Circadian Problems and Treatments

staying awake when your circadian clock calls for sleep results in decreased performance in cognitive and motor skills

Graveyard shifts Jet Lag

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experience of fatigue, lack of concentration & reduced cognitive skills that occurs in travelling when the biological circadian clock is out of sync with the external clock at the new location

Light Therapy
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the use of bright artificial light to reset circadian clocks and so, combat circadian problems and sleep disorders.

Melatonin
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a hormone secreted by the pineal gland located in the center of the brain. Its secretion increases with darkness and decreases with light. The suprachi-asmatic nucleus regulates its secretion which plays a major role in the regulation of the circadian rhythm and promoting sleep.

SLEEP DISORDERS

Insomnia
- is the difficulty in either going or staying asleep. It is associated with daytime complaints such as fatigue, impairment of concentration, memory and lack of wellbeing.

Causes:
Psychological- overload of stressful events, worrying of personal or work-related difficulties, grieving over loss or death and coping with mental health problems

Physiological- change of work shifts, a medical problem or chronic pain and abuse of alcohol or other substances (sedatives)

Nondrug Treatment
- different methods of stopping or reducing psychological causes such as excessive worrying stress and tension

Drug Treatment
Benzodiazepines- reduce anxiety and stress but side effects of prolonged use, especially of higher doses may lead to dependence, memory loss or excessive sleepiness. Nonbenzodiazepines- fast acting, reduce daytime drowsiness and fewer side effects

Sleep Apnea
- repeated periods during sleep wherein a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or longer which may result in insomnia and exhaustion

Cause:

Chances of developing the disorder increase if a person is an intense and frequent snorer, overweight, uses alcohol or takes sedatives (benzodiazepines).

Treatments: make the patient avoid lying on his back therapy using a device that blows air to help keep passages open or move lower jaw forward undergo surgery to move or remove tonsils or alter position of jaw

Narcolepsy
disorder marked by excessive sleepiness in the form of sleep attacks or short periods of sleep throughout the day. accompanied by brief periods of REM sleep or loss of muscle control (cataplexy)

Cause: Researchers found out that

narcoleptics had brain cells called hypocretin which were either absent or did not respond normally or very little hypocretin in their spinal fluids.

Treatment: Possible treatment may be

from hypocretin-based medication.

Sleep Disturbances (Parasomnia)

Night Terrors - frightening experiences which occur in stage 3 or 4 of sleep often started by a piercing scream followed by waking in a fearful state with rapid breathing and increased heart rate. Usually the person has no memory of the experience the next morning.

Nightmares

- frightening images which occur in the REM stage that occur during dreaming. These usually involve danger like being attacked, injured, etc. Upon awakening, the person can usually describe the nightmare in detail.

Sleepwalking

- getting up and walking while sound asleep occurring stage 3 or 4 of sleep. Sleepwalkers generally have poor coordination, clumsy but can avoid objects, can engage in limited conversation and have no memory of sleepwalking

End of Sleep and Dreams

ZZZZZzzzzz..