Common Myths Regarding Sleep Disorders

Clinically, a sleep disorder is defined as “a disruptive pattern of sleep that may include difficulty falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at inappropriate times, excessive total sleep time, or abnormal behaviors associated with sleep.”

Nearly 100 types of sleep disorders were identified by doctors and specialists who study sleep.

Sleep disorders are broken down into four categories as delineated by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders.

These categories are

• Dyssomnias - Examples of dyssomnias include a variety of subcategories of insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome and narcolepsy.
• Parasomnias - Examples of parasomnias include sleepwalking, bedwetting, bruxism, and primary snoring.
• Medical/psychiatric disorders - Medical/ psychiatric sleep disorders include asthma, peptic ulcers, dementia and degenerative brain disorders.
• Proposed sleep disorders - Proposed sleep disorders are disorders that don’t fit in any of the other three categories such as short sleepers, long sleepers, sub-wakefulness syndrome and sleep choking syndrome.

Many myths revolve around sleep and sleep disorders that need to be dispelled. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common myths regarding sleep disorders.

Myth 1

It is a common myth that you require less sleep as you age to function appropriately. This is not exactly the case. As a general recommendation, seven to nine hours sleep a night is best for most adults, whether they be twenty or fifty although the sleep patterns of people can become different as they get older.

However older individuals may in fact get less shuteye per night than younger adults as they wake up more frequently during the night. On the heels of this myth is the myth that you can somehow cheat on the amount of sleep you are getting.

It can be adverse to your health and well being both physically and mentally to skimp on your hours of sleep. As well you cannot save up your sleep for days when you have more time to sleep in. An average of seven to nine hours a night is advisable.

Myth 2

It is a myth that health problems such as depression, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc. have no relationship whatsoever to how much sleep a person gets on a regular basis and the quality of sleep the person in question receives.

From time to time, research has proven that there is a very real relationship between a bad quality of sleep and/or insufficient sleep due to any number of diseases. To use an example, a lack of sleep can inhibit the ability of the body to appropriately manufacture insulin, thereby bringing on diabetes.

Myth 3

Many people believe that while they are sleeping their brain is at rest. This is not so. The human body rests during sleep while the brain is very much active. The brain is recharging its batteries during sleep and still very much in control of the majority of bodily functions, including breathing.

As we sleep we go back and forth between two sleep states, these being Rapid Eye Movement sleep and Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep.

Myth 4

It is a myth that sleep deprivation has no effect on one’s ability to drive motor vehicle. This is a myth that could prove deadly. It is estimated that due to sleep deprivation resulted in roughly 567,000 car accidents that lead to 980 highway deaths every year in the United States.

Doing such things as opening the window, turning on the air conditioner or turning up the radio are only stopgap measures to help keep you awake and alert at the wheel.

Your mind will block out the things you have done to stay awake and you will fall asleep at the wheel if you refuse to stop and rest your body eventually. This could cost you your life and others as well.

Myth 5

It is a common myth that insomnia is simply a problem with falling asleep. This is not so. Insomnia is more complex than that and is connected with four precise symptoms which include difficulty getting to sleep, but also waking up too early in the morning and not being able to fall back to sleep, frequent moments of waking up during the night and a feeling of being tired or somehow not refreshed from a night’s sleep.