What are primary sleep disorders?
In an ideal world, you get 7-9 hours of solid sleep each night and wake up feeling energized. Unfortunately, about 40 million people in the US struggle with chronic sleep disorders and another 20 million experience occasional issues with sleep disturbances.
There are more than 70 recognized sleep disorders, which lead to a lack of sleep, disturbed sleep, or excessive sleep. The most common sleep disorders include:
- Sleep-related breathing disorders, such as asthma and sleep apnea
- Insomnia
- Circadian rhythm sleep disorders
- Sleep-related movement disorders, such as restless leg syndrome
- Parasomnias, such as sleepwalking or talking
- Narcolepsy
These disorders can lead to snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, mental fogginess, and mood disorders, as well as serious physiological complications like cardiovascular issues.
What is sleep medicine?
Sleep medicine is the branch of medicine that identifies and treats the many sleep disorders that affect both children and adults.
At Texas Pediatric Specialties and Family Sleep Center, the sleep specialists have advanced training and expertise in managing disorders of sleep and wakefulness. These sleep specialists are dually trained and board certified in the subspecialties of sleep medicine and another medical specialty.
How are sleep disorders diagnosed?
If you believe you or your child may be suffering from a sleep disorder, the sleep medicine specialists at Texas Pediatric Specialties and Family Sleep Center leave no stone unturned when it comes to identifying the cause of the problem.
To start, they perform an evaluation of your health and your medical history and they review your symptoms. Depending upon their initial findings, they may order further tests, including:
- A sleep study (polysomnogram)
- A home sleep study
- Neurological testing
- Pulmonary testing
- An actigraphy
To properly diagnose you, sleep medicine specialists may use many different tools to identify the underlying cause of your sleep problem.
What treatments are involved in sleep medicine?
The answer to this depends upon your diagnosis. For example, if your sleep specialist discovers that you have sleep apnea, they may recommend a continuous positive airway pressure device to help you breathe at night.
Your mental health may also play a role, as is often the case with insomnia, in which case your sleep specialist recommends counseling to help you get regular rest again.
Your sleep medicine specialist is with you every step of the way, ensuring you receive the right care to help you better sleep. Call Texas Pediatric Specialties and Family Sleep Center or use the online scheduler.
