Wake Up, Stark County! :: Sleeping Disorders Essays

conflagrate Up, raw CountyApproximately 40 million Americans encounter from inveterate disorders of ease and wakefulness, such as narcolepsy, quiet apnea, and insomnia. The majority of those affected remain unknown and un treat. At the Doctors Hospital Center for Sleep Disorders, 1001 patients atomic number 18 regularly treated for slightly form of these disorders at the present time (Roman interview). Fewer than 5% of these patients are children and 65% are men over the age of 40. Dr. Frankie Roman, a Board Certified Sleep Specialist, operates this Center. It is the only one available to Stark County residents at this time.To adequately discuss these disorders, first we must provide a working definition of the individual conditions that the terms denote. Sleep apnea is a close of air exchange at the nose and mouth, lasting at least 10 seconds (Williams, pg. 48). Narcolepsy is a disorder of overweening sleepiness. This sleepiness is characterized by sketch episodes of lap ses into sleep that occur throughout the day, usually lasting less than an hour. Insomnia agent an inability to sleep. There are many kinds of insomnia, some chemical, some emotional, and some psychological (Thorpy 104).In addition to the 40 million pile with chronic sleep disorders, there are 20 to 30 million people who experience intermittent sleep-related problems. These may be due to demanding work schedules and/or confused other lifestyle stress factors. The consequences of sleep disorders, sleep deprivation, and excessive sleepiness can be significant. They could even include morbidity. It has been estimated that, in 1990, sleep disorders and sleepiness cost the United States a minimum of $15.9 billion in direct costs alone (National Commission, vi). This estimate does not include the billions of dollars in indirect and related costs, such as those attributable to sleep-related disasters (e.g. Exxon Valdez grounding, motor fomite accidents, and diminished productivity in th e work place). Some sleep disorders are potentially fatal, while others are little more than an annoyance. Some are life-long, with effects on family members others are brief and non-recurring. Falling asleep unsuitably can blot out a few minutes of television, or it can cause catastrophic damage to life and property. Patients are much thought to be lazy and can become socially disjunct from friends and family.I am a victim of sleep disorders. I suffer from sleep apnea and narcolepsy. I am a regular patient at the Sleep Disorder Clinic at Doctors Hospital. Here, I am wired to various electrodes which protrude from my head and then am told to go to sleep of course My breathing and brain waves are monitored, and I am later inform of how many times a night I have ceased to occur on my own.