Sleep disorders can hide a health problem
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Loading... - Jake Martin
- 31 Mar 2023
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Affects the nervous, respiratory and cardiovascular systems
This March 17, World Sleep Day was celebrated, a commemoration organized by the World Sleep Medicine Commission of the World Association of Sleep Medicine, whose purpose is to highlight the benefits of a good and healthy sleep and to attract attention society about problems related to sleep disorders.
And it is that sleep is a vital function of all living beings and is required to guarantee an adequate execution of their functions, both mental and physical.
Claudio Cárdenas, a neurologist at the Caracas Medical Center, a specialist in Sleep Certified by the European Sleep Research Society, explains that sleep must have three main characteristics in order for it to fulfill its functions. "Adequate duration, sufficient depth and continuity. The hours required by age must be met, a good percentage of superficial (55%), deep (25%) and paradoxical (20%) sleep must be met, and the number of alerts and awakenings is limited".
He points out that the quality of sleep is measured based on the quality of wakefulness. If the person sleeps well, they should not be excessively sleepy during the day and should feel clear-headed, have enough energy to function properly and be in a good mood; but if it is perceived that the sleep is not restful, that at night it is impossible to have continuous sleep or that you have nightmares, behavioral disorders, paralysis, among others, it should be considered that you have a serious sleep problem and therefore they must take action on the matter because lack of sleep modifies the autonomic processes of the body such as temperature and blood pressure and affects intellectual functions such as reasoning, social interaction and problem solving.
Where to go?
If a person considers that they have sleeping problems, the first thing they should do is discuss it with their family doctor or with the pediatrician if it is a child who has it. Once the doctor identifies the problem, he or she refers it to the specialist in charge of solving the problem, be it a neurologist, pediatric neurologist, cardiologist, psychologist or another specialty.
“The main problem is that most people do not consider having a sleep disorder to be a medical problem, they do not take this as a health disorder. Sometimes they do not mention anything, because they believe that all sleep disorders are psychological, and they fear being stigmatized by the doctor or their relatives. The main weapon to solve it is for the patient to inform any doctor who is treating him that he has a sleep problem, in order to generate a problem-solving plan”, comments Cárdenas. Read More…
