15 Fascinating Facts About Sleep Disorders

Introduction to Sleep Disorders

Natural sleep is as important as diet and exercise. Some individuals who feel tired all day may truly have a sleep disorder, although others could also have a problem, as they not allow themselves to get enough sleep.

An adult needs about 7-8 hours of sleep every night to rest well. However, in reality, an average adult generally gets less than 7 hours of sleep every night.

Sleep disturbances, if not addressed, can impair our ability to work, drive, participate in social activities, and generally improve our overall quality of life (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Sleep Disorders

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Facts

1. Human beings are the only mammals that can willingly delay sleep.
2. More than one-third of American adults do not get enough sleep on a regular basis (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   1 in 3 adults don't get enough sleep
   
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3. Staying awake for 17 hours straight can decrease your performance, as much as if your blood alcohol level were 0.05% ( The legal limit is 0.08) (3^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Risks from Not Getting Enough Sleep: Impaired Performance
   
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4. Night shift workers are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (4^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Main effects of sleep disorders related to shift work-opportunities for preventive programs
   
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5. The use of smartphones and other electronic devices before going to bed shortens sleep cycles. The brain chemical (neurotransmitter) melatonin, which is necessary for sleep, can't be produced enough at night due to the lights from computers, mobile devices, and televisions (5^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Teenagers and sleep
   
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6. The likelihood of insomnia (sleeplessness) increases with age. However, sometimes sleep disturbances can be due to other medical conditions, such as chronic pain (6^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Insomnia in the Older Adult
   
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7. Teenagers’ body clock are shifted forward by around one or two hours by puberty hormones, which makes them sleepier one to two hours later.
8. Higher altitudes can contribute to sleep disturbances. They can become greater at altitudes of 13, 200 feet or more. Disturbances in sleep are suspected to be caused by diminished oxygen levels and accompanying changes in respiration. It can take about two to three weeks to adjust to such an environment (7^✔ ✔Trusted Source
   Sleep and Breathing at High Altitude
   
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9. Dysania is a real condition in which it is difficult for a person to get out of bed. This condition is known to signal nutritional deficiency, depression, and other problems.

10. Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and mental stress are all more likely in people who sleep less than seven hours per day.
11. Before the advent of color TV, only 15% of the population was reported to dream in color (8^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Do we only dream in colour? A comparison of reported dream colour in younger and older adults with different experiences of black and white media
    
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12. For approximately 90 million American adults, snoring is the primary cause of sleep disruption, both for the person who snores and those trying to sleep in the vicinity (9^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Obstructive Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Management
    
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13. We are bound to feel tired nearly two times a day, i.e., at 2:00 am and 2:00 pm. It is this natural drop in alertness that is primarily responsible for the post-lunch dip (10^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Does Bright Light Counteract the Post-lunch Dip in Subjective States and Cognitive Performance Among Undergraduate Students?
    
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14. Family situations can impact sleep duration to a great extent (11^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Family relationships and troubled sleep among U.S. adults: examining the influences of contact frequency and relationship quality
    
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15. Across all age groups, men were less likely to use sleeping pills than women. Adult women (5%) used prescribed sleeping pills more frequently than adult men (3.1%) (12^✔ ✔Trusted Source
    Sleep Medication Use in Adults Aged 18 and Over
    
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