Sleep Disorders The number one career group that suffers from sleep disorders is nurses. This is based on careers overall, and which group in general has sleep problems, and it's not surprising at all that it is in the nursing field. Nurses and Sleep Disorders Reasons Why Shift work is the number one reason nurses suffer from sleep disorders. For anyone that works in different shifts, it is extremely difficult to get your sleep cycle straight. Your body gets confused when to sleep, and when not to sleep. Nurses that work different shifts say that they often have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and staying awake. -
Patient Care is another reason nurses have problems sleeping. Nurses have good hearts and care for others, that’s why they are in the nursing profession. So, when their shift ends, and they leave for the day, their patients do not just exit their minds at the hospital doors. Many nurses report thinking about their patients at night, and unable to sleep because of it. Many say they go through a scenario of maybe they should have done something different that day, or maybe they should have devoted more time to a particular patient. And of course, there is the concern of the patients well being, will they be ok tomorrow, will they even be there tomorrow?
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Job Demands are a very big stress producer. Nurses have a difficult job in taking care of human lives, and administering medications that require careful techniques to do so. In addition to that, they have patients that call them to their rooms, patient families that call them on the phone, insurance companies of patients that call, and don’t forget doctor calls and doctor rounds. Any and all questions about a patient are directed to the nurse, and of course each nurse has multiple patients. That’s a lot to remember, and to keep straight, then comes the end of the day, it's virtually impossible to say, “ok, its’ over”. The stress of the day, often spills over into sleep. It’s too bad there is not a tiny light switch on our brain that we could switch off at the end of the day, but of course there is not.
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Many nurses report waking up during sleep, in a panic state. In most cases this is in reference to something that happened at work that day. One way to compare what many nurses see and are exposed to in a day, is like someone getting a healthy dose of PTSD on a daily basis. Nurses do not have time to let one shift go before another is waiting for them. Of course, nurses are not the only ones with sleep disorders. There are more known cases of sleep disorders now than ever before. The most common sleep disorder by far is sleep apnea. With sleep apnea, the patient will actually stop breathing, usually for a few seconds at a time. This essentially deprives the brain of needed oxygen. Signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include-
Extreme tiredness during the day
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Falling asleep during what should be waking hours
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Waking up abruptly during sleep
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Snoring, either noticed by you or a partner.
Sleep apnea is dangerous. Many people joke and complain about snoring, but the fact is, if someone is snoring loudly on a regular basis, they may have a serious condition. Not only can sleep apnea cause brain fog from lack of oxygen, it could cause a person to fall asleep while driving or operating a motorized vehicle of any kind. If a person is tired enough the possibility exists that someone could stop breathing all together and passes away in their sleep. Related:
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Narcolepsy This condition is somewhat a mystery because it's difficult to determine risk factors. A person suffering from this, can fall asleep, sound asleep at random times. It's dangerous to drive, operate equipment, or even care for small children. There are medications to help with this condition, a health care provider can determine the need. Any sleep disorder is an inconvenience, a bother, and most of all dangerous. The body needs sleep in order to function normally, and if its lacking sleep, confusion, carelessness, and over all lethargy can take place, making it very difficult to work and function doing daily tasks. If you suspect you have a sleep disorder, seek help. A counselor can help with the stress of the day, and offer techniques in managing stressful
situations. A general practitioner can order tests to determine physical issues such as sleep apnea. A c-pap machine can control the condition of sleep apnea at least 90%. Don’t take a chance on a possible sleep disorder ending your career or even worse. Monitor sleep habits and sleep, sleep, sleep. Related:
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