Sleep is defined as a period of low activity during which only the brain is actively engaged, but enough activity remains for recuperation of energy used throughout the day and to replenish resources used up during that period of restful sleeping.
Your sleep drive peaks when the levels of adenosine rise, signaling it’s time for restful slumber. Unfortunately, those with adhd are more likely to engage in behaviors which interfere with this natural process, including excessive caffeine use or daytime napping.
Restless Legs Syndrome
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a neurological condition characterized by uncomfortable sensations in your legs and an overwhelming urge to move them, usually during sleep, which can prevent you from either falling or staying asleep. Furthermore, RLS may interfere with daytime functioning and increase your risk for depression, anxiety, obstructive sleep apnea and high blood pressure.
RLS (Reflexive Leg Syndrome) is a condition characterized by unpleasant sensations in your legs or arms, most often your legs, which include throbbing, pulling, creeping or crawling sensations that compel you to move them almost uncontrollably when sitting or lying down – these sensations become most pronounced at bedtime and tend to worsen throughout the night. RLS affects people of any age but tends to worsen more severely after middle age – and women more than men seem susceptible.
There is often no obvious cause for symptoms associated with restless leg syndrome; this condition is known as idiopathic restless leg syndrome and often runs in families. Researchers believe the problem lies within how your body handles dopamine in your nervous system.
Doctors can typically diagnose RLS by reviewing your medical history and symptoms. A sleep study or electromyography aren’t usually required; however, these tests may be used if there is an underlying condition such as diabetes, anemia, liver or kidney disease present.
Restless leg syndrome has numerous known causes, including pregnancy, certain medications (antihistamines, antinausea drugs and certain antidepressants) and recreational substances like caffeine or nicotine. Low iron levels could also contribute to restless leg syndrome symptoms. RLS could also occur as part of chronic health conditions like multiple sclerosis or neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease or stroke.
Medication may help manage the symptoms of restless leg syndrome (RLS), but they won’t cure it. To lower your risk of RLS, avoid stimulants like caffeine and take a warm bath prior to going to sleep, keep the bedroom quiet and cool, make sure you get enough exercise, and use relaxation techniques regularly.
Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome
Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome is a circadian rhythm disorder in which you go to bed and wake up later than most people, disrupting your ability to function well due to inadequate nighttime rest. Additionally, this sleep-wake cycle may make you irritable and moody during the day – therefore if this disorder seems like something you are experiencing it is best to talk with your physician immediately.
Puberty often alters your internal sleep clock, altering when you fall asleep and wake up. If this shift continues for two or more hours and becomes the norm, it could indicate delayed sleep-wake phase syndrome – this means your internal body clock is no longer functioning correctly – likely caused by fluctuations in melatonin levels which may have been set off by cortisol production in your brain.
DSWPD can be diagnosed through self-reporting and clinical interview. Your healthcare provider will ask about your sleeping patterns, interference with work and social life and any additional disorders such as ADHD or depression that might exist.
An effective way to help healthcare providers understand your sleeping habits is keeping a sleep diary, which details everything from how long you spent sleeping each night, how often you woke up during the night, and when your typical bedtime is. An actigraph monitor may also prove beneficial as it provides quantitative measurements of sleeping patterns.
Your physician may ask about other health conditions you are currently facing as well as your family history, perform a physical exam to make sure everything is healthy, discuss any medications taken including over-the-counter or prescription ones, as well as refer you to a sleep specialist if needed. Furthermore, discussing mental illnesses like depression or bipolar disorder with them could also prove valuable.
Theta Wave Intrusion
The brain produces constant pulses of electrical activity that allow groups of neurons to communicate. When these electrical pulses last over an extended period, this phenomenon is referred to as brain waves; alpha waves at the top and delta waves at the bottom are common; Theta brain waves occur midway along this frequency spectrum and may help you drift off to sleep or stay in that light stage just before awakening.
Theta waves originate in the hippocampus and limbic system, where they are caused by an alternation between inhibition / disinhibition of GABAergic (inhibitory) neurons in the Reticular Activating System and Cholinergic (excitatory) neurons within it. Cortical Theta waves originate via Thalamo-cortical projections & limbic Theta via Thalamo-hippocampal projections to generate cortical theta waves which peak between 8-12Hz range and are synched up with cortical Beta waves.
Sleep deprivation in people with ADHD increases their risk of theta wave intrusion into normal brainwave patterns, potentially becoming dangerous when driving a vehicle or performing tasks that require alertness – we have all heard stories of students collapsing into class after falling asleep while studying; most often caused by this theta wave intrusion.
Researchers have utilized high-density EEG recordings to monitor the amplitude of theta waves in human scalp, as well as record subject performance during psychomotor vigilance tests. Researchers discovered that certain brain regions with high theta amplitude were linked with slower reaction times.
However, these results should be taken with care: their small sample size makes their results not applicable to all people living with ADHD; moreover, scalp EEG was used for data collection which has not been shown to correlate with hippocampal theta rhythm in other studies; morning and evening data pooled together and pooled for this analysis may have different patterns; it is possible that higher evening theta levels are due to more channels contributing channels during an event, similar to computer simulations which suggest slow brain waves have an amplitude proportional to how many neurons enter on-off states near synchrony;
Sleep Disorders
Sleep disorders can severely interfere with a person’s life. From difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep through to parasomnias (episodes of confusional arousals during REM sleep) can all have adverse impacts. While certain disorders cause daytime drowsiness that could lead to serious health conditions like heart disease and lung diseases; others hinder learning abilities, memory or decision-making abilities and impair reaction times which inhibit learning abilities or make decisions more easily.
Insomnia is a chronic sleep condition that ranges from mild to severe severity. Other sleep disorders include snoring, night terrors and sleepwalking – some are harmless while snoring may indicate more serious conditions like obstructive sleep apnea which require medical intervention.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians can help assess these problems. At an examination, PM&R doctors take a detailed history to ascertain what is interfering with sleeping habits – including daily routine, medication use and any health conditions such as pain, depression or anxiety that could impact them.
PM&R physicians utilize numerous diagnostic tests and tools, such as blood work, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and polysomonography sleep studies; actigraphs may also prove invaluable in diagnosing sleep disorders.
In some instances, PM&R physicians will refer a patient with sleep disorders to a specialist in this area so they may provide treatment advice.
Some sleep disorders, like insomnia and restless legs syndrome (RLS), can be treated quickly with medication; other disorders, like narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, and bruxism tend to respond better to behavioral interventions with longer lasting results. When there is an underlying health condition involved, primary treatments include medications or lifestyle modifications; in some instances devices which supplement oxygen while sleeping might help. If necessary a referral might also be made to a psychologist or psychiatrist for cognitive behavioral therapy for lasting results.
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