Even some physicians do not take these symptoms seriously enough, prescribing sleeping pills when other diagnoses, therapy, devices, or treatment will better cure or cope with an individual's sleep disorder. But there is good help available. Today, however, sleep disorder centers have sprung up across America. Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint. Factors that cause short-term insomnia can be external, including alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine before bedtime, room temperature extremes, light, noise, and of course, stress.
Sleep apnea is a more serious, potentially life-threatening condition.
It's actually a breathing disorder, in which certain structural problems in the breathing passages cause blockage during sleep, preventing oxygen from getting to the lungs and the bloodstream. The blockage causes the body to wake up briefly in order to resume normal breathing. These brief sleeping interruptions during the night can come as often as 20 to 100 or more per hour, destroying the possibility and benefits of a good night's sleep. An estimated 18 million people have sleep apnea. It occurs in all age groups, but is more common in men than in women.