Cures for sleep disorders

A lot of people know about – and have suffered from – insomnia. But other sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome (RLS) and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) are less well known. These sleep disorders can be mistaken for insomnia because they result in the sufferer sleeping badly and feeling tired and irritable in the morning.

In her book How to Sleep Soundly, Dr. Ruth Kidson describes several sleep disorders, including RLS and OSA, and explains how they can be identified, diagnosed and treated. The book also gives an in-depth review of orthodox, complementary and self-help methods of treating insomnia.

It is important that the cause of sleep disturbance is identified before treatment is given, since what works for insomnia may not work for other sleep disorders. In recent years various orthodox medical ways of treating OSA have been developed which, on the whole, have good results. Certain complementary therapies can also treat sleep disorders very effectively.