Sleep disorders are conditions that affect sleep quality, timing, or duration and impact a person’s ability to properly function while they are awake. These disorders can undermine quality of life and contribute to other medical problems.
Sleep Disorders, when left undiagnosed and untreated can lead to several chronic diseases. Increasingly, prolonged disturbance in sleep has been identified as contributing to illness and even premature death. Insufficient sleep has been linked to the development of a number of chronic diseases and conditions, including the following....
Conditions Associated with Sleep Disorders
Persons with sleep apnea have been found to be at increased risk for a number of cardiovascular diseases. Most notable are hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease and irregular heartbeats (cardiac arrhythmias). In recent studies, these conditions have all been found to be more common among those with sleep disorders than their peers without sleep abnormalities.
The relationship between sleep and depression is widely studied and is very complex. It’s been long held by researchers that sleeplessness is an important symptom of depression. Today, research shows that depressive symptoms may in fact decrease once a person has undergone treatment for sleep apnea.
Research has found that insufficient sleep is linked to an increased risk for the development of Type 2 diabetes. Additionally for those already diagnosed with diabetes, sleep disorders can lead to complications, therefore, it is very important that you share your sleep concerns with your family health provider if you believe you are experiencing a sleep issue.
New research has found that short sleep duration results in metabolic changes that may be linked to obesity. Also, we now know that obesity in children can lead to sleep disorders – making obesity dangerous on both sides of the disorder. It is believed that sleep during the childhood and adolescence years is particularly important for brain development. Experts know that insufficient sleep in youngsters may adversely affect the function of a region of the brain known as the hypothalamus, which regulates appetite and energy levels.
