3 Common Sleep Problems Among Adults

Sleep is one luxury many older adults, as well as adolescents simply don’t spend enough time doing. It’s been estimated that nearly 68 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep disorder. Getting the right amount of 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 need to thrive.

Lots of people have a difficult time sleeping for many different reasons. Sometimes health problems such as excessive weight, over indulging on alcohol or food or simply living a stressful lifestyle can lead to sleep problems. Here are some of the more common sleep conditions seen in many people today:

Snoring or Sleep Apnea: Snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea, which is a sleep malady that causes a person to stop breathing momentarily during sleep. Sleep apnea can be categorized as obstructive, which means soft tissues in the rear of the throat collapse slightly while a person is sleeping, momentarily obstructing the airway and disturbing sleep. Central sleep apnea occurs when a person’s brain actually “forgets” to tell the body to continue breathing during sleep.

Bed Wetting: Adult bed wetting 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 cycle. This may cause sufferers to fear going to sleep, increase anxiety about sleeping and ultimately disrupt relationships which can sometimes make the condition worse.

RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome): This sleep disorder causes a person to feel a creeping, tingling 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 will often prevent sleep and can be more than just annoying if they occur every evening.

Getting the correct amount of sleep is very important to your overall health and can dramatically improve your quality of life. All of these sleep maladies are treatable and some are preventable. You may want to speak with your primary care physician if you have to deal with any of these conditions yourself.