Sleep disturbances like insomnia and sleep apnea can significantly impact your quality of life. Getting adequate, restful sleep is crucial for both physical and mental health. If you regularly have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or feel tired during the day despite sleeping for 7-9 hours, you may have a sleep disorder.
Some common causes of sleep disturbances include:
| Cause | Description |
|---|---|
| Stress or anxiety | Worrying or ruminating keeps your mind active, making it hard to fall asleep. |
| Poor sleep habits | Irregular bedtimes, excessive screen time before bed, uncomfortable sleep environment, and consuming caffeine or alcohol too close to bedtime can all interfere with sleep. |
| Medical conditions | Sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, acid reflux, chronic pain, and neurological issues can disrupt sleep. |
| Medications | Some prescription drugs, OTC medications, and supplements have side effects that disturb sleep. |
Insomnia involves struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep most nights despite having the opportunity to sleep. Both falling and staying asleep become difficult.
Sleep apnea is a condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep due to airway obstruction. This results in loud snoring, restless sleep, and daytime sleepiness.
If you suspect you have a sleep disorder, discuss your symptoms with your doctor. They can refer you to a sleep specialist for evaluation and treatment if needed. Diagnostic tests like an overnight polysomnography in a sleep lab can help identify sleep disorders.
Treatment options for sleep disturbances include:
| Treatment | Description |
|---|---|
| Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) | CBT trains you to develop healthier sleep habits and address problematic thoughts/behaviors that disrupt sleep. |
| Sleep medication | Medications like benzodiazepine receptor agonists, melatonin, or orexin receptor antagonists can help regulate sleep-wake cycles. |
| Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) | CPAP machines improve breathing in sleep apnea patients by delivering constant and steady air pressure via a face mask. |
| Rejuvenate Wellness | Getting your hormones balanced through bioidentical hormone therapy can help resolve many sleep issues in both men and women. Our experienced physicians create customized treatment plans involving testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, thyroid hormones, and other key hormones to optimize sleep and energy. |
Implementing good sleep hygiene is also beneficial:
Keeping a sleep diary to identify sleep pattern issues can be insightful.
Poor sleep takes a major toll on physical and mental health. It raises risks for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, anxiety, impaired concentration and memory, and accidents or injuries.
In Conclusion
If you regularly struggle to sleep, seek help. Treatments and lifestyle changes offered by qualified sleep specialists and hormone clinics like Rejuvenate Wellness can resolve many sleep disturbances. This leads to improved health, performance, and quality of life. Prioritizing sleep is one of the most impactful things you can do for your overall wellbeing. Make restful sleep a reality in your life. You deserve to sleep well and feel your best!