Causes of Sleep Disorders - Health Conditions

Many health conditions and a number of different types of medications can result in to sleep disorders.

Some of these health conditions include sleep apnea, heartburn, respiratory problems, arthritis, and leg disorders.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition involving disrupted breathing where a person can stop breathing all together for anywhere from ten to sixty second intervals many times throughout the course of a night.

This sleep disorder can become very serious if left untreated and can result in serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke or high blood pressure.

Interestingly enough the majority of sleep apnea sufferers doesn’t know that they have a problem. The most common symptoms of sleep apnea include headaches and chronic tiredness throughout the day and loud snoring.

Heartburn

Heartburn is sometimes referred to as gastroesophageal reflux. Heartburn takes place when stomach acid from partly digested food makes it way into the esophagus, throat or mouth.

This problem makes it hard for a person to fall asleep or stay asleep, particularly if he/she has eaten a heavy meal right before bedtime that consisted of either greasy or spicy foods.

Burning feeling in the chest or throat and pain in the abdominal area are the most common symptoms of heartburn. Heartburn can be effectively decreased. These ways include:

• Ceasing eating within three or four hours before you go to bed
• Cutting down on your consumption of alcohol, foods or drinks that contain caffeine, fatty foods and foods that contain a lot of acid
• Quitting smoking
• Sleeping on your left side
• Raise the head of your bed approximately six inches, for example with blocks of wood

Respiratory Problems

Many respiratory problems can cause a person to have trouble breathing throughout the night and/or can cause them to wake up too often to guarantee a restful night’s sleep. [Good Night Sleep]

Some of the respiratory problems that can result in sleep disorders include:

• Allergies
• Asthma
• Bronchitis
• Emphysema
• A Chronic sinusitis
• Common cold

Many of the antibiotics, which are prescribed to treat these respiratory problems, can often lead to insomnia.

If you find it essential to take any one of these medications discuss with your doctor your concerns about your sleep and see if he/she can devise a dosage schedule to avoid any sleep related problems.

Arthritis

Arthritis is a health woe that can contribute to a sleep disorder. A significant amount of pain and stiffness is related with this disease, which can make it hard for a person to get comfortable in bed and to both fall and stay asleep.

Many arthritis sufferers commonly experience sleep related problems. Engaging in a regular exercise plan and taking pain relieving medication can help in making the joints of the body more mobile and thus bring about a certain amount of relief from arthritis.

Leg Disorders

Leg disorders such as restless leg syndrome (RLS) and developing cramps at night are no fun and can cause problems with having a restful sleep. Pains in the legs are a common problem among many age groups but especially among senior citizens.

Other Conditions

It is well known that both caffeine and nicotine are two drugs that cause problems with sleep patterns, however many other kinds of medication have been shown to bring on insomnia.

Some of these medications include prescription diet pills and any other drugs that list amphetamine as a main ingredient, antidepressants, oral contraceptives, antihypertensive medications, steroids, beta blockers, nasal decongestants, bronchodilating drugs, and tranquilizers.

Substance abuse of any kind can result in the development of a sleep disorder. Studies have proven that about 15% of people who are plagued by chronic insomnia also abuse alcohol, sedatives or cocaine.

Sometimes, the changes that occur to sleep hormones as the body ages can also make the older adults more difficult to sleep.

Research into hormones has found that the aging process causes an imbalance in the hormones that are responsible in part for the quality of sleep we all receive. This might explain why sleeping disorders are so widespread with older adults.