We all know the importance of sleeping well and yet many of us have lost sleep frequently. Sometimes premeditated and other times simply involuntary. Sleep disorders are, today, one of the most common having a considerable increase in the population.
40% of the Spanish population suffers from one of these disorders and 10% suffers from a chronic condition. There are one hundred types of sleep disorders registered by the World Health Organization (WHO). These include insomnia (reduced ability to sleep), hypersomnia (excessively prolonged and deep sleep), parasomnias (behavioral disorder during sleep with brief episodes of awakening), somnambulism (automatic motor activities while sleeping). remains unconscious), sleep paralysis (transient inability to perform any type of voluntary movement during the transition period between the state of sleep and wakefulness), etc.
Sleep disorders, as their name indicates, are significant sleep problems. They can be disturbances in falling asleep and staying asleep, problems staying awake, and sleep interruptions, so that a normal sleep rhythm is not allowed.
What are the causes of sleep disorders?
There is a close relationship between sleep disorders and quality of life, physical and psychiatric health. Some of these sleep disorders are caused by cardiovascular, hormonal, metabolic, neurological diseases and those that cause pain. In addition, we must add those caused by psychiatric diseases such as anxiety and depression. Pregnancy and menopause can also cause sleep problems, such as insomnia, a disorder that, as we have mentioned before, reduces the ability to sleep.
Among other causes that make adequate sleep impossible are medication abuse, poor sleeping habits, excessive work, and the use of electronic devices before going to sleep. However, genetic predispositions always play a significant role.
1. Medication abuse
There are medications that affect sleep, such as beta blockers (used to treat hypertension and arrhythmias), by inhibiting the nocturnal secretion of the hormone melatonin responsible for regulating sleep and its circadian clock, producing nightmares and nocturnal awakenings. Corticosteroids (used to treat inflammation of blood vessels and muscles, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, allergic reactions…) deplete the adrenal glands thus keeping the body awake and the mind stimulated in addition to SSRI antidepressants, alpha blockers, statins…
2. Bad sleeping habits
Having good sleep hygiene is essential to being able to lead a healthy and productive life, which is why you have to learn to have a good sleeping habit. We must avoid going to bed too late and not sleeping long enough to recover the energy spent. The consequences of not having a good sleeping habit are fatigue and tiredness, in some cases triggering a state of worry when it comes to wanting to sleep that makes it impossible for us to fall asleep.
3. Excessive work and new technologies
One of the causes that appears more and more frequently in our lives is overwork, which causes greater stress, affecting the quality of sleep and causing more difficulties in falling asleep. Not only does excessive work deprive us of quality sleep, but the excessive use of new technologies (such as cell phones, tablets, televisions and computers) excite our nervous system so much during day-to-day life that They can disrupt the internal clock and alter the hormones that help you fall asleep.
