Don’t Snooze Through The Facts About Sleeping Disorders

Sleeping disorders are the WORST.  We all know it (even if we haven’t yet, thankfully, had to actually experience them).  People all the way back in history have bemoaned the trials and tribulations of sleeping disorders. Many have conquered problems and developed tricks or habits for sound sleep patterns.  Rare sleeping disorders are written about and made part of fine films.  And artists, poets, and musicians had sometimes unusual relationships with their nighttime habits. 

E. G. Brown admonished and denounced Morpheus, the god of dreams/sleep in a raging poem. The poet Rosetti combatted—unwittingly—insomnia, after paying tribute to his deceased beloved, Lizzie.  Surrealist painter Salvador Dali designed a technique for sleeping in very short chunks of time at a time.  Einstein and Tesler slept very little.  River Phoenix’s character, Mike, in My Own Private Idaho, suffered from narcolepsy.  Michael Richards’ character, Kramer, tried to pull off the Leonardo DaVinci tradition—of sleep 15 minutes every four hours.  In The Haunting, Liam Neeson played Dr. David Marrow, who attempted to come up with a theory for sleeping disorders.  And Al Pacino is the epitome of insomnia in the movie by the same name.

The depiction of sleeping disorders in art and film goes on, suggesting more than a curious preoccupation with such illnesses or disorders as narcolepsy (sudden bouts of falling fast asleep in any location at any time of day), insomnia (inability to sleep), and sleep apnea (obstructed breathing patterns that waken the sleeper incessantly).  In addition, serious studies and ongoing clinics and research devote much to what are called parasomnias (problems that occur during sleep), such as bruxism (teeth-grinding); head-banging; and what Frank Costanza on Seinfeild called “the Jimmy-legs,” the restless limbs, moving limbs, or occasional lunges and lurches of the limbs during deep sleep and/or during the initial stages of falling asleep.

A few tricks are offered for the one who has mild insomnia.  For example, he/she is warned not to stay in bed for anything besides, well, in this case, sleeping.  That is, don’t work in bed, watch TV for hours from the bed, etc., as sleeping brains don’t register it now as a place to sleep but to stay alert and active.  Of course, there’s the natural tryptophan solution—hence the jokes and traditions of eating turkey, drinking warm milk, or eating bananas even.  And my sister and I have this newly-discovered habit (we recently discovered, that is, that we both do it…and we live 3,000 miles apart): when we are tossing and turning and restless and unable to sleep, we relocate by sleeping with our heads at the foot of the bed and our feet where our restless heads just were.  It works for us, but of course, anyone with much more serious sleeping disorders should consult a family physician, general practitioner, or sleep specialist instead.

The most striking of sayings I found years ago when I was collecting quotes for a friend.  It is an ancient sentiment (I think Egyptian or Chinese) that goes something like this: 
The three greatest ills of man–To be in bed and sleep not; To want for one who comes not; To try to please and please not.   May your greatest ills be less than sleeping frustrations.

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  2. Treatment for Sleeping Disorders The very notion of someone seeking treatment for sleeping disorders might at first seeking frivolous to those of us who have either never gone through any of these sleeping disorders, or lived with someone who was going through them. But the truth of the matter is that sleeping disorders can be extremely distressing both to the person who is afflicted of them, and other people close to that person, as the worst of these sleeping disorders tend to affect one's performance in all areas of life, not least in their social interactions....
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  5. Sleeping Disorders and Treatment What do you know about sleeping disorders? Most people have heard stories about people sleep walking or may even know someone who sleep walks. Other people have probably heard of someone who suffers from insomnia and has trouble falling asleep at night. But did you know that there are eighty-four different kinds of sleeping disorders? Many of the sleep disorders can be easily treated. Others are much more difficult to treat. There are some disorders that can be potentially dangerous if they aren't properly diagnosed and treated. The truth is that sleep disorders should not be discounted as unimportant because sleep is an essential part of our lives and without we may suffer many different consequences and negative health effects....

Written by Nancy Blackett on December 9th, 2009 with no comments.
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