Sleeping Disorders Are A Very Common Problem These Days

Sleeping disorders can affect a person of any age. Millions of people have trouble sleeping. A sleeping disorder is when a person's sleep is disrupted for any reason.  A disorder of this kind can have a lot of adverse effects on a person's health and mental well being.
One common sleeping disorder is insomnia. When a person has insomnia he or she is either unable to go to sleep at night or wakes up often during the night unable to fall back to sleep. A person with insomnia also sleeps lightly. When a person has insomnia he or she does not feel rested the next day and suffers from lack of energy.  Health conditions, caffeine intake during the day, stress and certain medications can cause insomnia. 
A very common sleeping disorder that is out of a person's control is sleep apnea. A person with sleep apnea will stop breathing temporarily in the night because of upper airway blockage.  A person with sleep apnea will feel tired the next day because he will wake up often during the night but is unaware of the sleep disturbances.  Sleep apnea is serious and can threaten a person's life.
It is important to seek medical attention if sleep apnea is a possibility. There are a lot of symptoms that a loved one can watch for to see if a person suffers from this condition.  Pauses in breathing while sleeping, loud snoring, gasping for air while sleeping, and choking while sleeping are signs that a loved one can watch for. A person who wakes up frequently with chest pains, headaches, and shortness of breath and has a dry throat should get checked out for sleep apnea. It can leave a person exhausted but it can also cause weight gain, high blood pressure and even a stroke.
There are different types of sleep apnea. One is obstructive sleep apnea which is caused by  the soft tissue that is in the back of the throat relaxing during sleep which causes the airway to be blocked resulting in snoring. A more uncommon form is central apnea where the brain does not send a signal to the breathing muscles to tell a person to breathe. With this form of apnea a person does not snore.  A combination of both central apnea and obstructive apnea is called complex sleep apnea.  Losing weight, limiting caffeine and setting regular sleep hours are some ways to help control this condition. If these don't work there are medical devices that will help with the disorder.
Sleeping disorders do not just happen at night. One daytime sleeping disorder is narcolepsy. A person with this disorder will all of a sudden feel sleepy during the day while working, driving and even talking. Symptoms include feeling weak while experiencing emotions, inability to move while dozing off or waking up, and intense dreams or dreaming immediately after going to sleep.