Human beings spend a third of their life sleeping, ie between 25 and 29 years in total, and sleep disorders – insomnia, nightmares, apnea – can greatly deteriorate the quality of life. Dakar of December 1, 2022 takes stock.
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Discomfort, anxiety, respiratory or neurological problems, sleep is unfortunately not a long calm river for many people.
Starting with sleep apnea, which affects 30% of people over 60, but can also be present from childhood or be developed earlier in the event of risk factors, mainly overweight and obesity.
Sleep apnea is caused by the relaxation of the muscles of the walls of the pharynx. It becomes soft and the air passes with difficulty, causing vibrations that create snoring. If the walls collapse completely, the passage of air is blocked and it is apnea. An alert system is then triggered in the brain, causing micro-awakenings, devastating for the quality of life.
This disease, especially when it is severe, i.e. more than 30 breathing pauses per hour, can be the cause of cardiovascular problems, strokes and even road accidents, because it causes drowsiness during the day. .
If it is often detected by those around you because of the snoring it causes, certain signs should alert: drowsiness during the day, mood disorders, nocturnal awakenings to urinate. Because sleep apnea is now well taken care of either by breathing equipment at night, when it is related to age or overweight, or by wearing an orthosis, a kind of dental appliance, when it is the patient’s morphology that is in question.
Another major sleep pathology, insomnia, which can be of psychological origin, especially when falling asleep: “When we become aware of this moment of falling asleep, where we let go and where the body lets go a little bit, it can create panic in people for many and varied reasons, such as trauma, explains Audrey Boissery, clinical psychologist. If it’s only from time to time, it’s not necessarily serious, but if it’s recurrent and it worries you, you have to consult.
In France, the average duration of sleep in adults is 7h30, but this varies according to each person. Heat, noise, consumption of stimulants such as coffee are among the well-known factors that affect good quality sleep.
As well as the screens, far too present in our beds, according to the specialists. “The body no longer understands that it is night, notes Doctor Olivier Simon, neurologist. It constantly receives light, first thing. Second thing, it’s very stimulating, in general we watch things that interest us, when we need calm, to be relaxed, there we are going to see thrilling things, we are going to see documentaries, films, series of shows, lots of things, it will keep us going.
Transient fatigue, nightmares when they are exceptional should not worry. A sign allows you to know if your sleep is of good quality: you then wake up naturally, often before the alarm clock rings.