Probably the most common sleep issue is insomnia. And I’d say at least half of the population experiences that at some point more common in older age, but it can affect any age of patients. And another common one is obstructive sleep apnea. average person only gets six to seven hours of sleep per night. And what’s recommended is seven to eight. When you have poor sleep or essentially a sleep deprived state, it’s either not enough sleep or the sleep quality is not as good as it should be, even if you’re getting that seven to eight hours of sleep. If you have either of those, you’re going to present with signs of sleep deprivation or of impairment in some way. And so that can be poor cognition difficulty thinking, difficulty even with executive function. It can affect your mood. good sleep hygiene and the framework is going to bed, trying to go to bed at a certain the same time every night. But if you’re waking up at the same time, then that kind of sets things in a regular pattern to where your body is used to, you know, a certain circadian rhythm. And so for most people, in terms of the actual sleep amount, seven to eight hours, with some rare exceptions, there was a saying when I was learning about sleep that they say scholars get seven, bankers get eight and gluttons get nine or more people are used to getting a certain amount of sleep or being refreshed to a certain amount from their sleep, and then they notice things start to kind of go downhill where the sleep isn’t as refreshing or the sleep is good, but they’re just not able to get as much sleep could be from a medical illness that’s developing like thyroid condition, a new medication, they’re on a change in work schedule. So, it can be for a variety of different reasons, but when that’s the case, when the patient perceives a problem, they can always start by asking their primary care provider to guide them through the initial part of that. And then if they deem necessary, get a referral to a sleep specialist.
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Friday, June 27, 2025