Over 100 million Americans suffer from sleep
disorders, yet very few people know the symptoms or the serious,
potentially life-threatening dangers of some of these conditions.
Beyond an occasional night when you might have trouble falling
asleep, sleep disorders can affect your health and well-being
more than most people realize. With at least 84 known types of
sleep disorders, people who have sleep disorders experience diminished
health, a lower quality of life and can become public safety risks
due to the effects on driving and industrial accidents.
However, many sleep disorders, even serious ones,
if diagnosed properly can be treated effectively, so that you
needn't suffer from their ill effects.
Symptoms and Dangers
If you or someone you care for suffers from one
or more of the following symptoms, it may be the cause of, or
the result of, a sleep disorder.
- Daytime fatigue
- Daytime sleepiness
- Low energy levels
- Waking up feeling tired
- Difficulty concentrating
- Irritability
- Personality changes
- Weight gain
- Reflux (heartburn)
- Snoring
- Difficulty sleeping
- Chronic pain
- Feeling the need to sleep more than 7-8 hours
a day
- Frequent accidents
- Jittery legs
- Mild to severe depression
- Decreased sexual desire
- Nightmares
- Sleepwalking
- Bed wetting
- Sleep-time anxiety
- High blood pressure
- Heart problems
- Stroke
To find out if you have a sleep disorder
and what type, it is important that you have a thorough examination
by a physician trained in sleep disorders and possibly one or
more types of tests.
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