Having difficulty in falling asleep is common among people facing emotional problems such as breaking up of intimate relationships, a death in the family or the untimely death of a close friend and also those suffering from physical pain may also become victims of certain sleep difficulties.
However, definite types of sleep disorders are also common among these people and it is noteworthy that sleep disorders are not casual sleep problems but instead they are serious sleeping difficulties.
A sleep disorder can be defined as a medical disorder that disturbs the normal sleeping pattern of an individual and sleep disorders are known to cause sleep disturbances on a regular basis for a prolonged period of time.
However, there are 70 different types of sleep disorders that wreak havoc on the sleep patterns of people across the world and these sleep disorders belong to the three categories mentioned below:
1. Sleep Disorder Caused By Lack Of Sleep
2. Sleep Disorder Caused By Excessive Sleep
3. Sleep Disorder Caused By Disturbed Sleep
Insomnia is a typical sleep disorder facilitated by lack of sleep while Narcolepsy is a specific sleep disorder caused by excessive sleep and Sleep apnoea is another sleep disorder facilitated by disturbed sleeping patterns of individuals.
Pertaining to insomnia, it is notable that a person is considered to be a victim of this disorder if he is unable to have sufficient sleep of around 6-8 hours on a regular basis. And when an individual suffers from Narcolepsy, he falls asleep without any control during the day for specific periods of time lasting from less than a minute to more than a half hour. Due to Narcolepsy, a person can fall asleep at any point of time during the day and even when he is busy in performing some activity.
Disturbed sleep leads to sleep apnoea, a specific sleep disorder and as an individual suffers from sleep apnoea, he encounters breathing problems while sleeping. A patient of sleep apnoea has specific pauses in breathing while he is asleep and as each of these pauses last for a long period of time; it is likely for a victim of sleep apnoea to miss out two or three breaths in one pause.
There are also several other sleeping disorders commonly known to affect men and women. These are particularly, snoring, Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep (PLMS).
Snoring is a common sleep disorder and it is about creating sound from the nostrils. However, snoring is caused by the narrowing of the airway and it happens due to improper sleep posture, physical irregularities of the throat or from the extreme weight of the body.
Similarly to snoring, Restless Legs Syndrome can also cause sleep difficulties and it refers to the tempting desire to move the legs or arms while sleeping or lying down. And the sleeping disorder Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep is specifically a condition that involves rhythmic or involuntary limb movements while remaining awake or even when an individual has fallen asleep.