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Sleep Disorders
What is a sleep disorder?
Sleep disorders: A sleep disorder refers
to any sleep pattern which disrupts the
normal NREM-REM sleep cycle, including
the onset of sleep.
What types of sleep disorders are there?
The sleep disorders we need
to have an understanding of
are:
Insomnia
Hypersomnia
Sleep Apnea
What is insomnia?
Insomnia: continually getting
insufficient or poor quality sleep.
What are the types of insomnia?
- difficulty falling asleep: sleep onset
insomnia
- difficulty staying asleep: sleep
maintenance insomnia
- awakening prematurely from sleep:
also, sleep maintenance insomnia
What are the symptoms of
insomnia?
- inability to fall asleep within 30
minutes
- awakening for longer than 30
minutes during the night
- a consistently reduced amount
of total sleep
- complaint of poor sleep
- feeling tired during the day
When is a person diagnosed with insomnia?
If one of the types of insomnia (patterns of disruptive sleep) occurs in
conjunction with one of the symptoms at least 50% of the time, insomnia is
diagnosed.
An insomniac exhibits a greater level of arousal e.g. body movement, breathing
rate, body temperature, than a normal sleeper.
What are the causes of insomnia?
Insomnia can be caused by
psychological or physiological problems.
Psychological problems which result in
stress or fear such as relationship problems,
death or serious illness of a friend or
relative, important events, change in lifestyle
etc. may lead to insomnia. Once these are
solved, the insomnia usually goes away.
But, worry about not sleeping, or fears about
what might happen during sleep, may cause
ongoing insomnia.
.
Physiological causes of insomnia include medical problems, severe and
persistent pain, and excessive use of alcohol or other drugs which disrupt the
sleep cycle.
Changes to sleep schedules such as changes to shift work can also result in
insomnia.
Overcoming insomnia
Does counting sheep…
…or other things,
work?
Treating insomnia
Medication, sleeping pills, may help
in the short term but they can
interfere with the sleep cycle and
decrease the amount of REM sleep.
Also, could become addicted.
Natural alternatives are much better learning relaxation or stress
management strategies, developing
regular sleep routines, exercise, a
good diet, using the bed for sleeping.
What is hypersomnia?
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
coupled with sleep of excessive
duration.
What are the symptoms of
hypersomnia?
- consistently needing more than 10
hours sleep
- difficulty awakening, confusion upon
waking
- excessive drowsiness during the day
What are the causes of
hypersomnia?
- Causes include insomnia, sleep
apnea, narcolepsy, depression, drug
abuse.
How can hypersomnia be treated?
- as for insomnia, and where applicable, treatment for sleep apnea,
medication for narcolepsy
What is sleep apnea?
- a temporary cessation of breathing during
sleep
- breathing stops for between 30 seconds
and 2 minutes with the sleep apnea often
ending with a loud snore, the body jerking
or arm flinging, and sometimes with the
sleeper waking until breathing becomes
normal
What are the causes of sleep
apnea?
- failure of the ‘breathing centres’ of
the brain to maintain normal
breathing
- narrowing of the airway
What is the treatment for
sleep apnea?
- surgery to clear obstructions in
the airway
- nasal masks and pump to
maintain regular breathing while
asleep
- tranquillisers to relax throat
muscles
Because people with sleep apnea often have their sleep constantly interrupted
throughout the night, they may also suffer from hypersomnia.
Another disorder – not needed for the exam.
Narcolepsy – what is it?
- A sleep disorder where people
experience sudden uncontrollable sleep
attacks during the day where a person
may go from being awake straight into
REM sleep.
- This can occur without any warning
and may be accompanied by cataplexy,
a total loss of muscle tone (causing
collapse).
What are the causes of
narcolepsy?
- narcolepsy is a rare disorder
occurring in less than 1% of people
- actual cause is unknown, may be
a biochemical imbalance
- possibly a genetic predisposition
What is the best treatment
for narcolepsy?
- no cure
- stimulants help prevent daytime
sleepiness
- drugs to prevent the onset of
REM sleep
- leading a lifestyle which allows
for a regular sleep-wake cycle
including daytime naps