What is Sleeping Dept?

Sleep Dept can develop when a person does not get the amount of healthful sleep needed for its well-being. This may be caused by either voluntary sleep deprivation resulting from a person's lifestyle or by involuntary sleep deprivation on account of an illness. Because of the fast moving time at present, people seems to forget the importance of sleep on their daily routine. However, this negligence can cause damaging result in their possessions, careers, family and their very own health. This deficit could contribute to immune suppression, creating susceptibility to some infections. Sleep deprivation has been linked into various illnesses as well, such as heart disease, diabetes and extreme obesity. Medical researchers estimate that earth's population is now getting, on average, an hour less sleep per night than what is required.
Insomnia, as some would determine as the chronic inability to sleep. However, a commission created by the U.S. Congress recognized 17 distinct sleep disorders. Just as fever warns for some sort of infection, insomnia might also be a symptom of much serious ailments.
Dangers of the occasional sleep deprivation can be disastrous as the occupational danger that lies when you're with a sleepy co-worker. According to an Australian researcher Ann Williamson: “After 17 to 19 hours without sleep, (participants') performance on some tests was equivalent or worse than that at (a blood-alcohol concentration of) 0.05%.”

There have been several factors that may contribute to sleep debt such as:
• Social Phenomenon often called 24/7. This is operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. According to USA Today, “(24/7) is a cultural earthquake that is changing the way we live”. It added, “A new wave of round-the-clock retailers and services is profiting by mocking the clock”. In present; pharmacies, bars, malls etc had been offering their services for 24 hours a day. In this account, workers of the following businesses are obliged to work at their given shifts. Workers that are on the grave yard shift might be more prone on having a sleeping disorder. Many workers agree on working on this (grave yard) shift since the payment is higher than usual.
• Television. As for the moment, television isn't just giving us entertainment in the morning till midnight; moreover, they are online the whole day and night.
• Internet. Surfing the net is the most accessible thing that you can do whenever you have insomnia. You usually got lost of the time when you're in front of the computer's monitor, right?
• Emotional disorders. These may involve anxiety heightened by stress and the pace of life. Being bothered by our problems always, prevents us from getting a goodnight zzzz….
• Physical disease. As what I had mention earlier; diabetes, obesity and heart disease can cause a sleeping dept.
At some point, doctors find it hard to convince their patients to take sleep dept seriously. As one doctor has complained, having a chronic fatigue is now considered as a status symbol. Some victims of sleep deprivation may not know that they suffer from sleep disorder since this worsens gradually. Some might give out comments such as “I'm just getting old” or “I can't cope with life, so I tend to shut down” or “I'm tired all the time because I can never get the long rest I need”.
Fighting for this illness requires a lot of effort. However by understanding how a healthful sleep cycle works and learning to identify the signs of sleep can provide the motivation to change. And by recognizing the symptoms of a serious sleep disorder can save countless of lives.
How will you know if you already have sleep deprivation? And, what are the risks of having it? The chronic insomnia that lasts more than a month is often related to more serious problem such as depression. Chronic insomnia is at times a symptom of a more serious illness. These are the kinds of sleep dept:
1. Sleep Apnea. Apnea means no breath. An episode of apnea may last from 10 seconds to 2 or 3 minutes. Usually, the victim thrashes around gasping for air and then falls asleep again, but apnea repeats hundred times per night. An apnea patient could also end in virtually the same condition as someone who stayed up all night, every night! There are three types of apnea or no breath:
• Central Apnea. This type of apnea occurs when the brain's respiratory control center doesn't give the command to breath regularly.
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea. This type of apnea characterizes when the upper airway at the back of the throat actually closes, blocking movement.
• Mixed Apnea. This is a type of apnea that is a combination of the two and is the most common diagnosis.
Usually, people with apnea tend to blank out while on the job or worst, at the wheel of their automobile. They are more prone to high blood pressure, an enlarged heart, and an increased risk of stroke or heart failure. According to study made by Dr. William Dement of Stanford University, estimates that 38,000 American die each year from the cardiovascular consequences of sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea isn't just isolated from adults, it can also occur at any age. Though, there are several treatments that are available for this ailment, it is still best to consult to a medical sleep specialist. The use of a device to create a continuous positive air way pressure (a mask worn over the nose at night, with a pressure regulator) that have been under the prescription of the doctor delivers just the amount of air needed to prevent apnea. However, if this device doesn't seem to work, there are several surgical procedures that include the use of laser or a radio-frequency waves that remove excess tissue from the throat.
2. Narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a neurological condition that causes excessive daytime sleepiness and this require medical attention. Narcolepsy is as complicated as its victim can develop other problem as well.
• Cataplexy is a condition that causes victim's knees to become weak and tend to collapse in time that he is excited.
• Sleep Paralysis is an occasional hallucination just before going to sleep.
This ailment usually starts at the age of 10 to 30. Patients under this illness sometimes develop what is called automatic behavior, wherein they appear to behave normally but do not remember the passing of extended periods of time. The down point of this is that it often goes undiagnosed for years, while the victim is thought to be lazy, mentally slow or strange. Though, Narcolepsy is an incurable, its symptoms can be treated with medication and adjustments in life style with varying degrees of success.
3. Periodic limb movement disorder is the jerking and twitching of legs or at times the arms while sleeping. This disorder appears in combination with “restless leg syndrome”, these directly affect the limbs, resulting in chronic insomnia. Test has done with patients suffering from this case proved the episodes of periodic leg movements awakened them some 350 times each night.
4. Restless leg syndrome is when the sensation deep within the leg muscles and knees cause a powerful urge to move, thus preventing the sufferer from falling asleep. This is caused by lack of exercise, poor circulation, and caffeine intake or alcohol consumption.
5. Bruxism is a disorder characterized by grinding or clenching the teeth during sleep. This can cause abnormal wearing of the teeth and an extreme jaw discomfort that results into serious insomnia. Treatments may vary from oral surgery to the use of a mouth guard at night.
These may just be some of the ailments concerning your sleeping habits. If you feel like the sleeping disorder that you are experiencing seems to affect your daily life, then maybe it's time for you to seek medical help. I hope that by tackling these, all of us can see how sleep can affect our lives. So, we should give adequate value and attention to this. Have a good night and pleasant sleep!

What is Albinism?

Albinism is a genetic disorder in which one’s eyes, skin, or hair (in some cases one’s eyes alone) have little or no pigmentation. Questions such as; how widespread is albinism? How does it affect an individual’s daily life? What can help those with albinism to live with their conditions? Are what we are going tackle in this article.

Albinism isn’t just seen among dark-skinned people, it can also be found among all races, nations and people. It is estimated that the case of albinism is as vast as it affects 1 out of every 20,000 persons. The defective genes for albinism can be passed on for generations without any of its telltale signs being manifest. Some seems to features the word albinism to 17^th century Portuguese explorers. As they sailed along the West African coast, they sighted both black-skinned and white-skinned people. Assuming these represented two different races, they called the black Negroes and the white albinos (Portuguese for black and white in that order).

People nowadays don’t seem to care about the case of albinism. Though for most light-skinned people, mild exposure to the sun results in a tan since a pigment called melanin is produces to protect the skin. Albinism patients doesn’t have melanin to protect their skin, hair or eyes, so, without pigment an albino’s skin is easily sunburned or worst (if they don’t sufficiently protect their skin) they’ll develop skin cancer.

There are several types of albinism and these are some:

· Oculocutaneous albinism. The pigment melanin is missing from the skin, the hair, and the eyes. There are about variants of this type.

· Ocular albinism. Its effects are limited to the eyes. The skin and the hair usually appear normal.

· Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS). Those with HPS have some tendency to bruise or bleed easily.

Protecting your skin, hair and eyes against the sun is the most important thing that albinism patients must take into consideration. Wearing suitable clothing, using sunscreen lotion (a lotion with a sun protection factor of at least 15 is best, and it should be copiously applied 30 minutes before sun exposure and every two hours thereafter), wearing caps (albino’s iris is nearly translucent, which allows stray light to pass through it and cause irritation), a visor, UV-protective sunglasses and tinted contact lens.

Some thought that albinos have reddish eyes, but this is a misconception. Most of the albinos have irises that are tinted with dull gray, brown or blue. So, then, why do their eyes looks reddish? According to About Albinism: “Under certain lighting conditions, there is a reddish or violet hue reflected through the iris, which has very little pigments. And this reddish reflection in the eyes that sometimes appears in photographs taken with a flash.” Abnormalities of the eye are common among albinos. One of the conditions is the alteration of the nerves connecting the retina to the brain. The result may be that the eyes do not synchronize properly, causing reduced depth perception. And this condition is called strabismus, the treatment for this case include the use of eyeglasses or corrective surgery.

Nystagmus is an involuntary jittery movement of the eyes that can result from albinism. This may lead to impaired vision, though they do not correct the underlying condition. Though, some have learned to reduce the nystagmus while reading by placing a finger by the eye or by tilting their head.

For children with ocular albinism, going to school can be challenging. So, it is wise for parents to take the initiatives in consulting your child’s teacher or school authorities in advance telling them about your child’s condition.

Social discrimination can also be a challenge for albinism patients, especially in children. In some parts of West Africa, some children with albinism are jeered or mocked with racist expression. In some Yoruba-speaking areas, they are called “Afin,” which means “horrible”. Though adult is less commented by this than children, it can still affect their growth, confidence and self-worth as a person.

In present time, people are more aware of the needs and conditions of albinism. Science never stopped in developing treatments and assistance for albinism. Self-help groups offer a forum for exchanging experiences and improving understanding of the condition. For normal people, we should always think of a way to help these kinds of people. And one way of doing that is making an effort to make friends with them. We are all humans; we are fair in God’s eyes. So, we must show favor in this kind of people.