Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders disrupt your ability to get an adequate amount of high-quality sleep, impairing how you function during the day. At Shah Psychiatry in Phoenix, Arizona, Neet Shah, MD, provides comprehensive and personalized psychiatric care for all types of sleep disorders, including insomnia and nightmare disorder. To find out more about treatment options for sleep disorders, call or schedule an in-office or telepsychiatry appointment online today.

What are sleep disorders?

Sleep disorders include conditions that make it hard for you to get enough sleep or high-quality sleep, affecting how you feel and function when awake. 

It’s not uncommon to have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep every now and again, but with a sleep disorder, you regularly have a hard time sleeping or chronically wake up feeling tired.

What are some types of sleep disorders?

There are more than 80 known sleep disorders. Some of the more common include:

Insomnia

Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. With insomnia, you have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, or you may wake up too early. You can have acute insomnia that lasts a few days or a few weeks.

However, if your insomnia lasts weeks or months, you have a chronic condition.

Nightmare disorder

Nightmare disorder causes recurring lengthy and distressing dreams that involve threats or danger. You may wake up from these dreams feeling scared and anxious.

Narcolepsy

With narcolepsy, you repeatedly fall asleep without warning at all times during the day.

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a medical condition that causes you to stop and restart breathing multiple times while you sleep. 

When should I seek help for sleep disorders?

You should schedule an appointment at Shah Psychiatry if your inability to get an adequate amount of sleep is causing daytime sleepiness or functional impairment.

Dr. Shah takes a holistic and personalized approach to care. Before making any treatment recommendations, he takes the time to get to know you, conducting a thorough 60 to 90-minute initial assessment.

During the first sleep disorder appointment, Dr. Shah asks detailed questions about your sleep concerns, daily routine, and medical and mental health history. He may also have you complete psychological testing to confirm or rule out an underlying mental health condition contributing to your sleep disorder.

What are the treatments for sleep disorders?

After completing your initial assessment, Dr. Shah spends time talking to you about his findings. He works directly with you, developing your sleep disorder treatment plan. Your plan may include various combinations of therapy that would be most helpful to you, such as mindfulness-based practices or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

He may also incorporate medication management into your plan to treat any underlying mental health condition.

Clients seeking Integrative treatment will experience a dedicated program that finds ways to make small and subtle changes in lifestyle, diet, thinking, and feeling that help to use less medication, at lower doses, sometimes for a shorter period of time - due to combining multiple avenues of healing. 

Dr. Shah explores treatment response to high-quality supplements with evidence-based nutrition guidance, a dedicated sleep program, a personalized exercise program, as well as Eastern meditative and reflective practices to improve mindfulness and well-being. 

However, if medications are indicated for symptom control, Dr. Shah will always practice with an evidence-based perspective to bring about positive outcomes.  

Sleep disorders affect your physical and mental well-being. Call Shah Psychiatry or schedule an appointment online today to get your personalized sleep disorder plan.