Sleep Disturbances-4th Rough Draft
Language Arts-3rd Period
February 5, 2006
4th Rough Draft
Sleep Disturbances
No one can live without sleep. Sleep is caused when the body is low on energy. Life can be hard for people who have sleep disturbances. While most can just lie down and fall asleep, others with sleep disturbances might lie in bed all night without even getting a wink of sleep. Since such people do not get any sleep at night, that could leave them feeling tired during the day. This could be dangerous if someone falls asleep while driving. Sleep is something that most people take for granted. Sleep is needed to allow the body and its cells to rest and recharge. Sleep helps the brain to be able to concentrate during the day. However, natural sleep does not always come easily to people with sleep disturbances.
Description of Sleep Disturbances
There are many types of sleep disturbances and several ways in which to describe them. Disturbed sleep usually occurs when a person wakes up many times at night. Sometimes disturbed slumber comes when an individual is afraid to go to sleep. For instance, if someone just had a nightmare or even worse a night terror the person might be too scared to go back to sleep. Insomnia, or an insomniac, is a person that does not sleep at all or does not get enough REM sleep. Sleep apnea is when people stop breathing while asleep. Other descriptions of disturbed sleep are bedwetting and sleepwalking. All in all, there are many types of sleep disturbances.
Causes for Sleep Disturbances
There are multiple causes for sleep disturbances. The most common type of sleep disturbance is waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. To be able to stay asleep the body needs to stay at a comfortable temperature. Asthma medicines, the medicine methylxanthinces, and high amounts of ethanol are thought to cause sleep disturbances. Nasal congestion, sleeping pills, smoking, and drinking alcohol all affect breathing and could make sleep apnea worse. Large amounts of stress can interrupt sleep. Kids that stay up all night do not get enough sleep and will most likely feel tired during the day when they must stay awake. Fatty neck tissue can press on the airway and makes it harder to breath. In fact, breathing problems when asleep are one of the biggest causes of sleep disturbances.
Effects of Sleep Disturbances
Effects of disturbed sleep are dreadful and can sometimes be dangerous. Some people with sleep disturbances go days without even feeling tired; however, the brain will eventually shut down. People affected by sleep disturbances for long periods of time cannot rest well during the night. Therefore, exhaustion is felt during the day and during working hours when there is no opportunity to sleep. This could be extremely dangerous if the person falls asleep while driving. Also, during the day the person might be in a bad mood, or feel depressed. Others might wake up with a stomach ache, or just feel miserable. Not resting well not only affects a person’s productivity and relationships with others, but can also affect their health. Little sleep lowers the resistance that the body’s cells have in fighting viruses and harmful bacteria, which may cause sickness. As a result, sleeping disturbances can drastically alter someone’s life.
Solutions for Sleep Disturbances
There are numerous solutions for disturbed sleep. Some are easy things that anyone can do like lose weight, especially around the neck, and do not eat right before bed. There are also medications to put a person to sleep and keep them asleep. Other solutions are a little more involved such as stopping smoking and drinking alcohol. If these methods are not helping, go to a sleep clinic where doctors can suggest a treatment. Some treatments involve surgery such as jaw surgery to enlarge the jaw to make the air way larger, surgery to remove the uvula which will open the airway, and surgery to open the nasal passages. There is a device that is called the tongue restraining device which pulls the tongue towards the teeth and opens the airway behind the tongue. Many people wear a device called the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) which is a mask that blows air in to keep the airway from collapsing. So far there are only a few treatments for disturbed sleep that actually work permanently. Many drug companies are looking for new treatments to sleep disorders. Always keep in mind when taking sleep medication that most are not for long term use and some sleep medicines can be addictive.
Summary
There are many causes and effects for disturbed sleep. There are also many solutions. Sleep disturbances can have a big impact on people’s lives. Without sleep, people could not live. Therefore, sleep is required for life, yet people with sleep disturbances cannot get the sleep that the body requires and sleep does not come easily. Help is available and anyone suffering with a sleep disturbance should talk to a doctor right away before something serious happens.
Works Cited
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The Lancet. 12 January 2002:2. eLibrary. 18 January 2006.
Linder, Doug. Sleep Apnea Treatments. 1995-2006. 19 January 2006.
Nordenberg, Tamara. “Tossing and Turning No More.” FDA Consumer.
1 July 1998:6. eLibrary. 18 January 2006.
Parker, Steve. Dreaming in the Night. New York: Franklin Watts, 1991.
Silverstein, Alvin, and Virginia Silverstein. The Mystery of Sleep. Boston:
Little Brown and Company, 1987.
Silverstein, Alvin. Sleep. New York: Franklin Watts, 2000.
“Sleep.” World Book Encyclopedia. 2000 ed.
