All About Understanding Sleep and Sleep Disorders

The Importance Of Understanding Sleep And Sleep Disorders

All of us spend about one third of our lives sleeping but yet not many of us understand what happens during the time we are sleeping. In fact, most people do not even think about this important part of our lives and do not realise that sleep plays a very crucial role in maintaining our health and sustaining our emotional well-being, as well as determining how well we learn and and how we perform physically and mentally.

The Prevalence of Sleep Disorderssleep3 The Importance Of Understanding Sleep And Sleep Disorders

Many of us have problems sleeping well and may not even be aware of it. In fact, a survey by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) discovered that in 2004

  • 75 percent of all adults had at least one symptom of a sleep problem, such as snoring or waking up several times during the night
  • 54 percent had some symptoms of insomnia
  • 2 to 4 percent suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (when you stop breathing momentarily during sleep)
  • 5 to 10 pecent experienced Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), causing unpleasant tingling in their legs at night, which can result in pain
  • 40 percent of adults snore, and unfortunately it is mostly their spouses who suffer disruption of their sleep

The Dangers Of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deficiency could result in many consequences including:

  • Lack of sleep could affect your memory
  • Sleep deprivation could lead to Diabetes
  • Obesity could result from insufficient sleep
  • Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure and Stroke are other consequences of poor sleep

Eve Van Cauter, an endocrinologist at the University of Chicago School of Medicine, studied the effect of sleep on the body. They did a study where they restricted the sleep of several subjects to four hours per night for six nights. They discovered that in just six days, the study’s subjects were on the road to diabetes and that they were also very hungry. Van Cauter has made a radical discovery – that lack of sleep may be contributing to the epidemic of obesity through the work of a hormone called leptin that tells your brain when you are full. Lack of sleep will result in a drop in leptin levels causing your brain to think that you are hungry.

A report by NBC News on March 4, 2008 stated that 50 to 70 million people live life tired.  They further revealed that:

  • 65% of Americans have trouble falling asleep
  • 29%  find themselves sleepy at work
  • 20% said lack of sleep resulted in less sex

Sleep Debt has a cumulative and effect. Studies have revealed that the performance on tests of alertness and thinking gets worse the longer the sleep deprivation lasts. Even a few nights of poor sleep can have serious consequences. One study found that people who slept for five hours or less for three consecutive night were more likely to have such physical ailments as stomach problems, headaches and sore joints.

Sleep deprivation can affect virtually every aspect of your life including the following:

  • Higher rate of accidents and injuries
  • Lower efficiency
  • Lower job performance
  • More moodiness and irritability
  • Potential concentration problems
  • Marital and social problems

 It is our hope that this website will assist you in having a better understanding of the Science of Sleep and Sleep Disorders and perhaps enable you to find some solution that can improve the quantity as well as the quality of your sleep.

We welcome you to share your experiences in our Sharing About Sleep page and also find out how others have cope with their sleep problems.