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Guwahati, March 18: The death of iconic singer and music composer Bappi Lahiri has prompted conversations about his possible cause of death as he breathed his last during his sleep. After examination, it came to light that Lahiri died due to a sleep disorder. The death of the celebrity has brought attention to a widely prevalent but under-diagnosed medical condition.
Sleep is a basic human need and is critical to both physical and mental health. Sleep disorder is often overlooked in current times, courtesy, unhealthy lifestyles.
If left untreated, it may cause untoward consequences like the development of diabetes and heart disease. This ultimately affects the quality of life.
Here we have discussed five common sleep disorders
Sleep Apnea:
Lahiri passed away at the age of 69 following complications from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It is a condition marked by abnormal breathing during sleep.
While sleeping normally air should flow smoothly from the mouth and nose into the lungs. However, if a person suffers from sleep apnea the breathing repeatedly stops and starts.
Apart from affecting the quality and quantity of sleep, these temporary breathing lapses may also lead to life-threatening consequences, experts said.
Some of the major symptoms may include loud snoring, hypersomnia, insomnia, dry mouth, etc. It is commonly seen in people who are obese or it can be hereditary. When left unchecked, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and heart attack.
There are three kinds of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea and complex sleep apnea syndrome.
In most cases, people are even unaware that they are suffering from the disease. Physicians look for patient's family history for sleep apnea or other sleep disorders. Doctors may also prescribe a sleep test that monitors the heart and brain activity during rest.
Insomnia:
You probably had nights when you keep staring at the roof or keep changing sides. No matter how tired or exhausted you are you could not fall asleep. If this happens to you often, insomnia might be the reason. It is a condition defined as difficulty in falling or staying asleep.
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder in which a person may have trouble falling and/or staying asleep. The condition can be short-term (acute) or can last a long time (chronic). It may also come and go.
Some of the common causes of insomnia are mental health illness, medications, stressful life events, consumption of alcohol, nicotine, and other drugs, as well as caffeine, etc.
As per experts practising healthy lifestyle habits and good sleep hygiene can alleviate insomnia symptoms and help to sleep more soundly.
Restless leg syndrome
If you have an uncontrollable urge to move your legs while at rest, work or sleep, it could be restless legs syndrome (RLS) also known as a nervous system disorder.
Doctors consider it a sleep disorder because it usually happens or gets worse while you're at rest. You might have trouble sleeping or sitting for a long time. It may get worse if you don't get treatment. RLS can begin at any age and generally worsens as you age. It can disrupt sleep, which interferes with daily activities. Simple self-care steps and lifestyle changes may help relieve symptoms. Medications also help many people with RLS.
Some of the common symptoms may be to have unusual feelings in the legs (like itching, crawling, pulling, aching, throbbing, or pins and needles) and a powerful urge to move the legs to make the sensations go away.
Narcolepsy
Experts define Narcolepsy as a chronic neurological condition that affects the nervous system and causes abnormal sleep, thereby affecting normal life.
A person suffering from Narcolepsy may often feel sleepy during the daytime or drowsiness. Moreover, they often find it difficult to stay awake for a longer period of time, regardless of the circumstances. This can also lead to serious disruptions in a persons day to day life.
Some of the common symptoms may include daytime drowsiness and sleep attacks, fragmented sleep at night, hallucination, sleep paralysis, cataplexy, etc.
Although the exact cause of narcolepsy is not known, scientists are of the view that this may be due to decreased amount of a brain protein called hypocretin.
Parasomnia
The term Parasomnia is a sleep disorder that occurs during any stage of sleep, including the first half of the night, during sleep, or during arousal from sleep. A person suffering from Parasomnia involves a person walking about or doing casual things while he is still in his sleep. Occasionally a person may also talk during sleep and has no memory of his or her behaviours.
Different types of Parasomnia include: sleepwalking, sleep talking, sleep terrors, bedwetting, confusional arousals, nightmares, etc.
Although it is common it may affect restful sleep or disrupt the sleep of other people. Moreover, it is important to create a safe environment to avoid injuries caused by sleepwalking, for example, tripping and loss of balance, etc.
According to experts, it is caused due to underlying medical issues, irregular sleep schedules along with other sleep disorders. Doctors usually look for medical history and sleep history to diagnose the disorder.
