Sleep disorders (patient information)
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# Overview
Sleep disorders involve any difficulties related to sleeping, including difficulty falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at inappropriate times, excessive total sleep time, or abnormal behaviors associated with sleep.

# What are the symptoms of Sleep disorders?
The symptoms vary and depend on the specific sleep disorder.

# What causes Sleep disorders?
- Disorders of sleeping and waking can be grouped in four main categories:
- Problems with falling and staying asleep (insomnia)
- Problems with staying awake (excessive daytime sleepiness)
- Problems with sticking to a regular sleep schedule (sleep rhythm problem)
- Unusual behavoirs during sleep (sleep-disruptive behaviors)
PROBLEMS WITH FALLING AND STAYING ASLEEP:
- Insomnia includes any combination of difficulty with falling asleep, staying asleep, intermittent wakefulness and early-morning awakening. Episodes may come and go (be transient), last as long as 2 to 3 weeks (be short-term), or be long-lasting (chronic).
- Common factors associated with insomnia include:
- Physical illness
- Depression
- Anxiety or stress
- Poor sleeping environment such as excessive noise or light
- Caffeine
- Alcohol or other drugs
- Use of certain medications
- Heavy smoking
- Physical discomfort
- Daytime napping
- Counterproductive sleep habits:
- Early bedtimes
- Excessive time spent awake in bed
- Disorders include:
- Psycho-physiological insomnia: a condition in which stress caused by the insomnia makes it even harder to fall asleep
- Delayed sleep phase syndrome: your internal clock is constantly out of synch with the accepted day/night phases; for example, patients feel best if they can sleep from 4 AM to noon
- Hypnotic-dependent sleep disorder: insomnia that occurs when you stop or become tolerant to certain types of sleep medications
- Stimulant-dependent sleep disorder: insomnia that occurs when you stop or become dependent on certain types of stimulants
PROBLEMS WITH STAYING AWAKE:
- Disorders of excessive sleepiness are called hypersomnias.
- These include:
- Idiopathic hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness that occurs without an identifiable cause)
- Narcolepsy
- Obstructive and central sleep apnea
- Periodic limb movement disorder
- Restless leg syndrome
PROBLEMS STICKING TO A REGULAR SLEEP SCHEDULE:
- Problems may also occur when you do not maintain a consistent sleep and wake schedule. This occurs when traveling between times zones and with shift workers on rotating schedules, particularly nighttime workers.
- Sleep disruption disorders include:
- Irregular sleep-wake syndrome
- Jet lag syndrome
- Natural short sleeper (the person sleeps fewer hours than normal but has no ill effects)
- Paradoxical insomnia (the person actually sleeps a different amount than they think they do)
- Shift work sleep disorder
SLEEP-DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIORS:
- Abnormal behaviors during sleep are called parasomnias and are fairly common in children.
- They include:
- Sleep terrors
- Sleep walking
- REM sleep-behavior disorder (a type of psychosis in which a person "acts out" dreams so violently that they may injure the person sleeping with them)

# When to seek urgent medical care?
- Call for an appointment with your health care provider if lack of sleep, too much sleep, or unusual sleep behaviors are interfering with daily living.
- Sleep apnea should be suspected in people who snore loudly, wake frequently to urinate at night, and wake up in the morning unrefreshed.

# Diagnosis
- Tests vary and depend on the specific sleep disorder.
- A sleep study (polysomnography) may be done.

# Treatment options
Treatments vary and depend on the specific sleep disorder.
- Insomnia
- Hypersomnias
- Sleep terrors
- Sleep walking

# Where to find medical care for Sleep disorders?
Directions to Hospitals Treating Sleep disorders

# What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
The outcome varies with the type of disorder. Some disorders may go away without treatment.

# Prevention
The following can help prevent many sleep disorders.
- Regular sleep habits (such as going to bed and waking at the same time every day)
- A quiet sleep environment
- Regular exercise
- Staying generally fit and healthy

# Source