Meducated

Pranavi Borra, Walton High School (Marietta, GA)

Sleep disorders are conditions that affect people by negatively impacting their sleep. Sleep disorders can disturb sleep in different ways, such as altering the quality or the time of sleep.¹ Typically, they are associated with a lack or inability to get sleep, even when exhausted and/or tired. 

Sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy and restless leg syndrome are all widespread sleep disorders.¹ Though they all fall under the same category, they are not synonyms for each other. Sleep apnea affects breathing during sleep, which in turn reduces the quality of sleep. Therefore, people with sleep apnea often feel tired even after getting 10 hours of sleep.² On the other hand, insomnia is when someone has difficulty falling asleep to begin with. Unlike sleep apnea, insomnia can be seen during the process of trying to sleep. Finally, narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that occurs due to not being able to properly control sleep-wake cycles. People who wake up feeling energized and refreshed can become tired within a few hours.³

Though they may seem trivial, sleep disorders can lead to an array of effects that harm more than just a nightly routine.⁴ 

Common effects of sleep disorders are:

• Obesity/Diabetes: Not getting enough sleep leads to a hormone imbalance that can increase your appetite and cause overeating.⁵
• Hypertension: Sleep controls hormones that regulate stress levels. With a sleep deficit, these hormones become out of balance and cause high blood pressure.⁶
• Various mental health issues such as depression and anxiety: These mental issues can cause sleep deprivation which leaves people in a tired state, unable to be productive in their daily activities. 

Sleep disorders have many different causes depending on the situation. Some cases are genetic or due to medical conditions, but a majority of them are a result of a person’s lifestyle/environment. For example, for someone who works a night shift, their lifestyle would leave them little room to rest at night, but resting during the day could be hard due to the blinding light that filters even through curtains. Students also face the risk of sleep disorders as they stay up late to deal with coursework and homework. The effects of sleep disorders can also be its causes. Having anxiety could lead to restlessness due to worry, which ultimately results in a lack of sleep.⁷ This creates a feedback loop which can be hard to break, making the effects of sleep disorders even worse. However, there are a few things that can be done to combat them.

While medication such as melatonin is often administered to help people with severe sleeping disorders, they should be taken in cautious doses because an over-reliance on medicine can intensify the problem, especially when attempting to go to sleep without the aid of it. The most important thing one can do is to try and sleep earlier. By sleeping earlier, sleep cycles can be adjusted and fixed, which leads to improvements with diminishing the impacts of sleep disorders. Another big thing is to avoid taking afternoon naps. It may seem harmless, but by taking a nap, an entire sleep schedule is being messed up. Naps often lead to people staying up later at night due to an inability to fall asleep. Likewise, even though sleep disorders can severely impact someone’s life, it is important to note that they can be ‘treated’ through proper actions. 

References:

1. Cleveland Clinic. “Sleep Disorders: Conditions That Prevent You from Getting Restful Sleep.” Cleveland Clinic, 19 June 2023, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11429-sleep-disorders.
2. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. “Sleep Apnea – What Is Sleep Apnea?” Www.nhlbi.nih.gov, 24 Mar. 2022, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-apnea.
3. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. “Narcolepsy | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.” Www.ninds.nih.gov, 2023, www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/narcolepsy.
4. Colten, Harvey R, and Bruce M Altevogt. “Extent and Health Consequences of Chronic Sleep Loss and Sleep Disorders.” Nih.gov, National Academies Press (US), 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/.
5. Attardo, Donna. “Sleep, Obesity and How They Are Related.” Lifespan, 18 Jan. 2022, www.lifespan.org/lifespan-living/sleep-obesity-and-how-they-are-related.
6. Lopez-Jimenez, Francisco. “Sleep Deprivation: A Cause of High Blood Pressure?” Mayo Clinic, 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/expert-answers/sleep-deprivation/faq-20057959.
7. MedlinePlus. “Sleep Disorders.” Medlineplus.gov, National Library of Medicine, 2018, medlineplus.gov/sleepdisorders.html.