Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move when at rest in an effort to relieve these feelings. RLS sensations are often described by people as burning, creeping, tugging, or like insects crawling inside the legs. Often called paresthesias (abnormal sensations) or dysesthesias (unpleasant abnormal sensations), the sensations range in severity from uncomfortable to irritating to painful.
The most distinctive or unusual aspect of the condition is that lying down and trying to relax activates the symptoms. As a result, most people with RLS have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Left untreated, the condition causes exhaustion and daytime fatigue. Many people with RLS report that their job, personal relations, and activities of daily living are strongly affected as a result of their exhaustion. They are often unable to concentrate, have impaired memory, or fail to accomplish daily tasks.
Tags: restless leg syndrome
Firstly, and Most importantly talk to your pediatrician if you think your child is showing signs of sleep disorder. Here you will find a few signs that your child may be experiencing a sleep disorder..
Snoring
Problems Sleeping through the night
Unusual events during their sleep
Breathing pauses while they are sleeping
Difficulty staying awake or irritability during the day
Poor School performance
Constant movement in sleep
Children sleeping can often be a BIG problem. Often it is a hyperactive child, nervousness, or maybe grandpa just let them visit the candy drawer too many times! But adequate sleep is vital in children and adolescents. Lack of sleep will have very negative effects on your child’s performance in school, their extra curricular activities, relationships, as well as their behavior.
A Lack of sleep in children can cause..
Accidents and Injuries
Mood Problems
Performance Problems
Memory Problems
Behavior Problems
Concentration Problems
Slowed Reaction Times
Tags: children sleep disorders
COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. People suffering from COPD literally have to fight for breath.. Lying down increases the difficulty of breathing for those suffering from COPD. COPD will cause sleep disruption and also destroy the quality of sleep. When patients with COPD enter their REM sleep the experience a decrease in their oxygen saturation. This decrease can make the patient hypoxic with possible serious consequences. Hypoxic literaly means “low oxygen”
One BIG problem of CPAP users is laying on their side while sleeping. The problem is not laying on the side but, your mask being stuffed into your pillow. When on your side the mask is uncomfortable, pushed away from your face and leaks arise, and also it it is even seated right it can become very noisy from the vent blowing air out right against the pillow. Well help is here as Contour has available a “Sleep Apnea” pillow designed to eliminate most of these problems. You can check out the “Sleep Apnea Pillow” here…
http://www.contourliving.com/p-85-sleep-apnea-pillow.aspx
As I get ready to go in for my third sleep study, I thought that may be an interesting area to open a discussion. I’ve met a lot of people that are very nervous about them. Not knowing what to expect they relate it to some other type of medical procedure such as a surgery or exploratory type exam, Ouch!
A sleep study is not like that at all! The study personals main desire is to get you asleep and will do all they can to help you. There is a time prior to the actual sleep study where about 50 wires are connected to you, on your forehead, arms, chest legs, etc so that they can monitor your bodies reactions during sleep and also determine the depth of your sleep. All and all it’s best to just get yourself asleep and it will soon be over with. If you have trouble sleeping they may even give you something to help.
The technician will be adjusting your air flow pressure while you sleep to determine how many pound of air pressure it takes to cure your sleep apneas. Often, adjustments are needed to correct the amount of airflow overtime. Don’t worry this is all in all a pretty simple procedure and fairly comfortable.
CPAP PRO has developed sleep apnea gear that eliminates the use of headgear. If you are having extreme trouble with your headgear it may be something you want to look into. It is held to your face with a mouthpiece instead of a headgear strapping system. If your a full face mask user it appears that your out of luck.
You can view their product here.
http://www.nomask.com
One of the most common causes of mask leaks is the tightness adjustment of your mask. The tendency is to tighten up the mask when we have an air leak and that may just not be the adjustment it is looking for. See, as the air flow fills the mask the gel cushion expands to smoothly fit our face. If the mask is to tight to the face the gel cushion can not properly expand causing leaks. Also check for a worn gel cushion or vent gasket.
A nice little technique I like to use to adjust tightness is to lay dow and relax with your mask on and your full air pressure flowing. With the mask strapped on very gently pull the mask away from your face a little bit and see if the leaks stop. What I have usually found is that my mask worked better a bit looser and I had a much more comfortable fit.
Here’s a good tip that one day you may be very thankful for. Save a couple of your old cpap masks. You never know when your newest one may break, or a part snap on it. Most masks you can snap them apart and many of the parts are replaceable. I’ve had times just before going to bed when I would drop my mask and break the forehead bridge. I was so happy when I could go to the closet and pull out my trusty box of cpap parts. It’s also common to loose the little nylon vent gasket or even the gaskets to where your hose connects up to the machine.
There is nothing worse then not having you machine an mask operable when it’s time to go to bed!
Helpful Tips & Tricks Sleeping with Sleep Apnea
There are a few good things a person can do to help them sleep through the night and breath a bit easier. The first and most important thing is to see your doctor and make sure you are using your CPAP machine as prescribed and that it is set to the proper pressure. Below is a list of “personal” tips that may help you as much as they help me.
I like a cool mist so if you have a water tank on your CPAP, try putting an ice cube in it before filling. This will help keep the mist cool. Some like the warm mist and many CPAP Machines have a heater on them.
If you using a “Full” Face Mask, try a little dab of Vicks Chest rub with a cu tip in a place in the mask where it will not be sure to touch your skin. I put mine in the deepest point of the mask. You will find the vapor very soothing and helpful to your breathing.
Keep a fan lightly blowing at you. again it is soothing and the air movement helps greatly.