Helping You Get Better Rest
Millions of Americans suffer chronically with various sleep disorders, and they are often undiagnosed or even ignored. If you regularly wake up with a headache, experience excessive daytime sleepiness, wake up choking, breathless or gasping during the night, experience chronic periods of disturbed sleep or snore loudly or stop breathing during sleep, it may be time to visit a FirstHealth Sleep Center.
Talk to your doctor about your concerns and ask if you might be a candidate for a sleep study.
At FirstHealth, our sleep experts can assess your symptoms, help determine their cause and recommend treatment and mitigation strategies that can help you get better rest. FirstHealth Sleep Disorders Centers are located at Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, Montgomery Memorial Hospital in Troy and FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital - Richmond in Rockingham or at one of our Sandhills Neurologists locations in Cary, Pinehurst or Sanford.
Most sleep disorders can be successfully treated or controlled once properly diagnosed. Diagnosing sleep disorders is not simple, because there can be many different reasons for disturbed sleep. Several tests are available for evaluating a person for sleep apnea and other sleep disorders. Your doctor will order an overnight polysomnography to determine whether or not you have a sleep disorder.
Polysomnography is a test that records a variety of body functions during sleep, such as the electrical activity of the brain, eye movement, muscle activity, heart rate, respiratory effort, airflow and blood oxygen levels. These recordings are used to diagnose sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, and to determine the severity of the disorder.
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Common Sleep Disorders
There are over eighty different conditions that fall within the category of Sleep Disorders; too little sleep, too much sleep or disturbed sleep are all signs of a sleep disorder. Excessive snoring should not be ignored, as that too can be indicative of a more serious problem.
Insomnia
Virtually every person has experienced occasional bouts of insomnia, trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or awakening too early, due to temporary stress or a change in sleep habits. One in three adults complain of occasional insomnia, whereas chronic insomnia has a prevalence of 10-18% in the general population. Insomnia is a symptom of many conditions, most of which can be successfully detected and treated.
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)
RLS can affect any age group but is more severe among the middle-aged and elderly. Patients with RLS have an unpleasant sensation deep in their legs, accompanied by a strong urge to move their legs. These symptoms are worse at rest and are relieved temporarily by movement.
The disorder is most prevalent in the evening hours and manifests itself in sleep as periodic limb movements that disrupt a person's sleep without their knowledge. Spouses are more often aware of the problem than the sufferers themselves.
Sleep Apnea
Apnea, literally meaning 'no breath,' is a pause in the breathing pattern, which can last from ten seconds up to one minute. A person afflicted with Sleep Apnea may experience hundreds of breathing interruptions each night, resulting in brief awakenings. These arousals are caused by the increased effort to breath during an apnea. Due to these repeated awakenings, sufferers often complain of excessive daytime sleepiness. If left untreated, Sleep Apnea increases the risk of hypertension, heart attack and stroke.
The condition occurs most often among middle aged, overweight men and post-menopausal women. Far from being a rare disorder, Sleep Apnea is as common as adult asthma, yet it is estimated that approximately 95% of cases remain undiagnosed and untreated.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a chronic disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle tone often brought on by strong emotions), hypnogogic hallucinations (extremely vivid dreams at sleep onset), and sleep paralysis. Narcolepsy sufferers transition quickly from wakefulness to dream sleep (REM), and often feel an irresistible urge to sleep. No amount of nighttime or daytime sleep produces full alertness for narcoleptics.
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Sleep problems not only compromise the quality of life, but they can put individuals at greater risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, mental impairment or accident. If you feel you are at risk for a sleep disorder please contact us to schedule your sleep evaluation.
