Your Health Questions
Answered by Professionals

Melatonin might not be the best option for recovering from sleep deprivation, as it primarily helps with adjusting sleep cycles rather than addressing the effects of sleep debt.

The most common sleep disorders include insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy. These conditions can affect how well you sleep and how you feel during the day.

Delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD) happens when a person's internal clock is out of sync, making them fall asleep and wake up much later than usual. This can be caused by genetics, lifestyle habits, or changes in the body's natural rhythms.

An overnight sleep study, or polysomnography, monitors your sleep patterns, breathing, and movements to help diagnose sleep disorders.

Sleep disorders are problems with sleeping, like trouble falling asleep or staying awake. They are diagnosed by doctors using special tests and looking at symptoms.

To evaluate sleep disorders, doctors often use tests like polysomnography, which records brain waves and other body functions during sleep, and other specialized procedures to diagnose different sleep problems.

If sleep problems last a long time or affect your daily life, it's important to talk to a doctor.

See a doctor about sleep deprivation if it affects your daily life or lasts a long time.

When you're sleep-deprived, your body makes more of a hormone that makes you feel hungry, especially for sugary and carb-rich foods.

People wake up at night for several reasons, including sleep disorders, menopause, and conditions like sleep apnea that can cause frequent urination.

Stress can make it hard to sleep, and not getting enough sleep can make you feel more stressed. This happens because stress and sleep affect each other in a cycle that can be hard to break.

There are several factors to consider: psoriasis typically shows thick, well-defined plaques with silvery scale on elbows, knees, scalp, and sometimes nails (with milder itch), while eczema is often intensely itchy, red, dry or oozy, and favors flexural areas like the inner elbows, behind the knees, face, and hands—often with a history of allergies. Distribution, itch severity, nail changes, triggers, and personal history can point the way, but a clinician (and sometimes a skin biopsy) is needed for a sure diagnosis; important red flags and treatment differences that could affect your next steps are outlined below.

Plaque psoriasis is not contagious—you can’t catch it from touch, sharing items, or close contact, because it’s an autoimmune, genetic condition rather than an infection. There are several factors to consider for managing symptoms and flares (like stress, infections, medications, and skin injury) and knowing when to seek care; see below for important details that could affect your next steps.

There are several factors to consider—see below to understand more. Thick, well-demarcated silvery plaques that are symmetric on elbows/knees/scalp (often with nail pitting or joint pain) point to psoriasis, while an intensely itchy, ring-shaped rash with central clearing—often on feet or in the groin—suggests a fungal infection; a simple KOH scraping, dermoscopy, or rarely biopsy can confirm. Because treatments differ markedly (steroids/phototherapy vs antifungals and hygiene) and certain warning signs change the next steps, see the complete guidance below for when to try home care and when to see a clinician.

Red, scaly, well-defined patches on elbows and knees are most often plaque psoriasis, but eczema, fungal infections, and contact dermatitis can look similar, and confirmation usually needs a dermatologist’s exam and sometimes a scraping or biopsy. Treatments range from moisturizers and topical steroids/Vitamin D to phototherapy and systemic medications, and triggers like stress, skin injury, or certain drugs can drive flares; urgent care is warranted for rapid spread, severe pain/bleeding, signs of infection, or joint swelling/stiffness. There are several factors to consider; see below for hallmark signs, risks like psoriatic arthritis and heart disease, an optional free symptom check, and clear guidance on next steps.

Early signs include well-defined red/pink (or purple on darker skin) patches topped with silvery-white scales, very dry or cracked skin that may bleed, itching/burning or soreness, and nail changes like pitting, yellow-brown “oil-drop” discoloration, or lifting. These typically appear on elbows, knees, scalp/hairline, lower back, buttocks, palms/soles, or skin folds, and can less commonly start as small drop-like spots or come with early joint stiffness. There are several factors to consider and important next steps (risk factors, when to seek care, treatment options, and a free symptom check)—see below for complete details.

Early scalp plaque psoriasis signs include well-defined raised patches on a pink-red base covered with thick, silvery-white scales, persistent itch or burning, and stubborn flaking that may crack or bleed; lesions can cross the hairline or appear behind the ears, and nail pitting can be an early clue. Unlike dandruff or seborrheic dermatitis, the scales are thicker and more adherent with sharply bordered plaques. There are several factors to consider for distinguishing causes, triggers, and when to seek treatment—see the complete details below, which can affect your next steps.

Plaque psoriasis typically appears as raised, well-defined patches covered with a silvery-white (or slate-gray) scale—red or pink on lighter skin and dark brown or purple on darker skin—commonly on the scalp, elbows, knees, lower back, and sometimes the nails. It can itch, crack, or bleed, and there are several factors to consider that could affect your next steps; see below for important details on variations by skin tone and location, triggers, a symptom check tool, and when to see a doctor.

Yes, oral appliances are an alternative to CPAP for treating sleep apnea.

Yes, dentists can help with sleep apnea using special mouthpieces called mandibular advancement devices.

Yes, losing weight can help reduce symptoms of sleep apnea. Studies show that weight loss can lead to less severe sleep apnea and better breathing during sleep.

Narcolepsy medications like dextroamphetamine and modafinil can affect mood, sometimes improving it, but effects can vary. It's important to monitor mood changes and seek help if needed.

Yes, pregnancy can increase the risk of sleep apnea due to changes in the body that affect breathing.

Sleep apnea can sometimes be improved without a machine using methods like weight loss, oral devices, or surgery, but it depends on the individual case.

Yes, sleep apnea can cause learning and behavior problems in kids.

Yes, sleep apnea can cause memory loss and brain fog due to poor sleep quality affecting brain function.

Yes, sleep apnea can cause morning headaches. This happens because breathing problems during sleep can reduce oxygen levels and increase carbon dioxide levels in the blood.

Yes, sleep apnea can come back after treatment or surgery, even if you don't gain weight.

Yes, sleep apnea can make other health problems worse, like heart and lung issues, and can also be linked to conditions like diabetes.

Yes, thin people can have sleep apnea. It is not only a condition seen in people who are overweight.