Sleep is a necessity of life, in quality sleep, the brain is fully rested and purified. However, many people suffer from insomnia, late at night, there are always people in the circle of friends painfully “counting sheep”. Insomnia patients can’t sleep at night, can’t wake up during the day, can’t concentrate, life, work and study are seriously affected.
Long-term insomnia can also cause memory loss, dizziness and tinnitus, neurasthenia, plant nerve disorders, etc., greatly increasing the incidence of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, hypertension, heart disease and other diseases. According to the latest foreign research, as long as a night without sleep, your brain will change, and the brain suffers as much damage as a heavy blow to the head. What’s worse, the damage caused to the brain by lack of sleep cannot be repaired by catching up on sleep.
Often, insomnia is thought to be caused by mental depression, stress, and excessive fatigue. Some insomnia is caused by organic disorders and is often easily overlooked, thus delaying treatment. Examples include obstructive sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.
Obstructive sleep apnea
The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the public. The doctor diagnosed him with a “stroke”. Although the symptoms are not serious, but he and his family are wondering, usually do not smoke and do not drink, neither diabetes nor hypertension, how will have a “stroke” it?
The neurologist performed a series of meticulous examinations and evaluations for Mr. Chen and found that he had “obstructive sleep apnea,” which is the only risk factor for cerebrovascular disease found in him so far.
About sleep apnea
There are two forms of sleep apnea: one is central sleep apnea, which is a brain dysfunction that does not send instructions to the whistling muscles for whistling movements, resulting in a pause in whistling. The other is obstructive sleep apnea, which is a pause in inspiration caused by narrowing or occlusion of the pharynx, the most common form of sleep apnea, which Mr. Chen suffers from.
If you snore in your sleep, your inhalation is obviously intermittent, you should be alerted. The obstructive sleep apnea occurs during sleep, so it is usually undetectable, and patients are sometimes awakened by suffocation. Undetectable apnea is very dangerous, and there have been numerous studies that confirm that sleep apnea can greatly increase the incidence of hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and may even lead to sudden death at night.
The main clinical manifestations of sleep apnea are: very loud snoring, tossing and turning during sleep, hyperactivity (without your knowledge); being awakened from sleep; increased nighttime urination; waking up with headache, dry mouth and sore throat. And, even with sufficient sleep, you still wake up tired, leading to daytime drowsiness, slow thinking ability, memory loss, etc.
How can I tell if my whistling is a disease?
If you snore in your sleep with a very even whistle and wake up very relieved the next day, you don’t need to worry too much. Once the symptoms of sleep apnea appear, you should go to the hospital in time.
How can you improve sleep apnea?
Avoid sleeping in the supine position
This is not always useful because it is difficult to control the position during sleep and only some people can reduce sleep apnea through position control.
Obese people can reduce sleep apnea by losing weight. Avoid alcohol, as it can aggravate sleep apnea. The most effective treatment is the use of a ‘continuous positive airway pressure’ device or apparatus, such as a whistler. Although it may feel uncomfortable to sleep with the device on at night, it is the most effective way to ensure a smooth whistle during sleep.
Restless legs syndrome
Some time ago, a patient with meningitis in his 60s rushed to Shaw Hospital to see Dr. Zhang. During the consultation, he noticed that the patient had many scars on his knees and asked him what was wrong. The patient told his painful experience for more than 30 years: when he went to sleep at night, he felt uncomfortable with how to put his legs, and could not help moving and kicking. His wife had to massage him for 3 to 4 hours every night, and these scars on his knees were left after years of treatment with moxa sticks and other native methods. He was suspected to be a patient with “restless leg syndrome”.
After examination, Tension III confirmed his assumptions.
About restless legs syndrome
Restless legs syndrome is a sleep-related movement disorder. Patients feel unusual discomfort in their legs (usually below the knee) at rest, such as crawling, pulling, and itching, and these discomforts occur deep in the lower extremities rather than on the skin surface.
These symptoms are usually mildest in the morning and become more severe the closer to evening. The patient’s symptoms may be partially or completely relieved by activities such as kicking and walking. Prolonged leg discomfort while sleeping often results in poor sleep quality for the patient.
Restless leg syndrome is actually very common, but has not yet received sufficient attention in China. According to statistics, 7.9% of people have had mild or severe symptoms, and most restless legs syndrome is idiopathic and runs in families. In a few cases, restless legs syndrome is associated with other health problems, such as iron deficiency anemia, renal failure (uremia), diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. In addition, pregnant women are at high risk for the condition. Patients can relieve their symptoms with non-pharmacological treatments such as more exercise during the day, massaging the legs, stretching the legs before going to bed, and not consuming caffeine, nicotine, or alcohol. If necessary, medications such as iron supplements and dopamine agonists are required. Pregnant women should not take medications lightly, but usually restless legs syndrome will slowly disappear as the pregnancy ends and there is no need to worry too much.