Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder

This may sound very strange to many of us that have never experienced a sleepwalking occurrence or even been around a person that sleepwalks, but some individuals actually get up in the middle of the night, while asleep, go into the kitchen, and fix something to eat without even knowing they are doing so. This is known as Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder or NS-RED.

A person with Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder can get out of bed, walk into the kitchen fix a sandwich complete with all the fixings, pour a glass of milk, sit at the table, enjoy every last drop of the sandwich, go back to bed, and wake up in the morning not knowing they were up the night before.

Another sleep related eating disorder is known as night eating syndrome. With this condition, a person is fully awake and realizes they are eating during the night, but they are unable to fall back to sleep unless they eat.

Both disorders have similarities with the only real difference being that a person with night eating syndrome is fully awake and knows they are eating while a person with Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder is asleep and does not recall eating.

Symptoms of both Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder and Night Eating Syndrome include:

No appetite in the morning
Little appetite for breakfast
Eating more food after dinner than at the dinner table, this includes eating about half of the normal intake of food after dinnertime.
Having this eating pattern for at least two months

Individuals with either of these sleeping disorders can become overweight and develop Type II diabetes. The disorders are more often seen in women. About 1 to 3% of the entire population has this condition. A few people with sleep related eating disorders have a history of alcoholism, drug addiction, and other sleep disorders. Many times, dieters are prone to sleep related eating disorders due to the fact that they are hungry when they go to sleep.

If you believe you have a sleep related eating disorder, you should talk with your doctor. If you are on diet, learn what foods to eat that will fulfill your hunger pains so you are not hungry throughout the night, and begin a bedtime routine.

A bedtime routine can help some individuals especially if the eating is done during sleepwalking. In order to begin your bedtime routine, you should first invest in a few sleeping aids such as a white noise machine or tabletop waterfall fountain. Both of these will aid you in falling asleep and sleeping throughout the night. Remember, your bedroom should be dark and cool without any distractions such as a television.

Help For Sleep Deprivation

Many individuals have trouble sleeping every once in awhile; however, sleep disorders are very serious and can lead to various health problems. If you are having trouble falling to sleep or are awaken throughout the night, it may be something as simple as you are not relaxing prior to going to bed or something outside your home could be waking you up in the middle of the night. If this could be the problem then you can combat the sleeping problem by investing in a tabletop waterfall fountain to help you fall asleep or purchase a white noise machine that will absorb sounds that might be waking you up.

On the other hand, sleep disorders such as nightmares, sleepwalking, or restless leg syndrome may not be as easy to fix. Talking to your physician about your symptoms can help you decide if you need more than relation tips. Stress is the number one reason many people do not sleep at night and can cause you to have trouble falling asleep or even causing nightmares that will awaken you.

No matter what the reason you are having trouble sleeping, creating a sleep environment can really help even if you need medical help as well. A sleep environment is one that offers a cool and dark atmosphere without any type of distraction. Yes, this means you must move the television, computer, or other distractions out of your bedroom. However, you can replace these items with such decorative and sleep aids as a tabletop waterfall fountain. Listening and watching the waterfall will help you drift off to sleep while relaxing you at the same time.

Another item that aids in helping individuals receive proper sleep is the Aromabreeze – Tabletop Spa Therapy. The Aromabreeze uses ultrasonic pulsations that create a soothing, healthy mist that utilizes light and aromatherapy at the same time.

For those having problems receiving adequate sleep these items often provide them with the proper relaxation tools in order to sleep the night away in peace.

Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders are defined by anything related to sleeping such as problems falling to sleep, falling to sleep at inopportune times, sleeping too much, or even strange behavior while sleeping.

There are over 100 different types of sleep disorders that are placed into four main topics, which include difficulty falling to sleep & staying asleep, difficulty staying awake, difficulty with sticking to a sleep routine, and disrupted sleep patterns.

Insomnia is the number one problem associated with difficulties falling to sleep. Some of things that can cause insomnia include a person's health, depression, stress, poor sleeping environment, caffeine, alcohol, drugs, smoking, pain, and naps during the day.

Hypersomnias are the number one problem associated with difficulties staying awake, which include such illnesses as central sleep apnea, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and narcolepsy. Symptoms and causes are varied but stress and poor sleeping environments are at the top of the list.

Problems associated with the difficulty with sticking to a sleep routine can be caused by such things as shift work sleep disorder and irregular sleep wake syndrome. A proper sleep environment is the number one thing that needs to be accomplished to help with this sleep disorder.

Sleep Terror disorder and Sleep Walking are the number one problems associated with disrupted sleep patterns. Symptoms can include problems falling asleep, daytime drowsiness, tired during the day, depression, and irritability.

In some cases, these sleep disorders may need medications from your physician; however, creating a calm and relaxing sleep environment may do wonders.

Your sleep environment Check List

1. Your bedroom should be cool, dark, and quiet.
2. Watch your caffeine and food intake prior to going to bed.
3. Take all distractions out of your bedroom such as televisions, computers, and other things that may keep you awake.
4. Exercise should be done earlier in the day and not just before bedtime.
5. Get rid of stress! Add a table top water fountain to you bedroom. This will set the mood for a quiet and relaxing evening and help you drift off to sleep.
6. Go to bed at the same time every night.
7. Invest in a white noise machines. You may not even realize how many times your sleep is being disrupted by noises such as the hot water heater, the air conditioner, a neighbor coming home late in the evening, and so on and so forth. A white noise will absorb all those sounds and let you get a good night's sleep.

Stress and Sleep Deprivation

Stress is a major cause of sleep deprivation in America! The Better Sleep Council recently conducted a survey to learn what keeps Americans up at night and at the top of the list at 65 percent was stress with 32 percent of all Americans losing at least one night of sleep per week and 16 percent complained of stress induced insomnia.

Stress comes in all shapes and sizes, however, from this study 26 percent of women reported having problems sleeping once per week while only 16 percent of men complained of the same problem.

What causes stress in one person may not be stress to another. Stress can be job related, school related, family related or even traffic related. Many people go to bed at night and either go over the day or go over what they plan to do tomorrow before drifting off to sleep. All of these little things can be stress. Do you have a deadline to meet that is looming over your mind? Do you worry about the traffic causing you to be late to work? Do you have to have three children at three different locations tomorrow afternoon for ball practice, dance class, or other activity? Do you worry about paying all your bills on time? All of these if they are on your mind can keep you awake at night.

How to help relieve stress before retiring

• First and foremost – create a schedule for going to bed and waking up. Stay on this schedule every day of the week – do not treat yourself on weekends and stay up to watch the late show if that is not in your regular schedule. Your body needs to be on a routine.
• Create a bedtime routine – soak in a warm bath, read, or listen to a tabletop water fountain such as the Alpine Calming Bamboo Fountain
• Create a bedroom for sleeping – the bedroom should be dark, quiet, comfortable, and cool. Invest in a white noise machine and aromatherapy products. A white noise machine will ensure that all noises that might be waking you up at night are absorbed and you will be able to sleep all night long without any interruptions. A few of the most popular white noise machines include the White Noise Machine-SleepMate 980A, the Marpac Marsona DS-600A, and the European 240 Volt SleepMate 980 Sound Screen. If the bedroom is not quite dark enough, you can also invest in a sleep mask such as the Dreamer Sleep Mask by Dream Essentials.
• Only use the bedroom for sleeping or for sex – Take the television out of the bedroom, the computer, and any other work type materials.
• Eat at least two to three hours before your scheduled bedtime.
• Remember to exercise. You should begin a moderate exercise programs a few hours before retiring every night.
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. These items can cause you to have restless sleep patterns.

Helping your Teen Receive Adequate Sleep

We all know just how stubborn teenagers can be and of course they wish to stay up late and most would sleep the day away if they could. However, the American Sleep Disorders Association states that teenagers need on average 9 ½ hours of sleep every night. The reason this is true is that hormones, which are critical to your teen’s growth and sexual maturation, are released during the time they are sleeping. Throughout America studies have shown that teenagers on average are only getting a little less than 7 ½ hours sleep per night.

In a study by Stanford University showed that teenagers need 1 to 2 hours more sleep than children in the 9 to 10 year age bracket that only need around 8 hours sleep.

Sleep deprivation is a growing problem among teenagers and because of this; the National Sleep Foundation has released warning signs for parents of teenagers. These warning signs include:
• Problems waking in the morning
• Grouchy or irritable in the afternoon
• Falling asleep during the day
• Sleeping too much on the weekend
• Having problems remembering or concentrating
• Waking up often throughout the night and having trouble going back to sleep

When teenagers do not receive enough sleep, you may notice extreme mood changes, poor performance in school, and depression. Not only this, but teenagers can and do fall asleep behind the wheel.

What can you do as parents of a teenager to ensure they receive enough sleep?
Here are a few suggestions to get your teen the sleep they need:

• Set a reasonable bedtime and wake time: stick to the same schedule throughout the week during school.
• Create a bedtime routine a hot bath, reading, or some type of quiet activity about an hour before bedtime.
• Do not allow caffeine drinks in the late afternoon and evening.
• Exercise at least two hours before bedtime

Of course, these tips will not work with every teenager. Teenagers have quite a bit on their plates – school, homework, extra-curricular activities, their social life, and many have part time jobs. All of this can contribute to problems going to sleep at night. None of the above will help if your teenager’s mind is going a mile a minute when their head hits the pillow.

One of the best ways to help your teenager sleep at night is to set a bedtime and then ensure they have a calming atmosphere. Teach your teen relaxation techniques and invest in soothing water fountains or a white noise machine. Once your teen can shut off his thoughts by focusing on a waterfall tabletop fountain the faster he or she will drift off to sleep. Along with the fountain, a white noise machine will absorb all other distractions that might be waking them up during the night such as traffic, younger siblings, or parents talking in another room.

Give your teen the advantage by giving them tools they need to sleep in a quiet and calm atmosphere. They will thank you even if not today.