Have you by any chance come across individuals who seem to be battling Circadian Rhythm? Maybe you are experiencing this disorder at the moment? Circadian Rhythm sleep disorders entail either difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the sleep cycle, or waking up too early and finding it difficult to fall back asleep.
Luckily, there are different treatment options you can leverage to help solve Circadian Rhythm disorders. Some of the most popular options worth your attention include medications, light therapy, and behavioral therapy. The choice of treatment you use entirely depends on disorder type and how much it affects your quality of life.
These group of sleep disorders all share the common feature of disruption in the timing of sleep. Circadian Rhythm is merely the name given to your body’s 24-hour internal clock responsible for controlling your body’s sleep-wake cycle. Bear in mind your age also has the potential to influence your sensitivity to the sleep-wake cycle.
For those who are still in the dark, Circadian Rhythm sleep disorders entail one of different issues. This could be having a difficult time falling asleep, or you’re struggling to stay asleep and often wake up several times during the sleep cycle. The same goes when you constantly find yourself waking up too early and can’t go back to sleep.
As mentioned earlier, there are different types of Circadian Rhythm sleep disorders you should know about. The common types include: Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder, Shift Work Disorder, and Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder to mention a few. Ensure you do your homework on each type of Circadian Rhythm sleep disorder to better understand what it entails.
We can never conclude without looking into what causes Circadian Rhythm sleep disorders. Well, they are caused by continuous or occasional disruption of sleep pattern. This disruption emanates from either a malfunction in your ‘internal body clock.’ The same goes when there is a malfunction in your ‘internal body clock’ and the external environment, affecting the timing and duration of sleep.
The diagnosis of Circadian Rhythm can be challenging and most of the time requires a consultation with a sleep specialist. Your sleep specialist will first collect information regarding your sleep and work schedule history and ask you to maintain a sleep diary for one or two weeks. Be sure to follow their instructions to the letter for things to work your way.