Sleep disturbances affect nearly everyone at some point. Getting quality sleep is crucial for both physical and mental health. When our sleep is disrupted regularly, it can lead to chronic health issues over time. There are various types of sleep disorders that interfere with getting restorative rest.
Common Sleep Disturbances
- Insomnia - Difficulty falling or staying asleep. This can be caused by stress, underlying health conditions, medications, or inconsistent sleep schedules. Symptoms include difficulty falling asleep at night, waking up frequently, or waking up too early.
- Sleep apnea - Interrupted breathing during sleep due to airway obstruction. This results in loud snoring, restless sleep, and daytime fatigue.
- Restless leg syndrome - Uncomfortable sensations in the legs accompanied by an irresistible urge to move them. This often flares up at night, making it challenging to fall asleep.
- Circadian rhythm disorders - When your internal body clock is out of sync with the day-night cycle. This includes advanced sleep phase disorder, delayed sleep phase disorder, and shift work disorder.
If you struggle with disrupted sleep, it's important to identify the root causes. Maintaining healthy sleep habits can alleviate issues for some. This includes having a regular sleep-wake cycle, limiting blue light exposure at night, avoiding large meals before bed, reducing caffeine, and exercising regularly.
However, for moderate to severe cases, it's best to seek help from a sleep specialist. They can properly diagnose your specific sleep disorder and create a customized treatment plan. At Balance Hormone Institute, our clinicians specialize in sleep disturbances related to hormonal imbalances. We provide cutting-edge testing to identify deficiencies contributing to your sleep issues. Based on the test results, we develop personalized treatment plans involving bioidentical hormone therapy to help patients achieve deep, uninterrupted sleep consistently. Contact us today to learn more about our sleep health services!
Diagnosing Sleep Disorders
Accurately diagnosing sleep disorders involves a multi-step process:
- Patient history - Understanding symptoms, daily habits, health conditions, and family history
- Sleep studies - Monitoring brain waves, oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing patterns and body movements overnight
- Blood tests - Checking for nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and other medical conditions
- Sleep journals/questionnaires - Tracking sleep quality, duration and daytime symptoms
After gathering all pertinent information, sleep specialists can determine the specific sleep disorder and best course of treatment.
Treating Sleep Problems
Treatment options for sleep disturbances depend on the underlying cause but often include:
- Sleep hygiene education - Providing tips on optimizing sleep environment and habits
- Cognitive behavioral therapy - Identifying and modifying thoughts/behaviors preventing good sleep
- Relaxation techniques - Practices like meditation and yoga to reduce stress
- Light therapy - Daily exposure to bright light to stabilize circadian rhythms
- Medications - Prescription sleeping pills or supplements to facilitate sleep
- Hormone therapy - Restoring balance of hormones like melatonin, cortisol and testosterone
With consistent commitment to treatment, most patients see improvements in sleep quantity and quality. A customized regimen focused on the root issues causing the disturbance leads to the best outcomes long-term.