The effects of sleep pattern disturbance you are not aware of

It is a common knowledge that sleep is essential for human beings. 6-7 hours of daily sleep is necessary because sleep helps in keeping the heart healthy, it reduces stress and also helps in improving memory. However, sometimes, people have a difficulty in falling asleep for the adequate amount of time every day. They may sleep for very short period or for too long. This is known as sleep pattern disturbance, and can be caused due to several reasons.

Sleep Disorder Causes

Due to the modern-day lifestyle, stress has become an integral part of people's lives. Stress is the number one cause of disturbances in sleep patterns in people. Increasing anxiety and stress, people have difficulty in falling asleep every day. Along with stress and anxiety, fear, depression or any illness can also cause disturbances in sleep.

Consumption of caffeine containing products like coffee, sodas also lead to insomnia or lack of sleep.

There are several sleep disorders that can cause disturbance in the sleeping pattern. For e.g., disorders like insomnia, parasomnia, dyspnoea, can also be the potential causes for this condition. Therefore, we observe that this condition can be caused by as simple a condition as lack of physical activity, disturbances in the environment; or due to complex disorders like side effects of certain medication, illness or anxiety.

It should also be noted that sleep pattern and depression are related to each other. Depression can be one of the major causes if a person suffers from sleep disorders for a long time, without any known abnormality.

Sleep Disorder Symptoms

Difficulty in falling asleep is the most common and obvious symptom of sleeping disorders. The person may also wake up very early than usual, feeling of exhausted. These symptoms are accompanied by several other symptoms like feeling sleepy during the day, irritability, lethargy, fatigue, weakness, disorientation, inability to concentrate, frequent yawning and having dark circles under eyes. They look exhausted, have a blank expression on their face; and may show short temper and agitation.

Sleep disorders can also give rise to symptoms like bed wetting, sleep talking, sleepwalking in toddlers.

Sleep Disorder Treatment

It is essential to find out the root cause of sleep disorder in order to look for proper treatment. In case, the disorder is found only in one or two instances, there is nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if it appears frequently, one should surely look for professional help to treat it.

Sleep pattern disturbance related to pain or illness can be treated by treating the underlying illness itself with proper medical help. Other sleep disorders can also be treated with the help of medications and therapy. It is advised that people should not go for sleep medications without prescription, as they can be addictive and cause several side effects.

Self-help Methods

• Stress, anxiety, fear, should be reduced by following proper relaxation techniques. Techniques like yoga and meditation help in the same.
• People should avoid having caffeine containing products like coffee as they are related to insomnia. Similarly, smoking and drinking should also be reduced and avoided before bedtime.
• You should carry out at least one physical activity every day or exercise regularly to have sound sleep.
• You should follow a proper sleeping pattern or schedule, and avoid sleeping for long hours during the day.
• Lastly, you should note that the bedroom should be peaceful and quiet so as to avoid any disturbance while sleeping.

Proper sleep is essential for overall well-being. Therefore, you should treat sleep disorders with proper methods or professional help at the earliest.

High Blood Pressure and Its Connection With Sleep

One in every three adults is reported to have a problem of high blood pressure and two of three people with diabetes are estimated to have it too.

High Blood Pressure is often termed as a "silent killer"- as you would not know about it until your doctor figures it out when you give a visit to him.

Hypertension can also lead to risk factors like heart attack and heart failure, as with this serious condition, the heart cannot pump enough blood required by the body. In addition to this, this has serious implications on:

• The Brain: High BP (Hypertension) is considered as the most critical risk factor for stroke.
• Vision: It may even cause blurred or impaired vision or even worse, as could result in blindness also.
• Arteries: Plague build-up in arteries could also be one of the reasons for hypertension as this will make your heart and kidney work harder.
• Kidneys: It can also lead to narrow blood vessels in kidneys due to which kidneys don't function properly and toxins builds up in the blood.

Are there any warning signs of High blood pressure?

Well, in most of the cases, there are rarely any symptoms. People usually relate it to increased levels of stress, nervousness and tension, but the truth is that even a relaxed person can have high blood pressure.

So instead of assuming on your own, the best way to know if you have hypertension is by getting it checked by your health care provider. This should be done regularly as this disease of elevated blood pressure can develop over time. Prompt treatment of it can also reduce your risk of stroke, heart failure, kidney failure and heart attack.

High blood pressure and sleep apnoea

Missing out on sleep can leave you feeling irritated and slow-witted in the morning, but the consequences do not end here. Over the time, sleep may also take a toll on your heart and blood pressure.

High blood pressure and sleep apnoea are associated with each other and studies show that it can result in even graver conditions like heart failures, irregular heart rates and heart related diseases. The simple reason for hypertension with sleep apnoea are sudden drops in oxygen levels due to sleep apnoea which will increase the blood pressure and stress will be put on heart.

How to control high blood pressure?

The risk factors like age, family history and ethnicity are among the ones that are not in our control. So when we talk about the preventive measures for hypertension, our focus would be on the factors that you can actually change.

Try to follow the below mentioned lifestyle changes to eliminate any reasons for high blood pressure and to bring down the numbers in case of elevated blood pressure.

• Maintain Healthy weight - People who are overweight should look for methods to lose weight and get a healthy body. Talk with your doctor about the ideal weight you can have and try to achieve it.
• Follow a balanced diet - Taking a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables and limiting your intake of calories, fat and sugar will surely help in eliminating even the minor signs.
• Cut back on salt - Living on a low-sodium diet helps in keeping the symptoms of high blood pressure at bay. You should cut back on your total salt intake per day by avoiding high-sodium processed foods and by limiting the use of salt in your daily meals.
• Engage in regular exercise - A moderate exercise of about 30 minutes, three times in a week will be a good start to control hypertension. Furthermore, keep in mind, the more you exercise the better.
• Limit the alcohol consumption - Drinking too much of alcohol leads to hypertension. Thus, one should limit its intake to get a hold of the symptoms of high blood pressure.
• Monitor your blood pressure - Above all, it is very important to get your blood pressure checked at regular intervals of period. In case, your doctor determines that you are at an increased risk of developing hypertension, he may recommend you extra steps as a safety.
• Check for Sleep Apnoea - Your uncontrolled blood pressure, despite of prescribed medications could also be the result of sleep apnoea. So, its better you meet a sleep specialist and on his advice, undergo polysomnography to get diagnosed for sleep apnoea. They may recommend you a treatment to bring down your blood pressure.