Sleep disorders

[NinaZara]

Hi,

Are you familiar with any form of sleep disorders? One of the most common ones is snoring, which we have discussed in the threat "Do you snore?". However, many do not know that snoring can indicate a deeper problem than just a breathing problem.

And we also often see cartoons on TV or in comics picturing a person sleepwalking with his/her eyes shut. But did you know that their eyes are actually wide opened when they sleepwalk?

And recently I have just found out that my moaning in sleep is a form of sleep disorder. I usually blamed it on fatigue, which is true because I only have it when I am in exhausted and which also is a common thing nowadays. But it occurs more often than usual recently that I did some checking on the internet on sleep disorders (that is how I found out it was a sleep disorder).

It also might have something to do with a personal history of mine. When I was small, I used to sleepwalk. This created some sort of a problem for my parents because on some mornings they will find me on the verandah or in other places in the house other than my room. One of the severe cases is when we were visiting the village where my grandmother lived on a holiday and they found me under my grandmother's house with the chickens and the ducks! I didn't just sleepwalk but I did get very violent on the bed too. My mother used to believe that I was disturbed by some spirit and she used to put a charm with me. My father was convinced it was a normal behaviour of a child with an active imagination and that it will go away. And it did.

I don't sleepwalk anymore since primary school but I am half-convinced that it has been replaced with another sleep disorder. I read that when someone is having a sleep disorder, a strange brain wave occurs on the deepest stage of the sleep and they usually do not remember having it after waking up, except for people around them.

I also read that people who have sleep disorder do not know that it is a disorder and they seldom go seek for a professional health consultation. The science behind it is blurry. Scientists do not know why and how it happens, but they link it to the part of the brain that controls arousal. Fortunately it can be treated, with drugs.

What I am interested in knowing is whether sleep disorder can go away if we stick to a healthy way of life and most importantly if we try to stay less stressful, without the drugs. I considered myself healthy. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I run everyday and I watch what I eat. The only part I am struggling with, I think, is stress. Sometimes I think it can't be helped, because of my profession and the environment. But I try to stay cheerful everyday.

So does anyone here have any information that might help to curb this problem?

Tell me what you think, thanks.
Nina

[Nicholas]

[NinaZara]

[Nicholas]

[Yankee]

[NinaZara]

[NinaZara]

[Nicholas]

Like strangling the bed parter? Oh, I have seen such scenes in movies; that happens when that person does it unconsciously. Isn't it scary!
_________________
Nicholas

[Terrestr1al]

Excerpt from my Psychology text book (Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior, Dennis coon):

Sleepwalking is eerie and fascinating. Somnambulists (som-NAM-bue-lists: those who sleepwalk) avoid obstacles, descend stairways, and on rare occasions may step out of windows or in front of automobiles. The sleepwalker's eyes are usually open, but a blank face and shuffling feet reveal that the person is asleep. If you find someone sleepwalking, you should gently guide the person back to bed. Awakening a sleepwalker does no harm, but is not necessary.
Does sleepwalking occur during dreaming? No. Remember that people are normally immobilized during REM sleep [(Rapid-Eye-Movement stage. Associated with dreaming)]. EEG [(Electroencephalography. "Brain wave" detector)] studies have shown that somnambulism occurs during NREM [(non-REM. No dreams.)] stages 3 and 4.

This does not answer your question, but I hope you still learn something from this.

[Nicholas]

Oh, that's really interesting. Thanks, T.
_________________
Nicholas

[NinaZara]

Hi Terrestr1al,

I read some about REM in a magazine (Scientific American Mind, December/January edition). It didn't say anything relating to sleepwalking only why we dream. The interesting part is that dreaming might serve some purpose for us. They have yet to prove that dreaming has any vital biological fuction but it is said that during REM, newly learned information is consolidated into our memory. REM is governed by a region in the brain that is responsible for relaying messages into brain. Any excessive activities in this region resulted in images and information, that is how we dream, I think. Another related theory says dreaming help to clear our brain from excess baggage--the unnecessary memories.

[Aro]

Hi Nina
I'm not a sleepwalker but I have a different kind of sleeping disorder, probably the most common one - insomnia. I've been suffering it for 8 years now! And to be honest, I don't think there's a rule that if you grow up / get more mature / get older, your disorders will go away. I mean, everyone is different. For example (I know it's trivial, but I think it's quite a good one) - some people don't get sick (like me), some people are quite vulnerable. Those who are ill from time to time are also different - some would take an aspirin and the illness is gone the next day, some take a huge pile of medicine and stay ill for a week. Besides, sleeping disorders are specifically mental ones, as far as I know and observed. And human brain is such a complicated "tool"! It's said that we, humans, use less than 10% of its capacity and scientists don't really understand its complexity fully yet. They're not even close to realising our brains' all abilities and so on. Some aspects of brain are there and it's not like you can learn to do or not to do something, as it naturally develops, I think. We don't understand the power of our brains, and if we did, I think we couldn't handle it. Take, so called, mentally disabled people, like the autistic - it's not know why they don't speak or communicate in any way and live "the normal life" like others. Who knows what's in their minds and in their brains? Maybe they do communicate but our brains just can't "hear" it. I'm not sure if you know what I mean, so I'll just finish my little digression now.
getting back to my insomnia - I tried lots of things. Sure, stress is probably the main reason for sleeping disorders all around the world, but doing things such as - excercising (and generally keeping yourself sporty), eating healthier, not abusing alcohol/drugs and all other things that most people bla bla bla about doe not neccessarily help. Of course, it's worth of try, but even if there's such a rule, I'm an exception. I've tried LOTS of methods - chemical, psychological, "magical" (and by that I mean "magic" advice from grandmas and grandpas and other "traditional" stuff), and nothing helped. What I really mean and what I'm really getting to is that everyone's different and I don't think there's a magic cure for sleeping disorders that would solve everyone's problems. But when it comes to sleeping, it's really worth trying everything that you're advised or told by specialists. Sleeping is crucial for "proper existance", that's something I really know...

Sorry if all this is a bit chaotic and you were lost in the middle of it, I just tend to 'go with the flow' and write everything I have in mind, which sometimes is really difficult to understand by others, especially those who don't know me...

[NinaZara]

Insomnia for 8 years? I had trouble sleeping once, so I know the feeling. It drives people crazy. How did you manage to live up till now? That's like very crazy.

And exercising does help us to remain stress free or less stressful, especially in a physically and mentally demanding job. If I miss my routine, in two days I will feel something is not right with my body so unless I am travelling I stick to it.

But I agree though, that it might not cure sleep disorders and now I think the disorder itself is a way of the body reacting to something foreign to the body and at the same time correcting what ever is wrong in our body. It's like when some foreign body gets into our eyes and the eyes water. Water coming out from the eyes isn't a normal state but it helps get rid of the foreign body. Well at least in my case I think it works like that.

[Aro]

Nina, the first year of my insomnia was the worst. I felt and looked like a living dead and if it wasn't for the weekend and some holidays (the times when I got to sleep till afternoon or so), I'd probably had been a goner... But then my body "switched" and 3-4 hours of sleep per night is perfectly OK for me to regenerate and have my rest. Not that I don't like sleeping, because I do, but I don't really need much more. Of course there are times when I do need more and luckily I have my opportunities when in 'emergency'... People are always amused when I tell them about my insomnia and they very rarely believe me until they see it with their own eyes. Like at parties when everyone goes to sleep and I can stay awake all night and play football the next day. But anyway... You're right - a human body can adjust for some inconvenience or "foreign bodies" as you called them. My body is an example. After all, not many people can function well sleeping 4 hours per night. I think human beings are able to adjust to any situation (to some extremes of course) - insomnia, tiredness, pain, loneliness, poverty... It all just takes time to adjust, I think.
And one mroe thing - excercising didn't help me with my insomnia. There were times when I jogged regularly with a mate of mine or did some excercises at all, or played lots of football, so when I went to bed I was so tired I didn't have strenght to move my eye lid, but I still couldn't fall asleep. That's irritating, but life is life...