Archive for the 'Sleep Disorders' Category
People with early Parkinson’s disease report a higher than anticipated development or worsening of hallucinations, sleepiness, and swelling.
Researchers have identified factors that make people more likely to develop these problems, according to a study published in the July 10, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
"By identifying risk factors, it may help guide treatment decisions, allow for early intervention and possibly reduce disability," said study author Kevin Biglan, MD, MPH, with University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, NY, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.
For the study, researchers reviewed the results of a four-year clinical trial involving 301 people with an average age of 61 who had early Parkinson’s disease. Half of the group received the drug levodopa; the other half took pramipexole. No one reported having hallucinations at the beginning of the study.
The study found nearly one-fifth developed hallucinations, more than one-third of the participants developed sleepiness, and nearly half developed swelling within four years of starting treatment. Multiple health problems, along with age, gender, initial type of treatment and cognitive status were identified as risk factors.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurological condition characterized by inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.
Sleep disorders are uncontrolled in children who have ADHD.
Sleep disorders can be a symptom of a disorder such as ADHD, anxiety disorders, depression, a side effect of medication, induced lifestyle such as caffeine, alcohol, obesity, or a primary sleep disorder.
Whether obstructive sleep apnea can cause ADHD and learning disorders? During sleep, your throat muscles relax causing snoring.
In obstructive sleep apnea, your breathing stops between snoring. Therefore oxygen to the brain is reduced and disrupts the sleep cycle. The condition causes hypertension, depression, heart problems, and brain damage in adults.
In children, obstructive sleep apnea has effects on physical growth, development and respiration. Neurocognitive deficit also occurs in children with sleep related breathing disorder.
Therefore impairments in verbal and non-verbal intelligence, psychomotor efficiency, memory, concentration and psychosocial functioning occur. Symptoms of impulsivity, distractibility and hyperactivity which are similar to ADHD are reported.
The common cause of sleep related disordered breathing in children is upper airway obstruction. Due to this problem, snoring, upper airway resistance syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea are resulted.
Many people suffering from sleep disorders are turning to alternative treatments for the treatment.
Alternative therapies are replacing traditional treatments now.
There are many alternative therapies that work in the treatment of sleep disorders.
Alternative Therapies for Sleep Disorders:
Herbs:
Chamomile: Chamomile is an herb used for sleep disorders. You have to start with smaller dose. It is considered to be safe and has no adverse effects.
Chamomile is taken in the form of herbal tea or liquid extract. Pregnant women should not use chamomile as it is considered as uterine stimulant.
Valerian: Valerian relieves anxiety and restlessness and it is a soothing herb. This herb is used to treat depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia. Valerian helps with the onset of sleep and with sleep maintenance.
Pregnant women should not valerian as it causes birth defects.
Lavender: Lavender is known for its pleasant smell. It can be taken in the form of tea, in bath and in aroma therapy. It is used to treat sleep disorders, panic anxiety and depression and has very few side effects.
There are other herbs which are effective for treatment of sleep disorders. Those are hops, passion flower, lemon balm and ginseng. Before taking any herbal supplements, consult your doctor about the safety.
If you consume alcohol at bedtime, it decreases the time required to fall asleep after initial stimulating effect.
Due to the sedative effect of alcohol, many people with sleep problems consume alcohol to promote sleep.
But, alcohol consumed within one hour of bedtime disrupts the second half of the sleep period.
You will be awakened from dreams and return to sleep with difficulty which leads to sleep problems.
If you continue the alcohol consumption before bedtime, the sleep inducing effect of alcohol may decrease and its disruptive effects continue to increase. This sleep disruption can lead to daytime sleepiness and fatigue.
Elderly people are at higher risks because higher levels of alcohol are achieved in blood and brain than young people after consuming equivalent dose.
If older people consume alcohol before bedtime, it can lead to unsteadiness if walking is attempted during the night with increased risks of falls and injuries.
According to the studies, alcohol consumed six hours before bedtime can increase wakefulness during the second half of sleep. With alcohol consumption, there are increased effects of sleep deprivation.
Many people either suffer from snoring or live with person who snores.
Do you or someone have snoring problem?
Are you looking for a cure how to stop snoring?
Snoring is irritating and also a sign of serious health problems.
You should know how to stop snoring if you or someone in your family snores.
The important step in how to stop snoring is to know what the cause is. As there are different causes, make sure you know the exact cause of snoring. Wrong treatment will cause the sufferer to lose hope.
Are you overweight?
Being overweight can cause snoring. The reason is snoring is the result of air passing through a narrow throat opening.
The throat will be normally wide, but in obese people muscles become loose causing the throat to close while sleeping. In case of obese people, the remedy for stop snoring is to exercise and lose weight.
If you are taking elevator, take stairs. Park the vehicle far away from the entrance in the parking lot. Special throat exercises can strengthen throat muscles. If you have trouble to start exercising your whole body, start with throat exercises.
Sleep apnea is a disorder that can seriously affect your health and quality of life.
Have you tired trying with all the treatments for sleep apnea?
Acupuncture is one of the best treatments for sleep apnea.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest alternative treatments for the treatment of many medical problems including sleep apnea.
Alternative treatment is preferred for sleep apnea treatment due to various advantages over conventional treatment. Acupuncture is well accepted because it avoids the risk of side effects as it includes natural treatment.
According to the assumption made in traditional Chinese medicine, your body is supposed to function properly. When all are in harmony, body will function properly.
You have to in certain way to make your body work properly. You have to consider diet, exercise, mental and spiritual well-being that contributes to harmony.
When something is out of order, there is a definite reason. It is the search of underlying cause rather than concentration on symptoms that make acupuncture recommended treatment for sleep apnea.
Acupuncture involves application of fine needles into the human body into one or more of the 2,000 acupuncture points.
Fibromyalgia causes extreme pain in the muscles throughout the body.
As many as three to six million people, mostly women are suffering from fibromyalgia pain.
The symptoms include muscle pain spread across the body, extreme fatigue or tiredness.
Sometimes pain associated with the illness can be so intense that sufferers cannot continue with their daily tasks.
If you suffer from chronic pain syndrome, your sleep is disturbed, suffer from headaches, become extremely stiff in the morning, experience numbness or suffer from memory problems.
Fibromyalgia and sleep disorders go hand in hand. Up to 80% of people with fibromyalgia experience some type of sleep disorders. These sleep disorders leave the person tired, exhausted and physically incapable of dealing with stresses associated with fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia pain can also lead to restless leg syndrome. Fibromyalgia sufferers tend to lack normal amounts of slow wave sleep that is deepest and soundest stages of sleep. These stages are important for the restoration of body during sleep.
Therefore if one is deprived of normal slow wave sleep, they develop fibromyalgia symptoms.
Treatment for Fibromyalgia Syndrome:
For the treatment of fibromyalgia, doctors should first find out what causes chronic pain syndrome. Doctors are not sure if environmental factors or hereditary factors cause fibromyalgia syndrome.
A generic drug already used by millions of Americans for high blood pressure and prostate problems has been found to improve sleep and lessen trauma nightmares in veterans with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“This is the first drug that has been demonstrated effective for PTSD nightmares and sleep disruption,” said Murray A. Raskind, MD, executive director of the mental health service at the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System and lead author of a study appearing April 15 in Biological Psychiatry.
The randomized trial of 40 veterans compared a nightly dose of prazosin (PRAISE-oh-sin) with placebo over eight weeks. Participants continued to take other prescribed medications over the course of the trial.
At the end of the study, veterans randomized to prazosin reported significantly improved sleep quality, reduced trauma nightmares, a better overall sense of well being, and an improved ability to function.
“These nighttime symptoms are heavily troublesome to veterans,” said Raskind, who also is director of VA’s VISN 20 (Veterans Integrated Service Network #20) Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers program (MIRECC). “If you get the nighttime symptoms under control, veterans feel better all around.”
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