Stroke Total Joint Replacement Sleep Disorders Definition Sleep disorders affect people of all ages and can appear as a temporary childhood problem like night terrors or develop into a life threatening illness like apnea. The disorders that will be discussed here include apnea, narcolepsy, hypersomnia and sleepwalking.
Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that occurs during sleep.
It refers to non-breathing episodes during sleep, occurring as frequently as several hundred times per night. Apnea can progress in severity and become life threatening if not detected and properly treated. Over 20 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea. Although it seems to be more common in middle-aged men and affects 40 percent of all people over 60 years of age, anyone at any age may develop sleep apnea. Narcolepsy affects more than 500,000 Americans and symptoms may arise as early as the onset of puberty and continue throughout life.