Medication for Sleep and Sleeping Disorders Causes Bizarre Behavior

America's number-one medication for sleep and sleeping disorders, Ambien, has repeatedly been shown to cause bizarre behaviors in users. In some cases, Ambien can cause severe disinhibition, aggressiveness, and out-of-character behavior.

Sleep driving is not uncommon with Ambien users, which is especially dangerous because users' reaction times are severely impaired. Typically, users do not remember driving on the medication the next day.

One woman who took Ambien allegedly painted her front door in her sleep. Other users report hazy episodes of binge eating after they take the medication.

Hallucinations are also fairly common with Ambien users. Some people report seeing lights and images and entering a conscious dream-like state upon ingesting the drug.

Exploring the Different Types of Sleeping Disorders

A number of types of sleeping disorders exist. Some disorders impair the ability to get to sleep, while others affect physical functioning during sleep.

The most common sleeping disorder, insomnia, manifests in two ways. The sufferer may either experience trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

Another common disorder that affects physiological processes during sleep is sleep apnea. Those with sleep apnea do not breathe regularly during sleep, which results in poor-quality sleep and a host of other physical problems.

Other physically related sleeping disorders include restless leg syndrome and sleep walking. Sleep hyperhydrosis, or excessive sweating while asleep, is also not uncommon.

Possible Sleeping Disorders from Chewing Mint Gum

You may have heard rumors that you can get sleeping disorders from chewing mint gum. In reality, this is impossible unless the gum you are chewing is a nicotine replacement therapy during a smoking cessation attempt.

To overcome nicotine withdrawal, tobacco users sometimes use nicotine gum to taper themselves off of the drug gradually. The most popular flavor of nicotine gum is mint.

When former smokers use the gum, they are most likely also going through nicotine withdrawal to some extent. One of the possible symptoms of nicotine withdrawal is insomnia.

Consequently, people who chew mint nicotine gum often attribute their sleeping difficulties to the gum itself. However, the sleeping disorder is more likely the result of general nicotine withdrawal that will subside after a few days.

Definitions of Keywords Related to Sleeping Disorders

In this post, we'll provide the definitions of the most common keywords related to sleeping disorders. If you search for sleep disorders online, you will more than likely come across the following terms.

Sleep apnea is a neurological disorder that results when the brain fails to tell the body to breathe or continue to breathe during sleep. As a result, suffers wake up frequently throughout the night and never feel well-rested.

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder most common among those ages 9-18. The disorder is characterized by frequent daytime sleep attacks where the user will lose muscle control and fall asleep at inconvenient or inappropriate times.

Lastly, insomnia is a disorder marked by difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for the duration of the night. Insomniacs may also have trouble waking up in the morning.

Explaining Sleeping Disorders Waking up between REM Sleep Cycles

Sleeping disorders waking up between rem sleep cycles are one of the most common variations of insomnia. Sufferers wake up repeatedly during the night, leaving them feeling tired and groggy in the morning.

The most common causes of frequent waking during the night are caffeine, alcohol, hormones, and advancing age. The elderly tend to have less deep sleep and thus experience more frequent waking throughout the night.

To help stop night waking, try cutting out caffeine and alcohol. Additionally, you might try exercising earlier in the day to enjoy more restful, deep sleep.

If the aforementioned remedies do not work, you may need to see your doctor about a prescription sleep medication. In some cases, cognitive behavioral therapy also helps alleviate sleeping disorders.

Tips for Helping Sleeping Disorders in Babies

Sleeping disorders in babies are not as common as with adults, but they do exist. Here are some suggestions on how to recognize and deal with your baby's sleep disorder.

First, by about age 3-6 months, your baby should be sleeping about ten hours per night with three to six hours of daytime napping. If your baby's patterns don't conform to this standard, he/she may have a sleep disorder.

To help your baby sleep better, consider reducing nighttime nursing after six months. Before age 6 mos., babies will need to eat at least every six hours, which will probably require nighttime feedings.

Additionally, you may employ the "Ferber method" for getting your baby to go back to sleep on his/her own. You can do this by waiting longer and longer before you go in to comfort your baby after he/she wakes up. Don't try this method until your baby is 12-18 mos.

Recognizing the Signs of Sleeping Disorders

Did you know over 40 million people suffer from chronic sleep disorders in the U.S.? An additional twenty million have sporadic sleep troubles.

Recognizing the signs of sleeping disorders is important because most of them are readily treatable. Here are some symptoms that might be indicative of a sleep disorder.

• On most nights, you can't fall asleep for thirty minutes or more


• Early-morning waking


• You wake up multiple times throughout the night


• You feel extremely drowsy or fatigued while awake


• No matter how long you sleep, you awake feeling tired


• You snore loudly most of the time


• You wake up with headaches or stomach pains


• You fall asleep at inappropriate times