A sleep disorder (somnipathy) is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person
or animal. Some sleep disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical,
mental and emotional functioning. A test commonly ordered for some sleep disorders
is the polysomnography
Disruptions in sleep can be caused by a variety of issues, from teeth grinding (bruxism)
to night terrors. When a person suffers from difficulty in sleeping with no obvious
cause, it is referred to as insomnia. In addition, sleep disorders may also cause
sufferers to sleep excessively, a condition known as hypersomnia. Management of
sleep disturbances that are secondary to mental, medical, or substance abuse disorders
should focus on the underlying conditions.
Common Sleep Disorders
- Primary insomnia:
Chronic difficulty in falling asleep and/or maintaining sleep when no other cause
is found for these symptoms
- Bruxism:
Involuntarily grinding or clenching of the teeth while sleeping
- Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS):
Inability to awaken and fall asleep at socially acceptable times but no problem
with sleep maintenance, a disorder of circadian rhythms Other such disorders are
advanced sleep phase syndrome (ASPS), non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome (Non-24),
and irregular sleep wake rhythm; all much less common than DSPS, as well as the
transient jet lag and shift work sleep disorder
- Hypopnea syndrome:
Abnormally shallow breathing or slow respiratory rate while sleeping
- Narcolepsy:
Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) often culminating in falling asleep spontaneously
but unwillingly at inappropriate times
- Cataplexy:
A sudden weakness in the motor muscles that can result in collapse to the floor
- Night terror:
Pavor nocturnus, sleep terror disorder: abrupt awakening from sleep with behavior
consistent with terror
- Parasomnias:
Disruptive sleep-related events involving inappropriate actions during sleep; sleep
walking and night-terrors are examples
- Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD):
Sudden involuntary movement of arms and/or legs during sleep; for example kicking
the legs, also known as nocturnal myoclonus
- Rapid eye movement behavior disorder (RBD):
Acting out violent or dramatic dreams while in REM sleep (REM sleep disorder or
RSD)
- Restless legs syndrome (RLS):
An irresistible urge to move legs; RLS sufferers often also have PLMD
- Situational circadian rhythm sleep disorders:
Shift work sleep disorder (SWSD) and jet lag
- Sleep Apnea, and mostly Obstructive sleep apnea:
Obstruction of the airway during sleep, causing lack of sufficient deep sleep; often
accompanied by snoring
- Sleep paralysis:
Characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly before or after sleep;
accompanied by visual, auditory or tactile hallucinations - not a disorder unless
severe, often seen as part of narcolepsy
- Sleepwalking or somnambulism:
Engaging in activities that are normally associated with wakefulness (such as eating
or dressing), which may include walking, without the conscious knowledge of the
subject
- Nocturia:
Frequent need to get up and go to the bathroom to urinate at night. It differs from
Enuresis, or bed-wetting, in which the person does not arouse from sleep, but the
bladder nevertheless empties
- Somniphobia:
Dread of sleep