Sleep Disorders

When daytime grogginess becomes your new routine, and difficulty falling or staying asleep is more than an occasional problem, chances are you need treatment for a sleep disorder. NYC Psychiatric Associates, located in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, encourages you to seek help for sleep problems. Ongoing insomnia (or any problem disrupting your sleep) increases your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes. Call the office today or use online booking to request an appointment.

What are sleep disorders?

Sleep disorders are a group of conditions that prevent you or your child from getting a good night’s sleep. A sleep disorder may affect the quality of sleep, the amount of uninterrupted sleep, or the time you can fall asleep.

These are several common sleep disorders:

• Insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep)
• Narcolepsy (uncontrollably falling asleep during the day or suddenly losing muscle tone)
• Obstructive sleep apnea (stop breathing 5-30+ times an hour while sleeping)
• Restless legs syndrome (intense need to move legs and unusual leg sensations)
• Parasomnias (unusual behaviors while falling asleep or when sleeping)

Parasomnias include behaviors like sleepwalking, sleep eating, night terrors, and vivid nightmares.

What are the symptoms of sleep disorders?

Each sleep disorder has specific symptoms. For example, people with sleep apnea snore loudly. However, all sleep disorders interrupt your natural sleep cycles, causing problems such as:

• Excessive tiredness during the day
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Memory loss
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mood changes

Children with a sleep disorder often have a hard time paying attention in school, and their performance may decline. They may also have behavioral problems, becoming aggressive, oppositional, and hyperactive.

How are sleep disorders diagnosed?

Your symptoms may point to a specific sleep disorder, but a sleep study is the best way to diagnose the problem accurately. You may have a home sleep study to diagnose sleep apnea, but you’ll need a supervised study at a clinic if your symptoms suggest another sleep disorder.

Home studies accurately measure your breathing and blood oxygen while sleeping. Sleep specialists in the clinic evaluate many other diagnostic signs, including heart activity, brainwaves, and eye and leg movements.

How are sleep disorders treated?

Sleep disorders require a wide range of treatments. Depending on your diagnosis, you may need prescription medications, nerve stimulation, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), supplements, or other treatments.

Some sleep disorders develop due to an underlying mental or physical problem like depression or heart disease. In that case, improving your sleep depends on treating the condition. 

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the gold standard for treating insomnia, overcomes insomnia by improving your nighttime habits (sleep hygiene)and teaching relaxation techniques and ways to overcome persistent thoughts that keep you awake.

Call NYC Psychiatric Associates today or use online booking to request an appointment and take the first steps toward regaining a good night’s sleep.