The poet John Keats once described sleep as "full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing." But for many people – estimated at fifty million in the U.S. alone – sleep doesn't come easily. That's because they suffer from some sleep-related disorder that prevents a peaceful night's rest.
The need for sleep is universal, but individual needs vary widely. While most adults need seven to eight hours sleep a night, some people require as little as four or as many as ten. Personal sleep patterns also depend a great deal on age and habits. Naps, for instance, may disturb sleep at night for some people, but for others are part of the normal sleep cycle, particularly as they get older. Most people take sleep for granted – until it eludes them.
If you suffer from disturbed sleep, the good news is that sleep disorders can be successfully treated. At St. Mary's Sleep Disorders Center, caring medical experts use state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment to identify the nature of your sleep problem and provide appropriate treatment so you'll soon be resting easy.
The Problems We Help
We can diagnose many different types of sleep disorders at St. Mary's, including:
- Insomnia. This disorder, not being able to fall asleep or stay asleep, can sometimes be caused by the misuse of sleeping pills or by several other conditions – psychological (such as chronic depression or anxiety or temporary stress); environmental (such as noise or other disturbances); or physiological (including chronic breathing disorders or temporary pain).
- Can't Sleep at Proper Time. If your regular pattern of sleep is disrupted because you work different shifts or suffer frequent jet lag, you may have difficulty finding a sleep/wake pattern to fit your lifestyle. Sometimes insomnia or daytime sleepiness can be dur to undiscovered changes in the sleep/wake pattern.
- Narcolepsy. This medical disorder often develops in young adults and can last a lifetime. Some of the symptoms may include being abnormally sleepy during the day, and experiencing muscular weakness when angry, surprised or amused. Narcoleptics may also have terrifying dreams or hallucinations right before falling asleep.
- Sleep Apnea and Snoring. Sleep apnea is a serious disorder in which the person stops breathing repeatedly during sleep. These pauses in breathing last ten seconds to three minutes and can occur several hundred times a night. One symptom of sleep apnea is heavy snoring. Other signs may include excessive daytime drowsiness, high blood pressure, and irritability.
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