What is Fatal Familial Insomnia
Fatal familial insomnia is a rather rare genetic disease that causes severe sleep disturbances and in some cases brain dysfunction which eventually result in death.
While the condition is characterized by difficulty falling asleep and then having difficulty staying asleep, the condition can also produce a whole host of other discomforts, including muscle spasms and extreme difficulties with short-term memory and mental functioning.
This type of insomnia can occur in one or both parents of a child, although it seems to occur more frequently in the children.
The condition has no known cause and is not contagious, although genetic differences might account for its prominence in certain families.
If you think you might be suffering from this condition, please contact your doctor at once.
Understanding the Symptoms of Insomnia
For someone struggling with insomnia, the inability to sleep linked to this problem is a frightening ordeal.
Insomnia is often a symptom of another condition, such as diabetes or thyroid problems.
Medical conditions that can cause difficulty in sleeping include restless leg syndrome, asthma and depression.
In addition, several medications including certain antidepressants, ginseng, folic acid, Valium, kava, and sinus medications can cause the symptoms of insomnia to persist.
One of the most common conditions that causes these symptoms is obstructive sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a stoppage or reduction in the flow of air through the throat and nasal passages while one is asleep. This results in a partial blockage of the airway, and symptoms include extreme tiredness during the day and the inability to remain asleep.
Other symptoms include morning headaches, dry mouth, snoring, increased heart rate, fatigue and poor concentration.
If left untreated obstructive sleep apnea can result in daytime sleepiness, loss of appetite, poor judgment, emotional instability and physical weakness.
Fortunately, researchers have found that many cases of sleepiness can be relieved by performing certain activities, such as playing a musical instrument, taking a brisk walk or practicing relaxation techniques.
This is why it’s frequently beneficial to combine various methods of treating insomnia, such as performing light exercises, performing deep breathing exercises, taking sleeping pills and by making use of various sleeping pills that are designed to induce sleep.
Individuals who are unable to sleep may also benefit from consulting a medical doctor to find out whether certain health conditions might be the cause of their difficulty in sleeping.
In these instances, doctors may prescribe medication or refer their patients to a sleep therapist.
Warning Signs of Fatal Frustral Insomnia (FFI)
Sleepwalking is a common characteristic of fatal familial insomnia. Sleepwalking has been called “co-morbid” or “complementary” insomnia because it often co-occurs with one or more of the main insomnia symptoms such as sleep deprivation, waking immediately in the night, or severe depression.
Sleepwalking is not a sleep disorder but a person’s way of reacting to sleep deprivation, especially when non-sleep-deprived people are given tasks to do in order to test their reaction time to various stimuli (such as moving curtains across the room or moving dinner plates across the floor).
It is very similar to how a person who is not sleep deprived would act. The difference is that they do not consider that they are actually not asleep during the task, and this leads to a chain reaction that ends in death or serious injury.
Top Causes of Insomnia – Remedies to Help You Stop the Problem
There are many different factors that can cause insomnia. Some of the more common causes of insomnia are stress, a bad sleeping schedule, bad sleeping habits, psychological issues such as anxiety and depression, certain sleep disorders, drugs, neurological conditions, and pain.
Insomnia can be caused by one or more of these factors, or it may only occur with one or two of them.
Regardless, if you suffer from insomnia, you need to determine what is causing your insomnia.
Your lifestyle may have been contributing to your insomnia, or it could be something else.
No matter what it is, getting to the root of the problem will help you overcome your insomnia.
For example, stress and anxiety are usually considered to be the leading causes of insomnia.
The symptoms of stress and anxiety include feeling tense and anxious most of the time, difficulty staying asleep, waking up too early in the morning, not being able to fall back asleep, not remembering your dreams, and headaches.
If you experience any of these symptoms consistently over a long period of time, you should consider seeing a medical professional for further evaluation.
If you find out that your sleeplessness is due to a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea, depression, diabetes, or even physical conditions such as diabetes or arthritis, you should consider changing your lifestyle and addressing the sleep disorder.
Changes in your lifestyle are among the easiest and most effective means of overcoming insomnia.
If you’re constantly using electronic devices such as laptops, cell phones, computers, and televisions to stimulate yourself during the day, you should strongly consider eliminating these as much as possible.
Also, if you are staying up late at night and not taking care of yourself physically, you should consider removing cigarettes and alcohol from your daily routine, as both of these habits contribute greatly to insomnia.
In addition, if you are taking medication for one of these conditions, you should discuss that treatment with your doctor in order to avoid ceasing your medications suddenly while experiencing symptoms of insomnia.
Sporadic Fatal Insomnia
The condition known as sporadic fatal insomnia is one that occurs many times in people of all ages but is most prevalent in young adults and the elderly.
What causes this type of insomnia? Studies have shown a link between several factors such as work stress, poor sleep habits and lack of exercise, not to mention other things as well.
No one knows exactly why this occurs, but there are some factors that seem to be more common than others.
For example, work stress seems to be the number one cause of intermittent insomnia for seniors, but poor sleep habits and lack of exercise are often linked to many other causes as well.
Work related insomnia has been shown to be much more common in those that are over 60 years old, yet this is not necessarily a cause of death.
Discover Which Natural Insomnia Treatment is Best For You
Insomnia is manageable disorder, and therefore effective treatment may be critical to having the restful sleep you require.
Look into effective, safe, and natural insomnia treatments. Cognitive behavioral therapy, often called CBT, is a well-designed structured approach that helps you replace negative behaviors and thoughts that lead to sleeplessness with more healthy habits that promote healthy sleep.
You’ll learn techniques to nix negative patterns so that your mind works like it should at night and keeps your body calm and relaxed.
Valerian is another natural, non-drug insomnia treatment that may help you manage your sleep problems.
The herb Valerian acts as a muscle relaxant and may help you fall asleep easier. Some people find that Valerian allows them to go to bed at a reasonable hour.
It’s best to use this herb with caution, however, because it is possible that you could become addicted to Valerian and develop insomnia.
If you can’t get to sleep on your own, try to settle in for a good amount of time each night.
It’s also helpful to do some deep breathing exercises and other relaxation techniques to soothe yourself when you wake up in the morning. Exercising is also a great insomnia treatment.
Try going for a 30 minute walk every morning and evening to maintain good blood circulation throughout your body.
Another way to relieve physical symptoms of insomnia is to visit your local gym because exercising releases endorphins which make you feel good.
All About Sleep Deprivation
The medical term sleep deprivation describes the lack of sleep that a person gets, generally, from going without a sufficient amount of sleep for a long period of time.
People who have sleep deprivation will find that they will not be able to function normally or very well at all.
There are many different things that cause sleep deprivation and some of them include jet lag, not sleeping enough during the day, not allowing your body to rest at night, and being too tired to do anything during the day.
Sleep deprivation is also caused by mood changes, especially if you stay up all night listening to music or watching television.
This can affect both your mental and physical health because you cannot relax or unwind and release the stress that is keeping you awake. Many studies have also shown that having a good amount of sex can actually help you sleep better at night.
It is possible that having sex before going to bed affects your sleep deprivation because sex increases the amount of endorphins released into your body, which make you feel more relaxed.
One other thing that can cause sleep deprivation is a disorder such as sleep apnea where you stop breathing periodically throughout the night while you are sleeping.
This disorder is a very serious disorder and can cause serious health problems, including congestive heart failure.
If you suffer from this disorder then it is important that you visit your doctor to have the disorder diagnosed, as it may not be a disorder at all but simply a habit that needs to be changed.
If you do not change it then it could lead to severe health problems such as congestive heart failure and even death.
is insomnia a sign of pregnancy?
In part, insomnia is not necessary a sign of pregnancy there are many factors that contributes to insomnia during pregnancy.
Beginning in the first trimester, shifting hormone levels can cause discomfort and other issues that can make it very difficult to sleep and stay asleep.