Sleep Disorder/Insomnia

Sleep Disorder/Sleep Disturbance

A good night's rest is essential for our health. In this phase our heartbeat and breathing slow down and our muscles relax. The bodies metabolism and the activity of the brain adapt to the tuned down status.

But why does sleep play such an important role for our health? And how come the amount of sleep we need varies with age?

Whereas babies tend to sleep up to 16 hours a day, an adult's need of sleep ranges from four to ten hours. The older we get the less sleep we need. Sleep is very individual. There is no answer to the exact amount of sleep a person needs.

At night our brain undergoes 5 phases while we are asleep. During the first 4 phases the brain slowly but steadily reduces its activity. Phase 5 is known as REM-Phase (rapid-eye-movement). The brain activity is now irregular. The sign that a person has reached the REM-Phase, which is also the phase in which we dream, is the quick moving of the eye beneath the eyelids. The longest REM-Phase in the early morning hours between 3 and 4am is also the most vital for the bodies and minds regeneration. These five phases can take up to one and a half hours and occur repeatedly overnight.

But what actually makes as dream? The first step is of course to fall asleep. The feeling of tiredness is caused by certain messenger substances set free in our brainstem. Several factors like darkness, time and the inner clock are responsible for this procedure.

The forebrain and the neo-cortex generate the different phases of sleep by decreasing the speed of their steady stream of signals. These ´slow-motion` commands evoke the changing of sleep-phases by gaining and reducing their speed. Therefore the bodies` sensory perception is weakened. This causes the body to constrict its Body-actions to its dream-phase. A malfunctioning reduction of the flow of signals or information explains the phenomena of sleep walking and Hypnagogia. Medical Scientists are able to identify the reasons for sleep disturbance by measuring the electric waves of the neo-cortex and the eye-muscles during the REM-Phase.

Sleep Disturbance

A disturbed sleep is caused by outer disturbances. The consequences are manifold. They can range from lack of concentration or stress to more serious disorders such as anxiety or asthmatic symptoms. Sleep disturbance can emerge with an overly indulge of coffee or alcohol; but it could also be the result of a medical condition. Such as:

• Narkolepsy (Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS))
  The symptom of this disease pattern is constant sleepiness and drowsiness. A person suffering from Narkolepsy is accompanied daily by an irresistible urge to nap. Sudden muscular fatigue or even short time muscular-paralysis while asleep is not uncommon.
  
  A malfunctioning of the messenger substance in the forebrain is suggested to be the cause for Narkolepsy. The exact sources are still unknown.
• Restless Legs Syndrome
  Restless Legs Syndrome is a frequent nerve-affliction which concentrates on the outer limbs, especially the legs. Sleep is disturbed by the uncontrollable jerking of the limbs. This syndrome can be elicited by other illnesses as well as being hereditary.
• Sleep apnea
  Sleep apnea is the failure of regular breathing whilst asleep. The stoppage of the intake of breath could last up to several minutes. The brains supply of oxygen is insufficient which results in sleep disturbance. This is often caused by the coherent slacking of the throat-muscle and the velum; hence the air passage is blocked. Smokers and Snorers are the target group to suffer from Sleep apnea. But also constitutional grounds such as malformation of the jaw or the mouth- nose- and throat-area, as well as the enlargement of the tongue, as in the case of acromegaly, can lead to Sleep apnea.