Sleep disorders: Symptoms, Causes and How to improve

Sleep disorders not only reduce quality of life but also lead to many serious health problems. From daytime fatigue, impaired thinking capacity, to mental and physical disorders - the consequences of this condition are enormous.

In the following article, we will learn more about common sleep disorder symptoms, common causes, and measures to help you improve sleep quality. Understanding your health condition is an important first step so you can "regain" peaceful nights and long-term health.

What are sleep disorders?

"Sleep disorder" is a general term to refer to a condition in which a patient has problems related to sleep quality and duration, thereby hindering personal daily activities. This not only reduces productivity during the day, but also leads to long-term health complications, especially mental health.

Since 1979, American Sleep Disorders Association came up with the first classification system, highlighting more than 100 types of sleep disorders based on their various causes, symptoms and effects on the body. These disorders can be identified through some common signs as follows:

• You feel sleepy but have difficulty falling asleep.
• You always find ways to stay awake during the day.
• Your sleep-wake circadian rhythm is unstable.
• Your unusual behavior disrupts your sleep.

These signs are warnings of sleep problems. If you frequently feel tired during the day or have difficulty maintaining sleep, seeking advice from your doctor is essential to ensure your health and quality of life.

Symptoms of sleep disorders

Sleep disorders are a complex condition that can present with many different symptoms, depending on the type of disorder you have. Here are some common signs:

• Unusual drowsiness during the day: There may be sudden bouts of drowsiness while driving or in meetings.
• Difficulty sleeping: Many people often take more than 30 minutes to fall asleep every night.
• Sleep-wake cycle disorder: This cycle is irregular, making it difficult to maintain continuous sleep.
• Breathing problems while sleeping: Includes stopping breathing, gasping for breath, or snoring loudly.
• Involuntary urination during sleep and other behaviors: Includes sleepwalking and displays of strong emotions such as fear or screaming.
• Discomfort in the legs or arms at night: Feeling of tingling or tingling, usually relieved by moving the legs or arms.
• Hallucinations while sleeping: Unreal images or sounds appear when falling asleep or waking up.
• Temporary loss of memory: Cannot remember actions performed while sleeping.
• Feeling numb when waking up: Feeling of not being able to move immediately after waking up.
• Emotional and competence issues: These are prolonged fatigue, irritability, anxiety and impaired work or study performance.

Common types of sleep disorders

DBelow are the 6 most common sleep disorders today:

Insomnia

Insomnia is a long-term sleep disorder that causes you to repeatedly toss and turn every night and make it difficult to get a good night's sleep. People with insomnia often feel excessively tired during the day and experience cognitive problems.

If this condition occurs at least 3 times a week and lasts more than 3 months, it is determined to be chronic insomnia. According to data from the US National Sleep Foundation, Up to ⅓ of adults are "fighting" insomnia.

Understanding this condition in-depth is an extremely important step in finding effective solutions to improve your sleep quality. 

Parasomnias

Parasomnias is a very common sleep disorder today. Patients often experience unusual behaviors when just starting to fall asleep or while in deep sleep.

Symptoms of this disease are quite diverse, ranging from talking in the sleep, moaning, and walking while sleeping (also known as sleepwalking), to more serious cases such as having severe nightmares or bed-wetting.

Circadian sleep disorder

Sleep disorder syndrome is a common condition that causes patients to have difficulty falling asleep, often waking up in the middle of the night and unable to fall back asleep. 

Symptoms of this disorder are often mild in the morning but become more severe in the evening. Below are some main classifications:

• Late sleep phase disorder: The patient cannot fall asleep until very late (usually after midnight), leading to fatigue and decreased productivity during the day.
• Advanced sleep phase disorder: The patient easily falls asleep early, but wakes up too early and cannot go back to sleep, disrupting the normal sleep cycle.
• Sleep disorders due to shift work: Often happens to people who work without a fixed schedule, causing the sleep-wake cycle to be seriously disturbed.
• Non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome: The patient cannot maintain the body's normal 24-hour sleep/wake cycle, and often has difficulty falling asleep and waking up on time.

Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder that causes the patient to feel excessively tired throughout the day despite having a full night's rest. 

This condition is characterized by uncontrollable sleepiness, leading to sudden drowsiness during the day - seriously affecting the patient's daily activities.

People with narcolepsy may experience sudden "dystonia," which causes the body to temporarily lose the ability to function and have difficulty controlling actions. These attacks, often called cataplexy, are triggered by strong emotions such as laughter or anger.

Sleep apnea syndrome

This is a serious sleep disorder where the patient will experience airway obstruction every time they go to sleep, disrupting breathing. There are two main types: "obstructive apnea" and "central apnea", along with a more complex form called "mixed apnea" that combines the two.

Sleep apnea not only causes fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness, but can also lead to cognitive impairment. What is worth mentioning is that patients often do not remember anything about these apnea episodes even if they wake up after each episode. 

Like other sleep disorders, if not treated early, it can seriously affect the patient's overall health.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS)

This syndrome is also known as "Willis-Ekbom disease", a sleep-related movement disorder that causes severe discomfort in the legs. 

Patients often feel itchy, throbbing and restless, just wanting to move their legs continuously. The feeling will be worse at night, when resting or sitting for a long time, affecting sleep quality.

In addition, some patients also experience conditions in their hands and other parts of the body. Moving is the only way to relieve this discomfort.

Researchers believe that RLS is related to an imbalance of dopamine - a neurotransmitter that regulates body movements, affecting the patient's feelings and behavior.

What is the cause of insomnia?

Insomnia is a common health problem, affecting many people of all ages. Below are the main causes that can cause this condition:

• Pressure of life: Stress about work, school, health, finances or family relationships can keep you restless, making it difficult to fall asleep.
• Change work schedule: Continuous business travel or unstable work schedules (working morning and evening shifts or constantly changing shifts) are also common causes of disturbed sleep.
• Habits before going to bed: Activities such as watching TV, using a computer or playing games before going to bed also negatively affect your sleep quality.
• Diet: Eating too much before bed will increase pressure on your stomach, causing discomfort and hindering your sleep.
• Mental and physical health problems: Depression, anxiety disorders, paranoia and certain physical health conditions such as stomach ulcers, diabetes, chronic pain, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, also reduce the quality and duration of sleep. . 
• Using stimulants: Caffeine in coffee, tea, and cola, as well as nicotine in cigarettes, can all interfere with sleep. Although alcohol can help you fall asleep more easily, it will cause you to wake up more at night.
• Older age: Elderly people may have insomnia due to illness or the use of many different medications.

Sleep disorders are a common problem that seriously affects the quality of life and overall health of many people. By understanding the causes and symptoms you experience, you can find appropriate measures to prevent and enhance your sleep.

One of the effective measures to prevent sleep disorders is to supplement magnesium. This mineral plays an important role in strengthening the immune system, improving brain function, protecting the heart and helping muscles recover quickly after exercise. This helps you maintain a healthy body and reduce stress, which means you can sleep better and deeper.