Information On Sleep Apnea and Sleep Disorders

Everyone can benefit from a good nights sleep; from infants to the elderly, it helps with how we think, work, interact with others as well as our overall general health. Unfortunately, for millions of people, a good nights sleep is not possible due to sleep disorders. Sleep Disorders are medical disorders that interfere with the normal sleep pattern of a person or animal. As a result, the sleep disorder can interfere with normal functioning mentally, physically and emotionally.

Categories of Sleep Disorders

There are over 70 different sleep disorders that people suffer from that fit under three different categories. These categories are lack of sleep, disturbed sleep and excessive sleepiness.

Lack Of Sleep

The two most common conditions of sleep disorder that fall into the category of lack of sleep include sleep deprivation and insomnia.

• Sleep deprivation is not a disorder in itself, but it is a condition where a person does not get enough sleep usually through circumstances such as a very demanding schedule (i.e. waking up very early in the morning, such as 4:30 a.m. and going to bed late on a regular basis), or life circumstance such as a new baby. As a result, sleep deprivation can interfere with overall general being, hand-eye coordination, reaction-time, memory and judgement as well as damage your immune system. Indications of sleep deprivation include feeling drowsy during the day, falling asleep immediately after lying down or falling asleep for very short periods of time.
• Insomnia is a common sleep disorder where people have trouble falling asleep. Insomnia has many different causes and among them include stress, emotional difficulties, diet and underlying disease as well as other factors. Like sleep deprivation and other sleep disorders, insomnia also disrupts daily life.

Disturbed Sleep

Conditions that interrupt sleep are under this category and include restless leg syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), sleep apnea and a REM sleep behavior disorder.

• Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a common sleep disorder that results from a prickly or tingling feeling in the legs which prompt the patient to want to move their legs; resulting in insomnia.
• Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), is another common sleep disorder that causes jerking in the arms or legs which occurs frequently during rest or sleeping which may occur up to 3 times a minute and wake the patient.
• Sleep Apnea is a sleeping disorder that is characterized by pauses in breathing while a person is asleep. this is either due to a mechanical problem in the windpipe or a neurological problem involving nerve cells (neurons).
• REM sleep behavior disorders are those that cause disruptions in the brain during REM sleep. During the dream phase of sleep (the REM phase), the pons, an area of the brainstem, sends signals to the area of the brain responsible for thinking and organizing information, called the cerebral cortex. The pons is also responsible for sending signals to the muscles in the body during the dream phase, causing a type of temporary paralysis.
• People who suffer from sleep paralysis wake up, and find themselves unable to move for a short period of time. This is often accompanied by a feeling of someone or something watching them, and a feeling of being unable to breathe.
• Other people with a REM sleep behavior disorder may ay physically act out dreams during sleep. One example is a person who sleepwalks.

Excessive Sleep

One such known disorder under the category of Excessive sleep is a condition called Narcolepsy. Narcolepsy us generally a genetic disorder that is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness or sleep attacks even after a good night's sleep. The symptoms vary in severity as well as combinations. Other symptoms include loss of muscle tone, distorted perception, and the inability to move or talk as well as automatic behavior and disturbed nocturnal sleep.

***DISCLAIMER***
This site is meant only to provide information and resources about sleep apnea and sleep disorders. It is not meant to diagnose any sleep problems. If you suspect you may have some sleep disorder, then please, see your doctor, and get his professional opinion and advice.