At Home with Dr Christian Jessen - 95

| SLEEP EASY|

alcohol in the evening are enough
to control RLS. In some cases iron
supplements may be required, while
others require medication which
acts on the dopamine receptor in
the brain to relieve symptoms.

SLEEPWALKING

RID YOURSELF
OF NEGATIVE
THOUGHTS

OBSTRUCTIVE
SLEEP APNOEA

This condition causes you to
stop breathing or have pauses in
your breathing while asleep because
the airway is either obstructed or
collapses. Obstructive sleep apnoea
(OSA) can be mild to very severe,
depending on the number of times
you stop breathing in the night, and
a sleep study can help determine
this. The repeated interruptions
to your sleep can make you feel
sleepy during the day, and around
180,000 people in the UK have it.
'Obstructive sleep apnoea occurs
most commonly in men over 50
years of age, who are overweight,
who snore and have a large collar
size,' says Dr Ebrahim.

'SLEEP APNOEA
CAUSES YOU TO
STOP BREATHING
OR HAVE PAUSES
AS THE AIRWAY IS
OBSTRUCTED'
HELP YOURSELF: 'Treatment
options available include nasal
continuous positive airway pressure
(nCPAP), mandibular advancement
splints (MAS) or surgery,' says Mr
Kotecha. 'In terms of selecting a
treatment option, in cases where
the sleep study has confirmed
moderate or severe OSA, nCPAP
would be favoured.'
Alternatively, a mandibular
responding splint (MRS) is a dental
appliance that holds your jaw and
tongue forward to increase the space
at the back of your throat and reduce
the narrowing of your airway. There
are also devices such as AirSense 10,
S9 series of devices and the AirFit,
Quattro Air and Swift series of
specialist masks from Resmed (see
www.resmedclinic.co.uk). If large
tonsils or elongated soft palate are
obstructing your airway, these can
easily be treated with surgery.

IS ANXIETY KEEPING
YOU AWAKE?

Although it's not a sleep disorder, anxiety
prevents people from having a peaceful sleep,
especially as busy work and homes lives make
it harder to unwind at bedtime. Tossing and
turning during the night and worrying about
money, work or relationships is a situation
adults of all ages can relate to.
One in six people experiences some form
of 'neurotic health problem' during their
lifetime, and the most common are anxiety and
depressive disorders, according to Anxiety
UK (www.anxietyuk.org.uk). Between 50%
and 70% of people with generalised anxiety
disorder (GAD) report trouble sleeping and
often report difficulty falling asleep because
they can't stop thinking about things at bedtime.
GAD affects twice as many women as men,
and if you find it hard to switch off, here are
some tips to help clear your mind: go to bed
and wake up at the same time each day,
establishing a set regime; allow at least an
hour to wind down before bed and assign
yourself a 'worry' period - at the same time
and in the same place each day, but not too
close to bedtime; take 10-15 minutes to write
down your worries and contemplate them;
review your day and write a to-do-list for the
following day to help you clear your mind.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is also
effective in treating anxiety. A counsellor helps
you identify negative thoughts and actions,
and teaches you calming strategies.

Also known as somnambulism,
this sleep disorder causes people
to walk or perform other activities
while asleep. Sleepwalking usually
occurs during a deep sleep.
It's most common in children
and normally diminishes on its
own in adolescence, but it can
happen to people of all ages.
Sleepwalking is usually related
to tiredness, stress or mental
disorders, though some
medications used to treat other
disorders, such as insomnia
or depression, can lead to
sleepwalking, as can arousals
caused by other sleep disorders.
HELP YOURSELF: 'Sleepwalking
is quite effectively treated with a
combination of medications and
psychological and behavioural
interventions,' says Dr Ebrahim.
Making your sleep environment
safer and making other lifestyle
changes - such as learning how
to deal with stress and limiting
your alcohol consumption in the
evening - decreases the likelihood
of episodes. Drugs, such as
antidepressants or benzodiazepines
(sleep-inducing medicine) may be
prescribed to prevent episodes.

NARCOLEPSY

This is a long-term sleep disorder
that's caused by the deficiency
of a protein in the brain.
Symptoms can be mild or severe,
and include: falling asleep all
of a sudden without warning,
excessive daytime sleepiness, and
temporary muscle weakness
(known as cataplexy) when you
laugh or you're angry. This results
in the slackening of the facial
muscles, weakness at the knees
or collapsing completely.
It is estimated that 31,000 people
are affected by narcolepsy. Known
as an 'orphan disease', it is a
relatively rare sleep disorder.
HELP YOURSELF: At present,
there is no cure for narcolepsy,
so managing the condition is key
to living a fulfilling life. However,
there are effective treatments for
people with it, the most common
of which is taking stimulants (such
as modafinil and dexamphetamine)
to increase alertness. You can
also take frequent, brief naps
throughout the day to manage
excessive daytime drowsiness,
although this isn't always possible.
www.athomemagazine.co.uk MARCH 2015 | 095
http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk http://www.resmedclinic.co.uk http://www.athomemagazine.co.uk
At Home with Dr Christian Jessen

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