Why Most Adults Aren’t Getting Enough Sleep
Getting enough sleep is one of the most important parts of healthy living that most adults, and many adolescents, often neglect. Even men and women who exercise regularly, do not smoke and avoid drinking excessive alcohol often only get a fraction of the sleep their bodies really desire to thrive. Sleep is one luxury many older adults, as well as adolescents simply don’t spend enough time doing. It is estimated that nearly 68 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep disorder.
Lots of people have a hard time sleeping for many different reasons. Sometimes health issues such as excessive weight, over indulging on alcohol or food or simply living a stressful lifestyle can lead to sleep issues. Here are some of the more common sleep problems seen in most people today:
Sleep Apnea: This sleep condition causes a person to stop breathing momentarily while the person is sleeping. Sleep apnea can be classified as obstructive, which means soft tissues in the back of the throat collapse slightly while a person is sleeping, momentarily blocking the airway and disturbing sleep. Central sleep apnea occurs when a person’s brain actually “forgets” to tell the lungs to continue breathing during sleep. Snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea. Both types of apnea disturb sleep patterns and though they may not entirely wake a person up, they do disrupt the deep level a sleep a person needs.
Bed Wetting: Adult nocturnal enuresis affects 1-2% of the entire population, though those numbers are believed to be under reported. Bed wetting as an adult occurs when a mature person or adolescent does not wake to urinate during the night time sleep period. This may cause sufferers to fear going to sleep, increase stress about sleeping and ultimately disrupt sleep patterns which can sometimes make the condition worse.
RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome): RLS is a sleep condition which causes a person to feel a creeping, pins and needles or even pulling sensation in the leg when they lay down to go to sleep or sit for long periods of time during the evening hours. RLS might be one of the causes of cramps in legs at night. These feelings disrupt sleep and can be more than just bothersome if they happen every evening.
You may need to speak with your primary care physician if you suffer from any of these conditions yourself. Getting the right amount of sleep is vitally important to your overall well-being and can dramatically improve your quality of living. All of these sleep conditions are treatable and some are preventable.
Not getting enough sleep can negatively impact your overall health and well-being. Visit our site to learn more about the causes leg cramps and the remedies available to you.