Do you ever find yourself waking up exhausted? You felt like you slept through the night, yet you don't have that rejuvenated feeling and you know it's going to be a long day before your feet even hit the floor? The first thing you should know is that this isn't normal. After 8-10 hours of sleep, your body has had time to repair tissues, digest food, and rest your brain for another day. But if this isn't happening, and your body can't complete these tasks, you may find yourself wondering what's going on at night? Let's see if we can figure it out! 

What is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by a frequent and uncontrollable desire for sleep. This can result into sudden instances of sleep at any time and place, regardless of what's happening. This results in the distortion of normal sleep patterns and rhythms causing excessive daytime sleepiness and a dangerous amount of sleep deprivation. 

What is Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by a frequent, and sometimes uncontrollable, desire for sleep. This can result in sudden lapses into sleep any time, any place. The result is that normal patterns and rhythms of sleeping become abnormal. For example, someone suffering from narcolepsy may end up sleeping several times during the day and then having trouble sleeping at night. If you think you may have Narcolepsy, here are five signs that can help you determine if you need to see a sleep specialist or not. 

What is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by a frequent, and sometimes uncontrollable, desire for sleep. This can result in sudden bouts of deep sleep at any time and place, regardless of what is going on. This disrupts normal patterns and rhythms of sleeping. For example, a normal sleep pattern is the ability to sleep through the night with minimal awakenings, and then you may find yourself taking a nap during the day. However, someone suffering from narcolepsy may have trouble staying asleep during the night, but find themselves falling asleep several times throughout the day, feeling refreshed after each nap, but soon feeling overwhelming sleepy again. 

More Stress than Ever

Are you lying awake at night, stressed out, mind racing in circles? For many Americans this is a nightly routine that prevents sleep or leads to habits that may help you fall asleep, but not get good quality sleep. Stress is completely antagonistic to sleep efforts. 

If you've ever had trouble sleeping, a sleep diary may be a great way for professionals to gain some insight into what may be the cause and how best to help you. Sleep is really important for your overall health, but if you’re struggling with your sleep, then you may begin to experience other health issues. Weight gain, stress exhaustion,  depression, skin issues, etc., may be some of the issues that you experience if you are having trouble sleeping. 

One of the things you can do if you are having trouble sleeping is to keep a sleep diary that you can take to a sleep specialist. This way you can get a better idea of your sleep patterns and they have an idea as well. Let's talk a little bit more about what a sleep diary is and how it can help you and your sleep issues. 

What Exactly is a Sleep Diary?

A sleep diary is a record of your sleeping. It includes many aspects of your actual sleep experience as well as the factors that may influence sleep. Sleep diaries can be an extremely important exhibit for your doctor or a sleep specialist to aid in identifying and diagnosing sleep conditions. For these reasons, they might be requested of you by your doctor or a sleep center in order to get more accurate data about your sleeping.

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)?

Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder and potentially serious medical condition. OSA causes you to stop breathing for 20+ seconds many times throughout the night, anywhere from 40 to hundreds of times per night. Each time you stop breathing you wake up to begin breathing again, preventing you from entering the deep, restorative stages of sleep. In the morning you will not remember waking up, although you will certainly feel the effects of not having any restful sleep.

How Does Insomnia Interfere With Life?

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that leaves you sleep deprived and frustrated, or worse. Insomnia is a condition when you either can’t fall asleep, can’t stay asleep, or always wake up far earlier than you need. The result of insomnia is mild to severe sleep deprivation, which can have mild to catastrophic consequences.

Insomnia side effects interfere with all aspects of life, including our emotional, cognitive, physical and social health. 

Understanding what insomnia is and what you can do to help treat it may dramatically improve your well being.