Sleep Disorders

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Sleep is as important to the human body as food and water. Sleep disorders are common and affect almost all of us at some point in our lives. It is estimated that about 1 in 10 Australians are experiencing insomnia or other sleep disorders at any one time.

Sleep disorders are broadly defined as any condition which prevents you from getting a restful sleep and may cause daytime sleepiness and problems in functioning. Some sleep disorders are short-term, while others develop over a longer period or may persist.

There are several self-led sleep hygiene techniques that are commonly recommended which may help manage sleep disorders and improve your sleep quality.

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If you are struggling with a sleep disorder, it’s important you speak with a healthcare professional for advice. Greencare is a telehealth clinic offering consultations with doctors and nurse practitioners who specialise in the management of sleep disorders. If you want to talk about your condition and alternative treatment options that may be available for you, you can click below to book an appointment with a healthcare professional.

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Greencare is an independent telehealth clinic who are not affiliated with Levin Health.

What is a circadian rhythm and why is it so important?

When and how you sleep is primarily determined by your body’s circadian rhythm, sometimes called a ‘body clock’. Your circadian rhythm is responsible for helping you feel sleepy at night and awake and alert during the daytime.

The circadian rhythm is regulated by a number of signals and body systems, including the hormone melatonin. Your body naturally produces melatonin, the levels of which vary in 24-hour cycles. Your body normally releases melatonin at night, with levels peaking in the early hours of the morning, and then drops off in response to light.

In people blessed with a perfect circadian rhythm, this cycle of melatonin release ensures that your body can get the best periods of quality sleep during the night without interrupted sleep and feel refreshed in the morning.

Healthy ageing and sleep

As people age, they tend to experience a decrease in sleep quality. Older people often wake more during the night and spend less time in restful sleep compared to younger people. It is known that increasing age increases the risk of some sleep disorders, and it is estimated that insomnia occurs in as many as 4 in 10 older people.

Older people can often benefit from many self-led sleep management techniques. Staying healthy and eating well is an important part of managing your health as you age and may improve sleep disorders. If you are experiencing changes in your sleep as you age and it is impacting your daytime well-being, you should speak with your healthcare professional or doctor.¹

Snoring

Snoring is a very common sleep disorder and generally does not cause any harm. It is interesting that snoring may be caused by various factors, such as breathing issues, allergies, being overweight, drinking alcohol and smoking.

Snoring does not usually cause interrupted sleep and most people do not know that they snore until they are told about it by a household member. If your snoring is causing you problems or problems in your household, you should speak with a healthcare professional.

The treatment for snoring mostly aims to help the underlying cause of snoring. Treatments for snoring, therefore, focus on opening your airways, which can include special mouthguards, nose strips, side sleeping, or treating allergies to unblock your nose.

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Greencare is an independent telehealth clinic who are not affiliated with Levin Health.

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Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that is important to manage with the assistance of a healthcare professional. Sleep apnoea occurs when you repeatedly stop and start breathing during your sleep. It can lead to broken sleep.

Symptoms of sleep apnoea include daytime tiredness, waking up gasping, and loud snoring. Some conditions associated with sleep apnea include obesity, hypertension, and alcohol consumption.

Sleep apnoea is generally managed by a team of healthcare professionals and may involve the use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to keep the airways open, and surgery may be needed in some cases.

If you think that you may be experiencing sleep apnea, it is important that you contact your healthcare professional or doctor for advice.

What are some of the warning signs of sleep deprivation?

Sleep deprivation can occur because of inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. Sleep deprivation can have significant consequences on how we function, causing sleepiness, fatigue, and overtiredness.

Sleep loss can have an impact on:

Attention span
Reaction time
Decision-making skills
Memory
Concentration
Loss of motivation
Errors
Microsleep

If you experience sleep deprived stages, it may decrease your judgement and increase your risk of making mistakes or even experiencing accidents, like a fall.

In extreme circumstances, sleep deprivation could even lead to sleep deprivation psychosis. Sleep deprivation psychosis refers to when someone senses things that feel real but are not.

If you feel like you are experiencing sleep deprivation, it is very important that you seek the advice of a healthcare professional so that they can assess and help you manage your condition.

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Greencare is an independent telehealth clinic who are not affiliated with Levin Health.

Insomnia

Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder in Australia. The term insomnia describes being unable to fall asleep or stay asleep.

It is important to acknowledge sleep psychology and the impact that events in our life can have on our sleep, such as causing insomnia and other sleep disorders. Insomnia may be a symptom of stress at work or in your personal life, depression, anxiety and worrying, including worrying about your restless sleep.

If you think that you may be experiencing anxiety or depression resulting in insomnia, make sure you speak with a healthcare professional.

What are the types of insomnia?

Insomnia can be broken into several categories. Types of insomnia include:

Primary insomnia (when there is no specific underlying cause)
Secondary insomnia (when insomnia is linked to an underlying cause such as a health condition, anxiety, or sleep disorder)

Any type of insomnia may be described as chronic insomnia when symptoms, like broken sleep, occur for at least three months. Luckily, there are specialists and clinics which can help.

How do I know if I have insomnia?

Some symptoms of insomnia may include:

Waking up during the night (interrupted sleep)
Difficulty falling asleep
Ongoing worries about sleeping
Increased errors or accidents when you’re awake
Waking up too early
Attention difficulties
Daytime tiredness and drowsiness
General irritability
Not feeling rested in the morning
Problems with focus
Trouble getting back to sleep in the night
Relying on sleeping pills or other insomnia medication

How can insomnia be diagnosed?

Insomnia is diagnosed by a doctor. Your doctor will try to understand your types of insomnia, any possible causes for your restless sleep, and the nature of your insomnia. Generally, insomnia is defined by having one or more symptoms of insomnia.

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What are the main causes of insomnia?

Insomnia is common and may have several causes, or even no clear cause. Something which may cause insomnia in a friend or relative may be different to what is causing insomnia for you. Some common causes include:

Certain medications

Another sleep disorder, such as sleep apnoea

Depression and anxiety

Smoking

Alcohol

Poor sleep habits

When to seek help for insomnia

If you are experiencing ongoing trouble sleeping or interrupted sleep, problems with your mood, daytime drowsiness or poor daytime focus, you should speak with your healthcare professional or doctor. Your doctor may refer you to a sleep specialist or psychologist to help manage your sleep disorder.

While insomnia and other sleep disorders are generally mild and can be managed easily at home or by your healthcare professional, poor quality sleep can have a significant impact on your quality of life.

Treatments for insomnia

The aim of treatment for insomnia and other sleep issues is to help improve sleep quality, help you get to sleep, and/or help you stay asleep.

Sleep is complicated, and it’s very important that you seek support from your healthcare professional, doctor or sleep disorder and insomnia specialists for assessment and management.

How can I prevent insomnia without medicine?

Non-drug treatments for insomnia can be a very helpful way to prevent insomnia because they often involve practising good sleep habits that can help to manage or alleviate insomnia. These non-drug approaches are usually the first thing to be trialled for insomnia management and may be combined with insomnia medication if it is deemed necessary by a healthcare professional.

This approach is sometimes called ‘sleep hygiene’ and includes techniques such as:

Keeping a consistent bedtime
Waking up at the same time every morning. Exposure to sunlight will help to maintain your body clock.
Staying active with regular physical exercise
Avoiding naps during the day
Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine, particularly in the afternoon and evening. Remember that caffeine is not just in coffee and tea, but also found in some soft drinks. Alcohol, while it might make you drowsy, it often impacts sleep quality and makes it more difficult to stay asleep.
Reducing your meal portions before bed. The evening meal should be at least 2 hours before bedtime.
Using your bed only for sleep and not for other activities like eating or using a computer, as well as limiting it to nighttime use only.

You may try one or more sleep hygiene habits to manage your insomnia. Ensuring that your bed is comfortable, there are no distractions in the bedroom, and you keep a consistent routine often helps with insomnia.

Can herbal medicines help with insomnia?

Some people use herbal remedies to treat sleep disorders. They may choose this instead of more traditional medicine treatments for insomnia like sleeping pills.

Herbal remedies trialled for sleep disorders include valerian, kava, hops, chamomile, passionflower and St John’s wort. Clinical trials are needed to better understand their efficacy and the role that these herbal remedies may play as treatments for insomnia and other sleep disorders.

While herbal medicines are freely available from pharmacies and can help many people, it’s important to speak to a healthcare professional while using them. This is because some herbal remedies are medicines too and have their own benefits and risks to consider. Speak to your healthcare professional or doctor before starting a new herbal remedy for insomnia.

Prescription medicines for insomnia

Some prescription treatments for insomnia may make it easier to get to sleep and are often called “sleeping pills”. Sleeping pills are normally only used for a short period of time. In general, there is insufficient clinical evidence to support the use of prescription treatments for insomnia beyond short-term use (two to three weeks).

There are many different types of prescription medicines for insomnia in Australia. Some medicines help you get to sleep, while others help you stay asleep. Many medicines for sleep can cause sleepiness and so should not be taken before driving or operating machinery.

It is not recommended to take alcohol or other medications that may cause drowsiness while taking insomnia medication in Australia.

What are the potential side effects of insomnia medications?

Insomnia medication is generally only recommended for short-term use. Some treatments for insomnia may have mild side effects, like nausea and dry mouth. Other potential side effects of insomnia medication include excessive sedation (fatigue and sleepiness the next morning, sometimes referred to as a ‘hangover effect’), abnormal dreams, and even sleepwalking.

Speak to your doctor or pharmacist to understand the potential side effects of any insomnia medication.

Can plant-based medicine be used as a treatment for insomnia?

There is very limited evidence about the effectiveness of plant-based medicine for use in sleep disorders and it is currently not known if plant-based medicine is an effective treatment for insomnia. Further studies are required to better understand the role that plant-based medicine products may play as treatments for insomnia.

As plant-based medicine may have the potential to treat a range of symptoms linked to different health conditions, it’s important to gather as much clinical data as possible to quantify the potential benefits, safety profiles, and limitations.

To ensure safe and effective use, it is crucial to seek guidance from healthcare professionals and adhere to their recommendations on dosing and administration methods.

We spoke to Dr James Stewart, one of Australia’s leading minds in plant-based medicine who provided a medical view about insomnia and traditional treatments.

Dr Stewart is a true believer in focusing on overall health and always promotes a healthy lifestyle as the key. Click below to learn more about insomnia, and traditional and alternative treatments you may wish to discuss with a doctor.

Book today if you wish to consult a healthcare professional who can help you on your journey to a restful night’s sleep.

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Book Telehealth

If you are struggling with sleep disorders, it’s important you speak with a healthcare professional for advice. Greencare is a telehealth clinic offering consultations with doctors and nurse practitioners who specialise in the management of sleep disorders. If you want to talk about your condition and alternative treatment options that may be available for you, you can click below to book an appointment with a healthcare professional.

Greencare is an independent telehealth clinic who are not affiliated with Levin Health.

Levin Health provides links to independent clinics that provide telehealth services for patients around Australia. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health professionals with any questions regarding your health, medical condition, or whether a particular treatment is right for you.

Other types of Chronic Pain

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Click below to learn more about each condition, traditional treatments, and alternative options you may wish to consider.

Sports Injuries

The pain can make it hard to be a regular mum and play with my sons.
Lauren Jackson – Basketball Hall of Fame Player

Back Pain

About 10 or so years ago, I fell off a bike riding with my son and hurt my back.
Damien Hardwick – 3x AFL Premiership Coach

Nerve Pain

After a long career riding horses professionally, I suffer from nerve pain in my arm.
Damien Oliver - Champion Jockey

Headaches

I have migraines every day and they’re so intense that I find it very hard to help look after my grandchildren.
Real person's testimonial. Illustrative picture.

Arthritis

I’ve got problems associated with wear and tear in the joints in my feet and my lower back.
Alastair Clarkson - 4x AFL Premiership Coach

Osteoarthritis

The pain in my joints made it tough to keep doing what I love.
Jenn Morris – Hockey Gold Medallist

Post-surgical pain

Playing professional rugby league for 15 years resulted in my body suffering a lot of trauma.
Andrew Johns – NRL Immortal

References:

Health Direct. Insomnia. Available at https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/insomnia
Health Direct. Sleep disorders. Available at https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/sleep-disorders
Sleep Health Foundation. Fact Sheets. Available at https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/fact-sheets.html