Sleep and Eating Disorder

What is eating disorder
Eating disorder can be defined as abnormal consumption of food either in excess or insufficient amount. Eating may result to dangers in someones physical health and lead to medical complications. It can be caused by genetic disorders or obsessive overeating which is portrayed by uncontrollable eating and abnormal gain of weight. Catalano (1998) argued that compulsive eating is associated with stress and that stressed people eat a lot to cope with the stress, which leads to excessive gain of weight or obese, as a way of dealing with emotional disturbances or feelings. Just like the bulimics compulsive overeaters do acknowledge that they have a health problem (Catalano, 1998).

Types of eating disorder
There are various types of eating disorders for instance, bulimia nervosa which can also be referred as bulimia. It is a psychological problem in which a person holds in recurrent spree eating and in most cases the person tries to avoid weight gain by using laxatives, diuretics, enemas, medication and excessive exercise. Most dieticians argue that people with eating problems have got appetite or the desire to eat that is mostly influenced by the brain (Mitchell, 2001).

The appetite can be decreased or increased. When the appetite is increased, the desire to eat a lot of food is initiated by the brain and a person finds himselfherself in a state that can lead to obesity or over consumption of food. This can lead to anorexia nervosa which is linked to deregulation of appetite.
 Anorexia nervosa is a serious and a complicated disease that is highly linked to sociological, psychological and physiological components of a person. Even though diabetes is caused by various factors, hyperglycemia is one of the clear symptoms of high blood sugar or diabetes. Consumption of certain kinds of food in excess can definitely lead to diabetes and clearly symbolize a bad eating habit.

Signs and symptoms of eating disorder
Different types of eating disorder have got different signs and symptoms. When a patient is suffering from anorexia nervosa, heshe tend to develop funny eating habits that can even lead to self starvation. For instance, refusing to eat for the fear of weight gain, excessive exercise, lack of emotions, social withdrawal, thin appearance, menstrual irregularities, constipation, abdorminal pain, dry skin or even dizziness or fainting (Mitchell, 2001).

However, when one suffers from bulimia nervosa, a person tends to eat a lot of food or in large quantity and can develop more weight or can lead to obesity. In most cases, they eat until the point of discomfort often to sweet foods or with high fat content. They sometimes vomit, focus on their body weight, excessively over eating, and develop sore throat, dehydration or swollen salivary glands in the cheeks (Catalano, 1998).

When is it appropriate to see a doctor          
Because of its authoritative pull to eat or not, an eating disorder can be cumbersome to supervise or overcome easily. Eating disorders can effectively take over a persons life. One may think about food most of the time, spend hours thinking over what to eat, and over exercise .The victim may feel ashamed, hopeless, exhausted, bad-tempered and anxious. One may also develop physical problems because of eating disorder, for instance, irregular heartbeats, weariness and dizziness. If a person is undergoing such problems, then it is in order to seek medical attention or help from a dietician (Mitchell, 2001).

What leads to Sleep Disorder
A lot has been done to find out the cause of sleep disorder, unfortunately no one knows for sure what causes sleep disorder. It tends to occur in people who are under immense deal of stress or who are undergoing a lot of anxiety. Sleep disorder may be accounted on or common among those people who consume alcohol or drug abuse.They often have a history of other sleep disorders, such as sleep walking or restless leg syndrome. Their sleep is fragmented and they are tired when they wake. In most cases, they wake up late and do not prefer walking long distance. To some extent, sleep aids may also contribute to the likelihood of the abnormal sleeping behavior (Catalano, 1998).

How can Sleep Disorder be treated
Treatment for nocturnal sleep-related disorder starts with an evaluation at a sleep disorder center where brain activity is examined during sleep.This will assist in identifying any sleep disorders. Medication can be helpful, but sleeping pills should be discouraged (Catalano, 1998). They may actually enhance the likelihood of lack of sleep or activate the cells that inhibit sleep. Instead, it has been found that selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors have been useful in treating nocturnal sleep-related disorder.Since pressure, nervousness, anxiety and depression may contribute to the cause of the disorder, treating these with medication may be of great help in dealing with the disorder (Catalano, 1998).

Evidence has shown that anything that reduces stress and anxiety may help both patients suffering from both sleeping  and eating disorder a great deal this may include counseling, stress management classes, learning and practicing relaxation techniques, meditation, sports and vacation. Frequent exercise may also help to reduce tension.People having the disorder are also required to reduce alcohol consumption and drugs or quit both to avoid developing the problem

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