Avi Medical helps you with sleep disorders

Almost half of all Germans suffer from a sleep disorder once in their life. This is a clinical picture that has many serious side effects. The causes can vary greatly from person to person and must also be clarified. In the long term, lack of sleep leads to a drop in performance, obesity, depression and an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. 

Early diagnosis and treatment of your sleep disorder is therefore essential for your health. Our experienced doctors will accompany you at all our locations .

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What is a sleep disorder?

The term sleep disorder refers to a group of sleep-related clinical pictures. The most important representatives of this genus are insomnia and parasomnia. 

The former is characterised by difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep. The resulting reduced quality of night sleep eventually leads to consecutive tiredness during the day. Insomnia occurs predominantly in women of advanced age .

Parasomnia refers to disturbances during sleep. These include sleepwalking, nightmares or sudden aw akening from sleep with a panic cry. This clinical picture mainly affects women in adolescence.

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At what point is it a sleep disorder?

For a diagnosis of sleep disorder, only the following criterion must be met: Non-restorative sleep that occurs at least three times a week and lasts at least one month .

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What are the triggers of a sleep disorder?

The possible triggers of a sleep disorder are extremely diverse and should not be disregarded in order to get to the root of the problem. Among the most common have been shown to be:

• situational stress due to temporary stressful situations. This type of sleep disorder usually lasts for a maximum of three months
• Psychologically induced mental circles or mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder with flashbacks and depression.
• Inadequate sleep hygiene. This includes irregular sleep-wake times, e.g. during shift work, or an unsettled sleep environment due to exposure to bright light or noise.
• stimulants such as coffee, nicotine, alcohol or "heavy" meals 

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What are possible symptoms of a sleep disorder?

The typical symptoms of a sleep disorder are:

• Difficulty falling asleep and/or sleeping through the night
• Waking up too early in the morning
• Non-restorative sleep and daytime tiredness despite adequate sleep duration
• Mood swings
• Power drop
• Concentration problems

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The treatment of a sleep disorder at Avi Medical

At Avi Medical, comprehensive therapy for your sleep disorder begins with early diagnosis. Medical measures on which this is based are: 

• Preparation of a comprehensive anamnesis to determine the causes
• Exclusion of other physical or psychiatric diseases that can trigger sleep disorders. These include pain syndromes, reflux, restless legs syndrome or sleep apnoea.

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In rare cases, the diagnosis includes an extension in the clinic. Here it is supplemented by an EEG and a polysomnography. The latter examines brain waves, breathing, oxygen saturation, heartbeat, snoring sounds, eye and muscle movements for abnormalities.

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The diagnosis is followed by therapeutic treatment. This includes:

• Counselling and education on evidence-based sleep hygiene, sleep routines and individual behaviours.
• Relaxation techniques (progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, meditation)
• in exceptional cases and for a limited period of time: medication. These include preparations such as herbal sleep-inducing agents (valerian, hops), melatonin (natural sleep hormone, also available as a nasal spray) or antihistamines. In cases of accompanying depression, also sleep-promoting antidepressants such as mirtazapine. In more extreme cases: benzodiazepines or so-called Z-drugs.

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