Sleep Disorders
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 polysomnogram.
The most common sleep disorders include:
Just about anything can cause a sleep disorder - emotional, physical - internal or external. Fear is a strong component of loss of sleep as it produces anxiety, sweats and palpitations. Sleep loss can be temporary or long term, and will cause illnesses as a result. The mind was not built to go without sleep - a time in which the soul processes in another frequency. Changes in life style, such as a shift work change (SWC), can contribute to sleep disorders.
Other problems that can affect sleep:
Treatments for sleep disorders generally can be grouped into four categories:
None of these general approaches is sufficient for all patients with sleep disorders. Rather, the choice of a specific treatment depends on the patient's diagnosis, medical and psychiatric history, and preferences, as well as the expertise of the treating clinician. Often, behavioral/psychotherapeutic and pharmacological approaches are not incompatible and can effectively be combined to maximize therapeutic benefits. Management of sleep disturbances that are secondary to mental, medical, or substance abuse disorders should focus on the underlying conditions.
Medications and somatic treatments may provide the most rapid symptomatic relief from some sleep disturbances. Some disorders, such as narcolepsy, are best treated pharmacologically. Others, such as chronic and primary insomnia, may be more amenable to behavioral interventions, with more durable results.
Special equipment may be required for treatment of several disorders such as obstructive apnea, the circadian rhythm disorders and bruxism. In these cases, when severe, an acceptance of living with the disorder, however well managed, is often necessary.
Due to rapidly increasing knowledge about sleep in the 20th century, including the discovery of REM sleep and sleep apnea, the medical importance of sleep was recognized. The medical community began paying more attention than previously to primary sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, as well as the role and quality of sleep in other conditions.
By the 1970s in the USA, clinics and laboratories devoted to the study of sleep and sleep disorders had been founded, and a need for standards arose.
Sleep Medicine is now a recognized subspecialty within internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, otolaryngology, psychiatry and neurology in the United States.
One of the most common treatment is hypnosis, to get to the cause of the problem causing the sleep disorder.
Competence in sleep medicine requires an understanding of a plethora of very diverse disorders, many of which present with similar symptoms such as excessive daytime sleepiness, which, in the absence of volitional sleep deprivation, "is almost inevitably caused by an identifiable and treatable sleep disorder", such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, idiopathic central nervous system (CNS) hypersomnia, Kleine-Levin syndrome, menstrual-related hypersomnia, idiopathic recurrent stupor, or circadian rhythm disturbances. Another common complaint is insomnia, a set of symptoms which can have a great many different causes, physical and mental. Management in the varying situations differs greatly and cannot be undertaken without a correct diagnosis.
Sleep dentistry (bruxism, snoring and sleep apnea), while not recognized as one of the nine dental specialties, qualifies for board-certification by the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABDSM). The resulting Diplomate status is recognized by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), and these dentists are organized in the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (USA). The qualified dentists collaborate with sleep physicians at accredited sleep centers and can provide oral appliance therapy and upper airway surgery to treat or manage sleep-related breathing disorders.[
Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea And Weight Gain Found Science Daily - June 25, 2009
Brains replay memories while we sleep and store the highlights, claim scientists Telegraph.co.uk - June 24, 2009
Sleep helps build long-term memories PhysOrg - June 24, 2009
Light Receptors In Eye Play Key Role In Setting Biological Clock Science Daily - August 16, 2008
... a switching mechanism in the eye plays a key role in regulating the sleep/wake cycles in mammals.
Sleep deprivation affects ability to make sense of what we see Science Daily - May 20, 2008
Violent Sleep Disorder Linked To A Form Of Dementia Science Daily - May 17, 2007
Professor Creates 'Reverse Alarm Clock' That Keeps Young Children Sleeping Science Daily - May 15, 2007
Learning while we sleep and dream PhysOrg - May 15, 2007
No sleep means no new brain cells BBC - February 12, 2007
Afternoon Naps Protect Your Heart, Study Finds Live Science - February 12, 2007
Memory Retention Enhanced by Sleep Scientific American - July 11, 2006
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