More and more suffer from sleep disorders

More and more people in Bremen and Bremerhaven suffer from sleep disorders.

(05.08.2010) A restful sleep is important for well-being and health. But more and more people are sleeping badly in Bremen and Bremerhaven. According to the Bremen Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, the number of visits to the doctor's office due to sleep disorders has increased by 11 percent in the last three years.

More and more people from Bremen sleep badly, according to an evaluation of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Bremen (KVHB). In the last year of 2009, around 23,000 people in Bremen visited a family doctor or specialist to have acute sleep disorders treated. Compared to 2006, this is about 11 percent more patients who went to a doctor due to stroke disorders. In 2009, about 3,400 people had to be treated for sleep apnea with nocturnal respiratory failure. This is also an increase of 26 percent compared to 2006. The reason for the increase is likely to be rising workloads and stress. Also pain illnesses could be responsible for increase of sleep problems.

According to the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians the number of unreported cases is much higher than indicated in the statistics. Thomas Liebsch of the KVHB said: "We have to assume that the number of unreported cases is much higher". Many patients try to get the problem under control themselves and are not looking for a doctor. „They resort to sleeping pills, which harms them rather than uses them“, said Liebsch. It is much more important, however, to know the cause and the cause of the sleep disorders. If there are organic or mental illnesses, the underlying disease should be treated.

Constant sleep disorders can cause serious illnesses and damage your health. For example, acute sleep disorders can trigger depression, heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases. In addition, one is more susceptible to infections because the immune system is weakened in sleep deprivation. "Anyone who starts the day tired is also more susceptible to infections," explained Liebsch. A recent study confirms these statements. In a series of tests, it was demonstrated that lack of sleep significantly increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

In natural medicine, there are valuable approaches for the treatment of sleep disorders. Thus valerian & L-tryptophan could help with sleep problems if there are no serious underlying diseases. (Sb)

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Image: Konstantin Gastmann.