8 Physical Ailments that Contribute to Sleep Disorders

Sleeping problems can be emotional, physical or psychological and it is important to pay attention to what it is that is causing the sleep problem so as to correct the underlying problem related to sleep. The physical and mental disorders causing sleep problems include kidney problems, brain problems, neurological issues, cardiovascular problems, gastric problems and arthritic issues.

1. Cardiovascular Problems

Both congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease cause sleeping problems. They mainly contribute to obstructive sleep apnea and poor sleep when lying down flat. Congestive heart failure can lead to extreme shortness of breath when lying flat due to a weakened heart and you need to sleep on several pillows in order to get any decent sleep.

Coronary heart disease can cause angina pain at night and can contribute to poor sleep due to pain.

2. Endocrine Problems

If you have diabetes or thyroid problems you can get restless leg syndrome at night. In addition, a high thyroid condition, called hyperthyroidism, can cause you to have fever, sweats and extreme restlessness at night. Sleep is almost impossible in severe cases.

3. Neurological Issues

Neurological problems like Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and stroke can impact sleep at night. If you have Parkinson’s disease, you have a constant tremor that only goes away when you are sleeping. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go away when you “want” to sleep so you have to overcome the tremor enough to actually get to sleep. Parkinson’s disease also has a negative impact on REM sleep and you just get a poor night’s sleep no matter how hard you try to get a good night’s sleep.

If you have Alzheimer’s disease, your intellectual functioning is impaired and you have a sleep problem known as fragmentation where sleep is interrupted throughout the night. Epilepsy contributes, to your sleep disorders as well due to changes in the brain waves. Stroke, on the other hand, causes over-relaxation of the muscles so that you get obstructive sleep apnea due to relaxation of the throat muscles.

4. Respiratory Disorders

Things like asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) can make it difficult to breathe comfortably enough to sleep at night. Asthmatics are often wheezier at night and have problems getting a good breath when trying to sleep. COPD sufferers have damaged lungs that do not exchange air well so that they fail to feel like they’re getting enough air to sleep.

5. Mental and Emotional Problems
Psychological problems, such as bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, seasonal affective disorder and schizophrenia, often have fragmentation of their sleep or inability to get asleep or stay asleep.

6. Reflux Disease

In GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disorder, there is constant heartburn when lying down flat and you have to sleep on several pillows. You tend to wake up a lot during the night due to pain in the chest and esophagus.

7. Kidney Problems

With kidney problems, wastes from the bloodstream aren’t getting released so you get restless leg syndrome and insomnia. Sometimes excess itching can be a side effect that interferes with sleep.

8. Arthritic Pain

People who suffer from arthritis have pain severe enough to interfere with sleep. It is often hard to get to sleep and it is hard to stay asleep, especially if you toss and turn. Doctors need to treat the underlying arthritis first in order to get the sleep problem under control.