Getting sufficient sleep every night is vital for daily functioning and overall health. However, approximately 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep issues.
Research has dispelled the myth that you can get by with little sleep, with a wealth of studies linking quality sleep to an array of mental and physical health benefits.
A board-certified sleep disorder specialist, called a somnologist, can help identify the cause of chronic sleep problems. They’ll also develop a treatment plan, which may include behavioral therapies, medications, mechanical devices, and lifestyle changes.
Here are seven reasons why you may want to see a sleep specialist.
1. You Have Trouble Falling Asleep or Staying Asleep at Night
If you have difficulty falling asleep, have difficulty falling back asleep if you wake up too early, or wake up in the middle of the night at least three nights per week for more than three months, you might be dealing with chronic insomnia, according to Brandon Peters, MD, a board-certified sleep and neurology specialist at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle.
While there are over-the-counter medications for sleeplessness, such as melatonin, Dr. Peters cautions against using them long-term. “Over-the-counter sleep aids may mask the problem without addressing the underlying cause,” he says.
2. You Snore
Snoring can occur when your airflow is disrupted because of nasal congestion, excessive body weight, pregnancy, or sleeping on your back. It’s a common issue, affecting approximately 45 percent of adults occasionally and 25 percent regularly, according to a review from Italy.
Snoring can indicate an underlying problem, says Yi Cai, MD, an assistant professor and the director of sleep surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. “Loud or irregular snoring, especially with pauses in breathing, may indicate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA),” she says. “Waking up gasping or choking and feeling unrefreshed no matter how long you sleep are also warning signs.”
With OSA, your breathing can pause repeatedly during sleep due to a blockage in the upper airway, which often results in not feeling refreshed when you wake up. It is estimated to affect 1 billion people, says Dr. Cai, but the majority remain undiagnosed. Untreated OSA increases the risk of heart disease, heart failure, and heart rhythm issues like atrial fibrillation, and can cause high blood pressure to become resistant to treatment, she adds.
A somnologist can assess your symptoms and risk factors for OSA and may refer you for a sleep study. Treatments may involve positive airway pressure devices, oral devices (such as a mouth guard or splint), or surgery.
3. You Wake Up Too Early and Don’t Get Enough Sleep
Experts recommend that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep a night. If you fall asleep at an appropriate time each night to get this much sleep but consistently wake up too early, this can be a cause of sleep deprivation.
You might wake up too early for these reasons:
4. You’re Always Tired During the Day
When excessive daytime sleepiness leads to dozing off at work or school, difficulty concentrating on tasks, feeling unrefreshed after waking, needing daytime naps but not feeling refreshed afterward, or impaired decision-making, a somnologist can help uncover the source of your fatigue.
“Evaluation is warranted when fatigue is long-lasting, unexplained, or associated with other symptoms, such as muscle weakness or paralysis triggered by strong emotions (cataplexy), OSA, or unusual nighttime behaviors like sleep walking, talking, eating, and acting out dreams,” says Cai.
5. You Fall Asleep While Eating, Talking, or Driving, or at Other Inappropriate Times
If you find yourself falling asleep in the middle of tasks or experience sudden muscle weakness (such as drooping eyelids, slurred speech, or knees buckling), a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up (sleep paralysis), or vivid hallucinations while falling asleep or waking up, you might have narcolepsy, according to Cai.
It’s challenging to diagnose because its hallmark symptom — fatigue — is common to many other conditions. In fact, it can take eight years or more from symptom onset for a patient to receive a diagnosis.
6. You Move in Your Sleep
Certain involuntary movements — including jerks, twitches, spasms, and acting out dreams — can be symptoms of these sleep conditions:
Some people feel like they have to move to relax and sleep, a common occurrence with restless legs syndrome. Symptoms include unpleasant sensations in the legs (such as pulling, itching, throbbing, or crawling) that are only eased by movement.
7. You Have a Chronic Health Condition and Have Sleep Issues
Insufficient sleep also elevates the risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and depression. A somnologist can provide recommendations that align with the treatment of your chronic conditions or your health risks to improve your sleep and overall well-being.
What to Expect at Your First Appointment With a Sleep Doctor
During your first appointment with a sleep doctor, they will ask about your medical history, perform a physical exam (focusing on your throat, airway, and breathing), and ask about your sleep habits. They may recommend further testing, such as a sleep study, and suggest behavioral therapies, lifestyle changes, medications, mechanical devices, or surgery to address your symptoms and improve your sleep quality.
Peters recommends keeping a sleep log for two to four weeks and sharing the info with your sleep doctor. In the log, track the time you went to bed, the time you woke up, how long it took to fall asleep, and how many times you woke up during the night. “A careful history helps us determine whether this is a lifelong genetic tendency or if specific factors are exacerbating the disruption,” says Peters.
The Takeaway
A somnologist is a sleep doctor who can thoroughly evaluate sleep disorders and provide treatment recommendations — such as medications, behavioral therapies, mechanical devices, or surgery — to address your sleep issues and enhance your overall quality of life.
Consider seeing a somnologist if you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep, have excessive fatigue, snore, move in your sleep, can’t relax at night without moving, or have difficulty concentrating.
Insufficient sleep leads to mental and physical issues, and can increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and mood disorders, and can worsen chronic pain.
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