Pain related sleep disruption has affected a large number of people around the globe. Statistics has it that, in India, about 25% of the population suffers from pain-related sleep deprivation. Studies call it  the vicious cycle of pain and sleep  as pain affects your ability to sleep and lack of sleep makes the pain even worse.

Back pain and arthritis are examples of some common pain-related medical disorders. People with these types of chronic pains have reported persistent sleeplessness or have had immense trouble falling asleep.

The following are the primary sleep disorders associated with chronic pain:

Insomnia: It is a medical condition that is characterized by an inability to fall asleep no matter how physically exhausted you are. Insomnia can be acute (lasting for one night to a week) or chronic (that lasts for more than 3 weeks).
Hypersomnia: It is a condition wherein you tend to sleep excessively; in this condition, you will have trouble being awake throughout the day or can fall asleep at any point of time.
Sleep Apnoea: This is a sleep disorder wherein breathing pauses and resumes repeatedly. Risk factors include obesity, age and gender; it is more commonly observed in men. This condition can be chronic with symptoms such as snoring loudly or feeling very tired even after one has had a night s sleep.
Restless leg syndrome: It is a sleep disorder wherein you continuously move your legs while sleeping. However, this condition can also cause you to move your legs even if you aren t sleeping.
Some of the causes of sleep disorders due to chronic pain are:

Pain
Worry and anxiety
Sweating at night
Depression and other mental disorders
Treatment

A pain and sleep disorder should be simultaneous as both the components of it, pain and sleep, are interrelated. Some of the ways people with chronic pain can still have a good night s sleep are:

Limiting caffeine intake
Abstaining from alcohol and smoking, as these disrupt the sleep cycles, thus aggravating the existing pain.
Practicing meditation and other relaxation techniques
Pain killers or sleeping pills can be administered, but only with the doctor s advice.
Hot water fomentation over painful area during night, for better sleep.

Back Pain and Bad Sleep

Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder in which you experience frequent breathing pauses while sleeping. In case of some, the pauses may last for just a few seconds, while for others, it may continue for a few minutes. Sleep apnea is generally chronic in nature. There are three types of sleep apnea, namely Central, Obstructive and Complex sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea occurs if the brain fails to transmit signals to the muscles responsible for your breathing functions. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs due to relaxation of your throat muscles. Complex sleep apnea refers to a combined condition of both central and obstructive sleep apnea.

Some of the possible causes of sleep apnea are as follows: 
1. Blockage of airway during sleep can cause sleep apnea
2. Putting on weight can cause obstructive sleep apnea
3. In some cases, large tonsil tissues can lead to obstructive sleep apnea in small children
4. Intake of certain medicines like Oxycontin or MS Contin can cause central sleep apnea
5. Male people are more prone to sleep apnea
6. Smoking is also a potent trigger for sleep apnea
7. At times, high blood pressure can induce sleep apnea
8. Suffering from sinus can also lead to sleep apnea
9. Large neck size (more than 16 inches) may cause sleep apnea
In case of some people, sleep apnea might be an inherited condition.

The most common symptoms of sleep apnea are mentioned below:
a. Sometimes, obstructive sleep apnea is accompanied by choking or snorting sounds.
b. You may encounter breathing trouble while sleeping, leading to a disruption of your sleep.
c. Maximum times, sleep apnea is accompanied by snoring.
d. Sleep apnea leads to a dry mouth, which can disturb your sleep.
e. You may feel dizzy during daytime.

Causes and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

If there is anything other than food and a healthy living that sustains us, it is sleep. Sleep is the basic necessity of our lives. It is the battery that keeps our body clock working. Nowadays our lives are fast-paced with competitions to meet and targets to reach where stress takes a toll on our body. A good night s sleep would be enough to feel rejuvenated, you think? Well, you think it right but what if it is the sleep that causes the problem? What if your sleep is imbalanced?

According to Ayurveda, there are 3 different types of sleep imbalance, arising from Vata, pitta and Kapha dosha.
Vata: Sleep becomes imbalanced when your mind stays awake despite you being tired. Your mind is occupied with thoughts and worries which do not let you fall asleep.
Pitta: It is the dosha which is one of the most common disorder found in the elderly people where you have a perfect sleep but wake up in the dawn or wee hours and are unable to go back to sleep resulting in the tossing and turning in the bed and ultimately giving up.
Kapha: When you sleep well for a long time but yet you wake up feeling tired and fatigued instead of being fresh, is when Kapha dosha occurs.

Ayurvedic tips for a good sleep
There are many people around us who go through at least one of these three imbalances in sleep. Ayurveda has come up with several easy and natural tips to have a good sleep. There 4 great tips among many, following which you will get a quick result.

Oil Massage: Oil is said to soothe our nerves if massaged properly. Warm oil works best on the scalp and on the soles of our feet. Any oil, from jojoba to jasmine, almond to coconut with a few drops of lavender oil could be used for massage. Applying this daily will soothe one's nerves and induce a good sleep.
Warm milk: Drinking a glassful of warm milk 10 minutes before going to sleep will help in having an uninterrupted sleep.
Routine bedtime: Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise . Note the use of the word  healthy  in this nursery rhyme. We have been taught this since our childhood days, only if we could follow. Sleeping on time plays an important role here because inadequate sleep due to long working hours often cause sleeping disorders.
Morning Exercise: After waking up early in the morning, Ayurveda suggests exercising as early morning exercise will help you fall asleep at night easily. You must not indulge in an exercise later in the day because it would make you more active instead of inducing sleep.
Leading a healthy lifestyle is what we all look forward to and that is why sleeping on time and doing the right things like following these simple tips from Ayurveda will lead us to a healthier living.

4 Great Ayurvedic Tips That Promote Good Sleep!

Sleep disorder is a medical and physiological condition that can come with a number of symptoms and pain points, including insomnia or problems in getting proper sleep, constant waking up at night on a rather frequent basis, difficulty in remaining asleep for long periods of time, waking up tired due to lack of restorative sleep where the brain does not go to sleep properly, waking up at a particular time early every morning and not being able to go back to sleep and a host of related problems.

There are many methods of dealing with the same including medication and sleep therapy. When we speak of medication, homeopathy is one such field of medicine that is known for its lasting efficacy. This form of medicine has emanated after centuries of research and has been in practice for over 200 years now. The medication prescribed by a homeopath doctor will usually have a small dose of naturally found elements so as to trigger the intrinsic healing prowess and system of the body into action. Few medicines with symptoms of sleeping disorder mentioned below-

Coffee Cruda: This homeopathic medicine is one of the most widely prescribed ones when it comes to issues that have to do with sleeplessness. It is best suited for patients who are facing a constant flow of random and often, worrying, thoughts in their mind, when they should actually be sleeping. This triggers insomnia and makes it difficult to maintain proper sleep, even when the patient finally manages to get some shuteye.
Kali Phos: This is also a well-known homeopathic cure for sleep disorders. This is ideally suited for patients of sleeplessness and especially those who are facing nagging worries, which have culminated into a state of stress. This kind of stress can have to do with one s studies, marriage, career, children and much more. It is also prescribed for patients who are having trouble when it comes to getting over some form of adversity in their lives like the loss of a loved one.
Natrum Mur: This is a homeopathic medicine that doctors usually prescribe for individuals who have been facing some chronic form of grief due to some incident or a series of such incidents in their life. Emotional disturbances can cause a repetition of thoughts and worry in their minds, which keeps them from getting any rest.
Nux Vomica: This medicine is ideal for those patients who have no trouble when it comes to falling off to sleep. But once they sleep, they find that they wake up frequently and cannot go back to sleep again. They may also have disturbing dreams, which can make their brain wake up and become too restless to go back to sleep in a hurry.
All homeopathic medicines although, do not have any side effects, but in order to make sure that they work effectively on a person they must be taken strictly under the supervision of a homeopathic physician as all times. 

Different Sleep Disorders & Homeopathic Remedies For Them!

Sleep apnoea is a kind of disease that can affect people of any age and is basically a kind of sleep disorder. The person suffering from sleep apnoea may feel extremely tired and fatigued even after having a full night s sleep and his snoring may become extremely loud which is again a serious problem.

What are the symptoms of sleep apnoea?

There can be many cases where the symptoms of central sleep apnoea and complex sleep apnoea may be overlapping which makes it a bit difficult to get diagnosed properly. But, there are certain very basic symptoms of sleep apnoea.
Very loud snoring is a basic characteristic of patients with sleep apnoea.
The patient may suffer from regular episodes of cessation when they are sleeping as might be pointed out by other people.
The patient may awaken from sleep regularly due to shortness of breath and problems in the sleeping order.
The patient suffering from sleep apnoea may wake up from sleep with a very dry mouth and or a sore throat.
The patient may suffer from a bad headache often and in many unfortunate cases, the patients may also suffer from insomnia which is the problem of sleeplessness.
Patients of sleep apnoea suffer from intense problems of irritability and bouts of morning sleepiness.
Shortness of breath may intensify in a patient so much so that the person may get awakened from sleep gasping for air as if choking.
Excessive bouts of daytime sleeping may cause a person to perform very poorly in his work as well.
It is at these times when a patient should immediately consult a doctor for a proper treatment and further solution to this problem.

Causes of sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnoea is caused when the muscle in our throat starts relaxing. It is this muscle that gives support to the triangular piece of tissue that hangs from the uvula which is the soft palate and the side walls of the tongue. Basically, when this muscle relaxes, the airways in the body gets narrowed as a result of which the blood does not get enough oxygen which is required for proper breathing. It is then that the brain starts sending signals to get up from sleep so that the nasal passage can be reopened for sufficient amount of oxygen.
There can also be cases where the brain is unable to send a proper signal to the muscles that help us to breath as a result of which a person does not breathe for a certain period of time. This, in turn, makes the patient awaken abruptly from sleep with shortness of breath and the patient finds it difficult to fall asleep.


Sleep Apnea - Know The Common Signs Of It!

Sleep Apnea refers to sleep disorder which is characterized by irregular pauses or interruption in breathing during sleep. Every pause usually lasts for a few minutes or seconds and occurs several times at night. This may indicate that your brain as well as rest of your body is not getting sufficient supply of oxygen. Sleep apnea is of two types - Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

Obstructive Sleep Apnea- This occurs when the air passage gets blocked, generally when the throat muscles periodically relax and obstruct your air passage during sleep. It is the most common type of sleep apnea and is characterized by snoring.
Central Sleep Apnea- In this case, the airway does not get blocked, but the brain stops passing signals to the muscles that control your breathing.
Mostly people who are diagnosed with a number of underlying medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, chronic nasal congestion etc. are prone to Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Although Central Sleep Apnea is a less common type of sleep disorder, and does not lead to serious complications, various research studies show that Obstructive Sleep Apnea can pose adverse consequences if not treated at the right time.

One such fatal consequence is cardiovascular problems. Sudden drops in the levels of oxygen in blood that happens during Obstructive Sleep Apnea results can lead to increased blood pressure and damage of the cardiovascular system, which in turn increases the chance of a heart attack. Since men are more prone to heart ailments than women, men with sleep apnea are at a greater risk of heart ailments like stroke or heart failure, coronary artery disease and others.

Since Obstructive Sleep Apnea occurs due to interruption in the breathing procedure, it can lead to abnormal irregular heartbeats, known as arrhythmia. Arrhythmia can decrease the level of oxygen in blood and if there s an underlying heart condition, these repetitive encounters of low blood oxygen can even lead to a sudden cardiac arrest.

Most research studies have established a positive correlation between sleep apnea and heart ailment. According to researchers, the risk of untimely death increases as the acuteness of sleep apnea increases. However, there are ways of seeking treatment for this particular sleep disorder. You should consult a doctor immediately and get yourself proper medical assistance to prevent the condition from aggravating.

Can Sleep Apnea Be Fatal?

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