Sleep disorders are more common today than every before. Many people don’t even realize they have a sleep disorder. If you have trouble falling asleep at night or if you wake up numerous times throughout the night, then you might have a sleep disorder. Do your family members comment on how exhausted you look? Or perhaps you get irritated more easily than you should and find that you easily become emotional? All of these factors could indicate that you suffer from a sleep disorder.

The quickest way to get to the bottom of your sleep disorder is to answer one simple question: What is your problem with sleep? Do you have trouble falling asleep? Do you have a hard time getting up in the morning? Maybe you simply can’t make through a day without falling asleep. Or you might not sleep because your partner’s sleeping keeps you up at night. Some people even discover that they strange things in their sleep that keeps them from becoming well-rested. How you answer this question will certainly help to narrow down the possible sleep disorders you might be experiencing.

If the sleep disorder has to do with falling asleep then there are several possibilities. For some people it is falling asleep when trying to go to bed that is difficult. This is referred to as sleep latency and is a common symptom of many serious sleep disorders. Some of the sleep disorders that could cause this are: delayed sleep phase disorder, paradoxical insomnia, and other types of insomnia. Others might wake up in the middle of the night but then be unable to fall asleep again. This symptom is called sleep fragmentation. Sleep fragmentation might indicate the person suffers from sleep maintenance insomnia. It is also common to wake up too early in the morning and then stay awake until the sun comes up. This symptom characterizes advanced sleep phase disorder and could also be a result of sleep maintenance insomnia.

Staying awake throughout the day is hard for some people and is usually the result of a sleep disorder. Such a person might have sleep apnea or be a heavy snorer, which leads to poor quality sleep. They might also be narcoleptic and fall asleep almost instantly at strange times during the day.

Some people just can’t seem to get up in the morning. If it takes you more than an hour to fully wake up in the morning then this might be you. Sleep disorders that might cause this are: excessive sleep inertia, sleep apnea, or delayed sleep phase disorder.

Other people find they do strange things when they are sleeping. This could range from sleep walking. They might wake up in new places or even make a meal while completely asleep. If this describes you then you may suffer from sleep walking, night terrors, or any number of parasomnias.

Others stay up all night because they have trouble sleeping next to their partner. Perhaps your partners snores incessantly or makes loud gasping or coughing sounds. Your partner could suffer from sleep apnea or snoring. Restless leg syndrome can be difficult to sleep with, too.

Once you know what your problem with sleep is, you should be on your way to pinpointing your specific disorder.