Everything You Need to Know About Sleep Disorders

Are you or a loved one having trouble sleeping? Do you want to make lifestyle changes that can help you sleep better?

If you want to learn more about sleeping disorders, as well as the link between ADHD and sleep and what you can do to address these challenges, keep reading.

1. What are sleep disorders?

Sleep disorders are conditions that impair an individual’s ability to fall asleep or stay asleep, as well as their sleep quality.

Some common conditions include insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, and REM sleep behavior disorder. These conditions negatively affect a person’s health by changing their sleeping patterns or habits. Moreover, many individuals suffer from sleep issues because of other conditions, including ADHD, anxiety, depression, and stress.

Any form of sleep disorder needs to be treated because sleep is vital for optimal health.

In addition, without consistent, deep sleep, individuals are likely to also have issues with their hormone levels, mood swings, and weight. Plus, it is a lot harder to show up as your best self day-in, day-out when you are always exhausted. For this reason, you want to take steps to address your sleeping issues immediately. 

2. What are some sleep deprivation solutions?

If you continuously find yourself having trouble getting to sleep, then there are several steps that you can take to attempt to remedy the problem and start working towards a healthy sleep cycle.

First and foremost, the most important thing that you need to do is to get consistent sleep. Unfortunately, too many people are sleep-deprived during the week and then try to make up for it on the weekend; however, this is not how sleep works.

In fact, fluctuating between lack of sleep and over-sleeping is a surefire way of causing dysregulation in your sleep-wake cycle.

Therefore, you want to strive to keep a regular sleep-wake schedule – even on weekends — as this helps to maintain your body’s internal clock, which, in turn, makes it much easier for you to fall asleep and wake up.

If you don’t have a fixed bedtime, that is the first thing you want to confront. In most cases, those who have a poor sleep routine don’t have a set bedtime and often go to sleep at varying hours of the night. So, treat your bedtime like a work deadline and stick to it; the rest of your sleep-related habits will then become a lot easier to achieve.

Moreover, you also want to ensure that you are getting enough sleep, ideally 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. If this seems impossible currently, you want to work on increasing your hours until you reach this target.

Of course, every individual is different, so the obstacles you are facing in enhancing your sleep cycle will be unique to you. Therefore, take some time to identify the challenges that you regularly encounter.

For example, perhaps you stay awake too late scrolling through your phone or find yourself eating a heavy meal too close to bedtime. Stress, anxiety, depression, and ADHD are also reasons why you may be having trouble sleeping.

By identifying the potential causes, you are on your way to finding an effective solution.

3. What are some more permanent solutions?

In some cases, adopting good sleep habits isn’t enough to help your sleep cycle because other things are happening in your brain. Therefore, if you are suffering from a sleep disorder, you may want (or need) to take some further steps, including training your brain to sleep well.

One of the most effective ways to do this is through a NASA patented method known as neurofeedback therapy, a non-invasive and drug-free approach to remedying sleep disorders.

In a neurofeedback therapy session, you will be sat down on a comfortable couch, and your brain will be provided with audio-visual cues. EEG sensors will be attached to your head and used to read and analyze your brain wave activity before providing your brain with real-time feedback.

Based on how you respond to the audio-visual cues, your brain impulses will shift. For example, when your brain follows a positive behavior, you will be presented with a positive reward (such as a larger video screen and louder audio).

As a result of this reward feedback loop, your brain will turn the positive behaviors into habits. Over time, this will drive your brain to regulate itself to stay calm and relaxed, a key component of insomnia or sleeplessness treatment.

Once you have completed your personalized neurofeedback therapy program, you will find that you have a much easier time falling asleep and staying asleep. From there, having a good night’s sleep (every night), waking up feeling refreshed, and having energy throughout the day will become your new normal.

4. What else can neurofeedback therapy treat?

In addition to sleeping disorders, neurofeedback therapy is also effective at helping individuals who are suffering from ADHD, anxiety, anger management, depression, learning disabilities, memory loss, migraines, and stress. Incidentally, many of these mental health issues and challenges also affect your brain’s ability to sleep.

Therefore, if you are looking for effective ADHD treatment in Dubai (or wherever you reside), it is highly recommended that you look into neurofeedback therapy.

The common symptoms of ADHD include hyperactivity, excessive impulsiveness, restlessness, frequent mood swings, and difficulty focusing. As a result, individuals who are suffering from ADHD often have significant challenges in their daily lives.

By undergoing a series of neurofeedback therapy sessions, those who have ADHD can train their brain to learn what is required to focus on the task at hand without being distracted.

Similarly, for individuals suffering from depression, neurofeedback therapy sessions assist your brain in learning how to independently control your thoughts and emotions in order to feel positive. Without requiring medication, this type of treatment enables individuals to process their emotions better and improve their relationships with themselves and their loved ones.

Final Thoughts

If you are currently suffering from a sleep disorder, or are having sleeping issues as a result of a mental health issue, then you certainly want to reach out to your local neurofeedback therapy provider today.

AUTHOR BIO

Dr. Upasana Gala is the founder and CEO of Evolve Brain Training, an award-winning neurofeedback-centered institute that focuses on using non-invasive brain training techniques to maximize the brain’s true potential. Earning a doctorate in Neuroscience from the revered Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Gala has spent over a decade trying to unravel the way neurochemical and neurophysiological changes in the brain affect the way we interact with the world. Her goal is to share her knowledge, encourage others to tap into and expand their brain’s capabilities, and dispel any myths surrounding our most complex organ.