritation every morning at half past seven when I have to get up and go to work! I don’t want to claim that this necessarily a sign of sleep disorder, but if you find yourself affected by mood swings, and sudden bursts of irritability throughout a normal day, that might be a sign that you aren’t normally getting the right amount of sleep.
Problems with Concentration: One of the problems with Sleep Disorders is that like a lot of chronic conditions, they can creep up on you. You might slowly get more and more chronically tired, but at the same time you might get used to this. If you’re starting to find that you can’t concentrate on things, however, it might well be a sign that you need to look at the quality of your sleep.
There you have it- this isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, and if you think you have a real problem, I urge you to talk to a doctor. Hopefully, however, this can help you realise that there is a problem.
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