Sleep disorders

Why is sleep important?

When you don’t get enough quality sleep, it affects your physical, mental, emotional and social health. For children and teens, sleep also affects growth and development.

What’s a sleep disorder?

Difficulty sleeping may be caused by a sleep disorder – a medical condition that affects your ability to sleep well on a regular basis. It’s common to have trouble sleeping every now and then. But when poor sleep occurs regularly and interferes with daily life, it may mean you have a sleeping disorder.

Signs of a sleep disorder

Talk to your doctor if you:

• Are tired all during the day or fall asleep at inappropriate times.
• Can’t concentrate or become forgetful, irritable, anxious or depressed.
• Feel an irresistible urge to move your legs or have a tingling or crawling feeling in your legs while lying down.
• Have headaches or nausea after waking up.
• Need more than 30 minutes to fall asleep most nights.
• Need caffeine to stay awake.
• Take many long naps.
• Snore, breathe loudly or gasp during sleep.
• Wake frequently and stay awake, sometimes for hours.
• Wake up too early.
• Grind or clench your teeth or sweat during the night.
• Wake up with a dry mouth.
• Act out dreams, sleepwalk or sleep-talk.
• Have problems being awake and not being able to move or dream while awake.
• Feel drowsy when driving.

Sleep health specialists

Trust our team for high-quality sleep disorder care in Waukesha County. Work with:

• Sleep medicine doctors – Specialize in diagnosing and treating sleep disorders; fellowship-trained in sleep medicine.
• Sleep technologists – Perform sleep tests that help your doctor diagnose sleep disorders; certified as Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPTs).

Sleep conditions we treat

Depend on ProHealth to diagnose and treat a wide range of sleep disorders, such as:

• Insomnia – Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
• Narcolepsy – Excessive daytime drowsiness and tendency to fall asleep at inappropriate times.
• Parasomnias – Abnormal behaviors during sleep:
  • Confused arousals – Acting in a strange and confused way when waking up.
  • Night terrors – Episodes of intense fear, often with screaming, while asleep.
  • Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder – Acting out dreams while asleep.
  • Sleepwalking – Walking and other behaviors while asleep.
  • Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) – Repetitive movements, especially in the legs, during sleep.
  • Restless leg syndrome – “Creepy-crawly” sensations and a strong urge to move your legs while at rest; sensation improves when you move your legs.
  • Shift work disorder – Difficulty adjusting to a schedule in which you work when most people sleep.
  • Sleep apnea – Breathing that stops or gets very shallow for longer than 10 seconds multiple times throughout sleep.

Diagnosing sleep conditions

If you experience signs of a sleep disorder, schedule a consultation with a sleep medicine doctor. Expect us to ask about your symptoms, review your medical history and perform a physical exam. To help determine the cause of your symptoms, your doctor may order a sleep study – a test that records what happens to your body during sleep.

Treatment for sleep disorders

Partner with your care team to create a personalized care plan that helps you get the sleep you need. Depending on your condition and preferences, your plan may include:

• Lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, losing weight, or modifying your diet or exercise habits.
• Behavioral therapy that helps you build habits that support good sleep.
• Therapy with a device such as a continuous positive air pressure (CPAP), bi-level device, adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV), or advanced volume-assure pressure support and S/T (AVAPS). These devices deliver steady pressurized air to keep airways open to improve sleep and treat obstructive sleep apnea.
• Upper airway stimulation therapy for obstructive sleep apnea when CPAP cannot be tolerated. An implanted device delivers mild stimulation to the hypoglossal nerve during sleep, causing the tongue and tissues to move from the airway so you can breathe freely.
• Medications.
• Surgery.
• Oral appliance.