Insomnia is trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. It can also be non-refreshing sleep. It affects how you feel during the day. It affects daytime performance at work, at school and in your daily activities.

Maybe you aren’t the one suffering from your insomnia. Having a bed partner with a sleep disorder can be equally as frustrating. Now both of you aren’t getting any rest!

If you or someone you love is suffering from insomnia that lasts a month or more, please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. R Bart Sangal at the Sleep & Attention Disorders Institute. He is a sleep medicine expert and he will diagnose the sleep problem and find the best treatment. Call us at 586-254-0707 or fill out our convenient online contact form so we may contact you. Come to us. Sleep better and feel better.

If you or someone you love in the Greater Detroit Metro area is suffering from these symptoms of insomnia, it’s time to speak with sleep medicine expert Dr. R Bart Sangal at the Sleep & Attention Disorders Institute in Sterling Heights, Mich.

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Difficulty staying asleep
• Sleep that is not refreshing

Many conditions can cause insomnia, including:

• Sleep apnea is extremely dangerous and can cause people to wake up choking. People with sleep apnea often do not have restful sleep.
• Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) makes it difficult to sleep. People with RLS experience leg discomfort and feel an urge to move their legs to be more comfortable. They cannot resist this urge. Moving the legs helps for a few moments. It is worse at rest or near bedtime.
• Periodic limb movements are frequent leg jerks during sleep.
• Chemical imbalances in the brain can affect sleep. These can involve many chemicals. Serotonin, norepinephrine, histamine, dopamine and orexin keep you awake. If they do not turn off at night, you may sleep poorly.
• Depression and anxiety can cause insomnia.
• Many medicines can cause insomnia. Sleeping pills can make insomnia worse.
• Drugs and alcohol can seriously interrupt sleep.

Dr. R Bart Sangal trained at the renowned Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He is a board certified sleep medicine doctor. People travel to see him because he is compassionate and caring. When you come to see him, he wants to find a cause for your sleep problem.

First, he will talk to you about your sleep habits. Some people have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep because:

• Spending Too Much Time in Bed: Spending more than 7-8 hours in bed can worsen insomnia.
• Distractions in the bedroom: Keeping the TV on while you sleep or having other lighting in the room can keep you awake. Similarly, noise is disruptive and can keep you stimulated and unable to fall asleep. Reading or using the computer or smart phone in bed also worsens sleep.
• Lack of Schedule: People with irregular bed times and rise times often have insomnia.

However, there may be a medical reason you aren’t able to fall asleep and stay asleep. If so, Dr. Sangal will diagnose and treat it. Insomnia testing is not always needed. It may be needed in certain situations.

If you snore, we test you for sleep apnea. There are many options for treating sleep apnea.

If your legs feel restless when you go to bed, we do blood work. If you have low iron stores, we suggest iron supplements. If you have restless leg syndrome, we can treat it using medicines to increase dopamine activity in the brain.

If periodic limb movements during sleep disturb your sleep, medicines to increase brain dopamine activity may help.

If you have medical or psychiatric problems causing insomnia, we recommend treatment.

However, if you truly have primary insomnia, do not worry. Dr. R Bart Sangal can treat it successfully. He won’t stop until he finds a treatment that works for you. He knows that untreated insomnia makes you feel tired, affects your performance and your mood. It is no way to live. Call the Sleep & Attention Disorders Institute in Sterling Height, Mich. today for an appointment. We can help treat your sleeping problems.

Sometimes primary insomnia improves with cognitive behavioral treatment or CBT. In other words, improving your sleep habits can make a big difference. Decreasing time spent in bed is an excellent first step. Learning that the bedroom is for sleep (and sex) but nothing else helps.

Sometimes, medicines are necessary to treat insomnia. Many doctors prescribe sleeping pills. They may work at first because they affect a brain chemical called GABA. Sleeping pills work to “turn off” the brain so you can relax and sleep. Unfortunately, these drugs are less effective over time. Worse, they are addicting. This means that you may have to take more and more for them to work.

Dr. Sangal prefers to prescribe medicines that are non-addictive. They are not the standard sleeping pills you may see advertised on television. They focus on different brain chemicals. Brain chemicals like serotonin, histamine and orexin keep us awake and alert. At bedtime, these chemicals should become less active. When this does not happen, the result is insomnia – or the inability to fall and stay asleep for a restful period of time.

The medicines Dr. Sangal chooses as treatment for insomnia work to make these brain chemicals less active at sleep time. These medicines are effective without being addictive. There are a few such medicines and more coming. If one does not work or causes side effects, there is always another. The great news is, Dr. Sangal is committed to making sure you sleep better, feel better, and perform better in your daily activities. He will find the best treatment for you.