Patients

Sleep apnea is a common condition that causes your breathing to stop for a few seconds to minutes.

This is a significant, potentially life-threatening condition that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. People with sleep apnea typically snore loudly. Under normal circumstances, snoring is no more than an inconvenience and is not life-threatening. However, it can be the main symptom of sleep apnea. For a person with sleep apnea, breathing stops from ten seconds to more than a minute at a time, and these attacks can occur from five to more than one hundred times an hour during sleep.

Sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and/or abnormal heart rhythms. It may also impact your memory.

There are two types of sleep apnea, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Central Sleep Apnea (CSA).

Untreated sleep apnea may cause high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, and abnormal heart rhythms. The National Commission on Sleep Disorders estimates that 38,000 people die each year because of the untreated cardiovascular complications of sleep apnea.

Insomnia occurs when you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Anyone can have insomnia, but it is more common and more frequent in older adults, women, and people under stress. Some medical and mental health problems, such as other sleep disorders, can also cause or worsen the frequency of insomnia. Medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, can be taken to treat insomnia. However, many sleeping pills are not meant to be used long term and have side effects. You should speak to your healthcare provider about any sleeping pills you have been prescribed or purchased over the counter. If you think you have insomnia, talk to your healthcare provider.

Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS is best described as having an overwhelming urge to move your legs. You may also feel burning or itching inside your legs. Typically, these discomforts are relieved by walking around. Patients with RLS will complain that these symptoms are worse at night. The urge to move your legs at night may go unnoticed; however, it can disrupt your sleep. Low levels of iron in your blood, diabetes and some medications have been linked to RLS. Women are twice as likely to have RLS as men. If you think you have RLS, talk to your health care provider.

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD) is a sleep disorder involving the uncontrollable movements of limbs—usually feet and legs, but sometimes the arms too. However, PLMD movements occur during sleep, and sufferers aren’t always aware that they have it. It can still cause daytime fatigue and sleepiness because of its disruptive nature.

Narcolepsy symptoms typically emerge in patients between the ages of 10 and 20. The most common symptom of narcolepsy is excessive daytime sleepiness. This is a common symptom in other sleep disorders, which makes sleep testing even more important in these cases. Cataplexy, intense dream-like hallucinations while falling asleep, and sleep paralysis are other symptoms of narcolepsy. Narcolepsy can run in your family, but most cases are not genetically related. Typically, medication is used to treat narcolepsy along with lifestyle changes. If you think you have narcolepsy, talk with your health care provider.