Sleep disorders

Causes and Risks:
More than 100 different disorders of sleeping and waking have been identified. They can be grouped within 4 main categories: problems with staying and falling asleep, problems with staying awake, problems with adhering to a regular sleep schedule, and sleep disruptive behaviors.

PROBLEMS WITH STAYING AND FALLING ASLEEP
Insomnia includes any combination of difficulty with falling asleep, staying asleep, intermittent wakefulness , and early-morning awakening. Episodes may be transient, short-term (lasting 2 to 3 weeks), or chronic . Illness, depression , anxiety , stress , poor sleeping environment, caffeine , abuse of alcohol, heavy smoking , physical discomfort, daytime napping, certain medical conditions, and other counterproductive sleep habits such as early bedtimes, and excessive time spent awake in bed are common factors associated with insomnia.

Disorders include:
  • psychophysiological (learned insomnia)
  • delayed sleep phase syndrome
  • hypnotic dependent sleep disorder
  • stimulant dependent sleep disorder

PROBLEMS WITH STAYING AWAKE
Disorders of excessive sleepiness are called hypersomnias. These include:

Sleep apnea affects middle-aged obese males, causes breathing to stop intermittently during sleep, and results in excessive daytime sleepiness . Narcolepsy is a condition of daytime sleep attacks in spite of adequate sleep at night that can affect either sex in early adult life. Nocturnal myoclonus is a condition of periodic lower-leg movements during sleep with associated daytime sleepiness, or complaints of insomnia.

PROBLEMS WITH ADHERING TO A REGULAR SLEEP SCHEDULE
Problems may also occur with maintaining a consistent sleep and wake schedule as a result of disruptions of normal times of sleeping and wakefulness. This occurs when traveling between times zones and with shift workers on rotating schedules, particularly with nighttime workers.

These disorders include:

  • sleep state misperception (the person actually sleeps a different amount than they think they do)
  • shift work sleep disorder
  • natural short sleeper (the person sleeps less hours than "normal" but suffers no ill effects)
  • chronic time zone change syndrome
  • irregular sleep-wake syndrome

SLEEP DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS
Abnormal behaviors during sleep are called parasomnias, and are fairly common in children. They include:

Sleep terror disorder is an abrupt awakening from sleep with fear, sweating , rapid heart rate , and confusion . Sleep walking is not remembered by the person doing it and affects children 2 to 12 years old. It may also be caused by an organic brain syndrome , reactions to drugs, psychopathology and medical conditions in adults.

Prevention:
Maintaining regular sleep habits and a quiet sleep environment may prevent some sleep disorders.

Symptoms:

Note: The symptoms may vary with the particular disorder.

Signs and Tests:



Treatment:
Insomnia - The treatment is related to the cause, if it is determined. If there is an obvious physical or psychological cause, it is treated. Attempts to control environmental and lifestyle factors such as too much light, noise, caffeine or other stimulants , or erratic hours of wakefulness should be made. Sleeping drugs should be used only when prescribed by a health care provider.

Hypersomnia - Sleep apnea is treated with weight reduction and the administration of air under pressure through the nose. Occasionally, surgery or other measures may be needed. Narcolepsy is treated with stimulating medications during the daytime. Nocturnal myoclonus is treated by treating the underlying disorder and with opiate or dopaminergic agonists.

Parasomnias - Night terrors are treated with hypnosis, guided imagery techniques and benzodiazepines, but safety measures are needed to prevent people from harm during nighttime walking.

Sleep disorder clinics often are able to help people restore normal sleeping patterns through various techniques.

Prognosis:
The outcome varies with the type of disorder; some disorders may resolve spontaneously.

Complications:
A complication is dependence upon sedatives or other medications prescribed for sleep disorders

Call Your Healthcare Provider:
Call for an appointment with your health care provider if lack of sleep or too much sleep is interfering with daily living.

Also call if breath-holding spells are observed during sleep.