Sleep disturbance can even cause daytime symptoms, including constant fatigue and memory problems.
Sleep disturbances are most noticeable at night, when you toss and turn without sleep, when you wake up a lot, or when you are alerted to your sleep apnea developing as a result of snoring.
Besides these, insufficient sleep can also cause serious daytime symptoms as well.
Sleep disorder symptoms
Sleep disorders and sleep-related illnesses can be very diverse, and insomnia is far from being the only problem. The detection, diagnosis and treatment of these problems is the task of somatology. You can consult a somatology specialist not only for common sleep disorders such as snoring and insomnia, but also for less common, more difficult to diagnose problems. Examples include:
• sleep apnea, a large, snore-like intake of breath after a longer stop in breathing,
• movement disorders related to sleep problems, such as restless leg syndrome,
• insomnia, difficulty falling asleep and/or frequent awakenings during the night,
• parasomnias, the most frequent of which are sleepwalking, night wetting and night wakings accompanied by panicky states.
Fatigue, sleeplessness
Persistent fatigue is a very serious problem, which can lead to reduced performance, concentration problems and even accidents during the day. According to US statistics, severe, persistent fatigue leads to 72,000 car crashes and 44,000 accidents per year due to chronic fatigue in drivers.
Daytime sleepiness
Hypersomnia is a condition associated with increased daytime sleepiness. It is most often caused by insufficient quantity and quality of sleep. In addition, it can develop as a result of a number of diseases and sleep disorders, the best known of which are obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, narcolepsy and restless leg syndrome. Drowsiness is a constant source of accident risk and predisposes to accompanying illnesses.
Headaches
Headaches can be the result of sleeplessness and exhaustion in those who are prone to them.
Morning hypertension
Most sleep disorders can be tested in a sleep laboratory. Blood pressure fluctuates naturally during the day, often rising during the day, mainly due to stress, while it is usually 10-30% lower during sleep. If you have a higher blood pressure when you wake up in the morning or at night, you should consult a cardiologist or a somatologist. Sleep apnea is the main sleep disorder that can cause this symptom.
Memory impairment
Sleep apnea can impair a person’s ability to remember things, sometimes to recall even personal memories, and can increase the risk of depression. It’s also arguable that the more exhausted a person is, the slower their brain works.
Weight gain
According to some studies, by the age of 27, adults who sleep less than 6 hours a day are 7.5 times more likely to become overweight or obese than those who get enough sleep. The reasons are not yet fully understood, but it has been shown that sleep deprivation increases appetite due to certain hormonal effects. And obesity is a major contributor to the risk of sleep apnea, so the link is two-way.
Irritability, mood disorders
Sleep disturbances have been shown to increase the incidence of anxiety and depression. Who has never become aware that a tired, sleep-deprived person is irritable and impatient? The process also works in reverse: a sleep disorder can be a predictor of a depressive episode.
Investigation may include testing in a sleep laboratory
A sleep lab test can be important in all cases where daytime symptoms may indicate a sleep disorder, or if you are aware that you have a sleep problem but a routine examination has failed to give an accurate diagnosis. This is not surprising, since apart from the simplest cases, a full understanding of the sleep mechanism may require an overnight observation.
In the course of the test, not only the various brain activities, but also other processes in the body, such as circulation and breathing, can be monitored and an accurate diagnosis can be made. Treatment can also help to reduce daytime symptoms.