Don’t sleep on it: Top 3 sleep disorders in the UAE

Tomorrow is World Sleep Day, a day in celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep.

There are over 150 identified sleep disorders. As sleep is vital for the human body and mind, some of these disorders greatly affect people’s lives and health.

Emirates 24/7 has listed three of the most common sleep disorders -- insomnia, apnea, and restless legs syndrome.

Insomnia: It is a condition characterised by the difficulty in falling asleep, staying asleep or both. This can be a secondary condition, caused by another disorder, or a primary condition.

As a secondary condition, insomnia is mostly caused by emotional disorders. Depression, emotional stress, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress can be causes of this condition.

This sleeping disorder can be solved by combatting the secondary condition, which can sometimes be as easy as to stop drinking coffee. When insomnia is a primary condition, the problem might be more complicated for which lifestyle changes are often the cause.

Dr. Khaldoun Mozahem, Neurology Consultant at the American Center of Psychiatry and Neurology, says: “Sometimes we do not give sleep enough attention. We are always busy and live a fast-paced life nowadays. Internet is available 24/7. If you disturb the natural cycle of sleep, this may cause insomnia.”

According to the doctor, the disorder can be combatted by breaking the unnatural cycle.

“Exercise in the morning is good because the human brain will understand that it is the start of the day. Sometimes, exercise in the evening can prevent one from sleeping.

“The bedroom should only be used for sleeping. I once had a patient who kept in his bedroom a laptop, a tablet, a smartphone, and a TV. No wonder that he could not sleep. The brain will not recognise that there is a need to sleep.”

Dr. Khaldoun pointed out that insomnia is the most common sleep disorder that patients come to the center to treat as other sleep disorders are less recognised.

Apnea: It is a condition characterised by having one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breath while sleeping. These pauses may interrupt a deep sleep with a loud snort or choke, after which normal breathing will resume. Although the person may not realise that his sleep has been disrupted, it often results in sleepiness during the day.

Moreover, people living with the person with apnea are often the ones who suffer, as constant snoring deprives them of sleep.

 “Mostly it is the spouse of the person with apnea that is concerned about the condition. The most common form of apnea is obstructive apnea. In this condition your air way can be blocked or narrowed during sleep. There are several reasons why this may happen.  Sometimes it is a dental problem as some people have a backward jaw. The problem may be in the throat or tongue muscles.”

Obesity is another cause of sleep disorders, a cause that is more likely to be at play in the UAE, considering the high prevalence of obesity, Dr. Khaldoun said.

Apnea causes concern among doctors because the frequent drops in oxygen level and lower quality of sleep trigger the release of stress hormones. These hormones raise heart rate and increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, irregular heartbeats and heart failure. Not many people are aware of this disorder.

“We try to improve this situation by providing awareness courses to general practitioners. We would like to see that GPs recognise sleeping disorders and recommend the right follow up. After we started providing these courses, we have seen an increase in number of patients with apnea,” Dr Khaldoun said.

Restless Legs Syndrome:  RLS is a condition characterised by an abnormal sensation in the legs or feet, which causes a strong urge to move your legs. This feeling prevents one from falling asleep and causes fatigue during the day.

Like insomnia, RLS can be caused by secondary conditions or it could be a primary condition. It has been associated with kidney failure, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, pregnancy and iron deficiency.

When a disease, condition, or medicine causes RLS, the symptoms usually start suddenly. However, it can also run in the family. When this is the case, it starts before the age of 45 and can even start in childhood, and it usually lasts for the rest of your life. Over time, symptoms slowly get worse and occur more often. If you have a mild case, you may have long periods with no symptoms.

“There is still a lot to discover about this condition and we do not see a lot of it in our centre. At the moment, I am treating ten cases and that is not a lot,” says Dr. Khaldoun.

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