A lot of mental and physical diseases might change the duration of sleep. Chronical lack of sleep, sleep disturbances and no longer restful sleep are frequent problems and in turn might cause or favor themselves mental and physical health disturbances. In the western industrial countries we must assume that about 50 % of the population has sleep disturbances and biologically insufficient sleep. About 10 % of them have a chronical one and therewith require treatment of their sleeping disturbance. By the way, there are more than 90 different forms of disturbed sleep! The most frequent are fall asleep and sleep through disturbances as well as the waking up too early. According to official statistics, only in Germany more than 25 million employed are affected by fall asleep and/or sleep through problems. In total, 36 million complain about an insufficient recreation of sleep, out of these, 24 million additionally suffer under daytime sleepiness and 30 million under too short sleep (sleep debt). In the special ambulatories for sleep medics, physical diseases, mental disturbances, excessive alcohol consumption, medicines and other drugs account for more than two thirds of the sleep disturbances.
Sleep disturbances that last longer than four weeks or occur several times per week are considered to be chronical and need professional clarifying. The list of physical diseases that may cause sleep disturbances or sleeplessness is long: respiratory diseases, diabetes, epileptic fits, heart failure.
But, the most frequent forms of sleep disturbances arise due to wrong sleep hygiene, mistakes and myths around sleep, stress and unconscious mental conflicts or nightly anxiety and “obsessive brooding” with depressive patients or people with anxiety disorders. It is known that working in shifts may disturb the sleep-wake-cycle as well as misuse of alcohol, drugs and intake of medicines. The more medicine has to be taken the bigger the effects on sleeping behavior and the course of the sleep are to be awaited. Further quite frequent sleep disturbances are restless legs — just in the evening when you want to fall asleep, the legs painfully start to itch and twitch. Or sleep-apnoea-syndrome (pathological snoring with respiratory arrest). At the sight of the variety of possible sleep disturbances, urgently measures have to be taken as well for the concerned people as for the arising burden of the health care system. These measures should surpass the often medical or technical remedies. At the same time, one always should focus on cause study.
Accordingly manifold is the range of specialist disciplines that deal with the treatment of sleep disturbance: from sleep medics to psychologists, psycho-therapists and neurologist to specialist for respiratory or heart diseases. Without a cooperative partnership of these different specialist disciplines it is hardly possible to get a successful diagnosis as well as therapy of sleep disturbances. Especially, when it includes information about sleep disturbances as well as holistic and preferably natural approach for removal or sleep enhancement.
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