Understanding the Top Six Sleep Problems that Men Have

It is a general assumption that everyone who goes to bed when the time is due gets to actually sleep comfortably until the morning hours. On the contrary, not everyone wakes up to the first alarm feeling all fresh and ready to face their day. There are those who face some sleep disorders that either make them to sleep longer or less, those who wake up with headaches and those who do very weird things in their sleep. Men are not exempt from such sleep disorders. They are quite prone to them due to their complicated lifestyles and the challenges they go through on a daily basis. Below are some of the sleeping disorders that men experience:

1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea, commonly known as OSA, is a sleep disorder caused by the blockage of the throat. When the blockage happens, the man may find himself waking up due to the sudden shortness in breathe. He may not tell the cause of the frequent waking up during the night, but a number of symptoms can lead to him knowing he has sleep apnea. The most common symptoms include headaches in the morning, daytime sleepiness and excessive snoring in the night. The man may not tell that he is snoring in his sleep but his or her partner will more often than not get concerned with the snoring. A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is used to treat sleep apnea. This machine keeps your throat open by having a constant stream of air flowing through it.

2. Insomnia

Men are also susceptible to one of the most common sleep disorders; insomnia. Insomnia is a sleeping disorder that happens due to high-stress levels, drug abuse, and depression. These cause the man to find it hard for them to stay fully asleep in the night. Some men get to sleep for very few hours when they have insomnia. Insomnia is a very common sleeping disorder since most men find themselves exposed to the factors causing insomnia. The good news is that insomnia can get treated through medication prescribed by a qualified doctor, or through cognitive behavioral therapy. Dealing with the root cause of insomnia may also lead to the man regaining his regular sleeping conditions.

3. Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder, also known as DSP, affects a great number of men. This sleep disorder makes the man only to fall asleep a couple of hours later than the normal sleep hours. This makes the man to have a very hard time getting up in the morning. What happens with DSP is that the man’s internal clock makes them feel sleepy at specific times of the day and these times happen to be abnormal times. Once this disorder goes uncorrected, the man might end up developing a habit of waking up later than everyone else. This may in most cases get mistaken for laziness, while in a real sense it’s something arising from a sleep disorder. In order to correct DSP, the man should minimise the amount of light in their rooms in the late afternoon sessions and at night. There should be a bright light in the house during the morning hours. Doing this makes the body’s internal clock create a new sleep cycle that will result in the man sleeping and waking up in the normal hours of the day.

4. Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy happens to be one of the extreme sleeping disorders that affect men. The major cause of narcolepsy is the existence of abnormalities in those parts of the brain responsible for controlling REM sleep. Once those parts are affected, the man can find himself experiencing excessively heavy sleep in unexpected moments. Men with narcolepsy could fall asleep while driving, at work or even talking to another person. This sleeping disorder is not widely diagnosed. Narcolepsy can be treated by using prescribed medication.

5. Teeth grinding

Another name for this sleeping condition is bruxism. A large number of men happen to suffer this sleeping disorder. Bruxism causes men to grind their teeth very hard in their sleep. The grinding gets really hard to the extent of them waking up with a sore jaw and a headache. This sleeping disorder cannot be ignored as the sound of grinding teeth happens to annoy the man’s sleep partner. Doctors will in most cases give the man with bruxism a mouth guard meant to prevent teeth from grinding against each other. They also advise those with this disorder to avoid chewing non-food substances as this gives the jaw the increased ability to stay clenched.

6. Sleepwalking

This sleep disorder happens to be most common in children, but it also affects men. The main cause of sleepwalking is lack of sleep. Other reasons include certain types of medication and certain types of illnesses such as fever. A man with this disorder will be found walking around at night while they’re asleep. Sleepwalking may also involve sleep talking. Men with this sleeping disorder should reduce a number of liquids they consume at night, more so the period nearing their sleeping hours. They should also maintain a quiet sleep environment in order for them to stay calm all through the night.

Men, just all the other human beings suffer sleeping disorders. Those who already know about these disorders should not simply keep it to themselves as these disorders are treatable. They should also learn to create a good lifestyle that will ensure that they don’t develop sleeping disorders they didn’t have.