Learn about Sleep disorder Singapore
Sleeping disorder Singapore is important as it is the only time our bodies and brains recharge and replenish themselves. This is accomplished by four or five cycles of rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep a night.
REM sleeps account for about twenty-five percent of our sleep time and it first occurs about 90 minutes after you fall asleep. It is the REM stage of sleep that provides energy to your brain and body and helps you perform throughout the day. Most dreaming occurs at this stage. Thus it is very vital to understand about Sleep disorders Singapore.
The other seventy-five percent of our sleep time is spent in non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep has four distinct stages:
- Stage 1 – It is the beginning stage of drowsiness just as you are starting to doze off, and can be easily awakened. It lasts about 5 minutes.
- Stage 2 – It is the start of actual sleep, lasting from 10 to 25 minutes. Breathing and heart rate remain regular and body temperature drops.
- Stages 3 and 4 – Our blood pressure lowers, our muscles relax, and our breathing slows down. Stages 3 and 4 are the deepest stages of sleep and provide our bodies with the best chance to restore what we used up during the day.
The best sleep involves the right combination of REM and non-REM sleep. Generally, an adult needs about 8 to 9 hours of sleep a night for optimum performance, health and safety. However, the amount of sleep one needs differs from person to person, and these needs vary across ages and are specially impacted by lifestyle and health. Babies need a lot of sleep. Adults need less, but enough for healthy aging and functioning. The amount of sleep one needs does not decline with age, but the ability to sleep throughout the night may be reduced. Some people can survive on very little sleep; some require many hours to function normally. Sleep is considered to be adequate when there is no daytime sleepiness or dysfunction. The table below shows a very general amount of sleep a person needs.
How much sleep do you need? | |
Age | Needs per day |
Newborns (0-3 months) | 12-18 hours |
Infants (3-12 months) | 14-15 hours |
Toddlers (1-3 years) | 12-14 hours |
Preschoolers (3-5 years) | 11-13 hours |
School children (5-10 years) | 10-11 hours |
Teenagers (10-18 years) | 8.5-9.5 hours |
Adults | 7-9 hours |
Our body’s internal biological clock (circadian rhythm) regulates the timing of sleepiness and wakefulness throughout the day, in a 24-hour cycle. If our circadian rhythm is disrupted, it can put us in conflict with our natural sleep patterns.
Lack of sleep leads to excessive daytime sleepiness and affects concentration. In the long run, it may have the following negative impacts:
- Memory impairment
- Weakened immune system
- Decrease in performance, concentration, and reaction time
- Mood and behaviour problems
- More sensitivity to pain
- Weight gain
- Premature aging
- Risk of serious health problems
- Heart disease
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Diabetes
If you are getting less than 8 hours of sleep, it is highly possible that you may be sleep-deprived hence you should contact sleep disorder clinic Singapore.
Symptoms of Sleep Deprivation:
– Hard to wake up in the morning
– Have difficulty keeping awake during the day
– Feel lethargic in the afternoon
– Drowsy after heavy meals or when driving
– Doze off while watching tv or relaxing in the evening
– Need to nap to get through the day
– Fall asleep within 5 minutes of going to bed
Sleep deprivation is very often due to unrecognised sleep disorder Singapore. One of the most common ENT-related sleep disorder is obstructive sleep apnoea, where pauses in breathing during sleep is caused by collapse of the airway.
Sleep Disorders
Sleeping is a basic human need. But many of us cannot get the amount or quality of sleep that we so much needed. Sleep disorders are sleep-related disturbances due to underlying medical problems, lifestyle and environmental factors which usually cause sleeping disorders Singapore, leading to insufficient or poor quality sleep.
Signs of sleep disorder:
- Snoring
- Breathing pauses during sleep
- Problems with sleeping at night
- Difficulty staying awake during day
- Unexplained decrease in daytime performance
Sleep problems can be diagnosed and treated if you make the first move to see a sleep specialist. If you have any of the above symptoms, please contact our sleep disorder clinic Singapore to make an appointment with our senior specialist Dr YT Pang for an accurate evaluation and solution. After risk assessment, education, and treatment, memory and cognitive deficits can improve and the number of injuries related to sleep-deprivation can decrease.