Understanding Common Sleep Problems

Common Sleep Problems

• Bruxism: Bruxism is characterized by involuntary teeth grinding both during the day and at night. Over time, this grinding can damage teeth and cause headaches and jaw disorders. People experiencing bruxism may need to wear a night guard when they sleep to prevent damage.
  
  
• Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS): Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome is a circadian rhythm disorder in which a person's internal biological clock does not match the clock of the outside environment. Patients with DSPS generally cannot fall asleep before 2:00 a.m. and have a difficult time waking before 7:00 a.m.
  
  
• Desynchronosis: Otherwise known as Jet Lag, desynchonosis can cause restless nights, increased stress and decreased daytime functioning for those who travel and have to adjust to time changes.
  
  
• Hypopnea Syndrome: Hypopnea Syndrome, sometimes referred to as mild sleep apnea, is characterized by very shallow and slow breathing. It can affect sleep quality and can cause excessive daytime sleepiness.
  
  
• Insomnia: Insomnia refers to the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep. It is a very common sleep disorder and affects the majority of the population at some time or other.
  
  It is difficult to determine what percentage of the population actually suffers from insomnia, because many other sleep disorders are often confused with it. When one experiences insomnia, he or she finds falling asleep challenging or impossible, may wake up often or too early and tends to feel un-refreshed upon waking in the morning.
  
  Insomnia is broken down into three categories:
  
  
  • Acute Insomnia: This is a short-term insomnia usually caused by illness, stress or medication. This type of insomnia can last one night or a few weeks.
    
    
  • Chronic Insomnia: Chronic insomnia is when a person has been experiencing the symptoms of insomnia for a minimum of three nights each week for at least one month. Causes can be physical or psychological.
    
    
  • Transient Insomnia: Transient insomnia is caused by minor stress and/or environmental factors (such as noise or temperature changes). It only lasts a few days.
    
    
• Narcolepsy: Narcolepsy is characterized by sudden bouts of overwhelming and involuntary (spontaneous) sleep. People with narcolepsy often experience daytime sleepiness and hallucinations.
  
  Generally this disorder begins between the ages of 15 and 25, but people of all ages can be affected.
  
  
• Night Terrors: Night terrors are different from nightmares in that they occur in the deepest stages of sleep rather than during REM sleep. People experiencing night terrors often scream and/or cry in their sleep.
  
  
• Parasomnias: Many sleep disorders are considered parasomnias. A parasomnia is when a disruptive physical act occurs during sleep. Sleepwalking, sleep sex, night terrors and bedwetting are all considered parasomnias.
  
  
• Periodic Limb Movement Disorder: Periodic Limb Movement Disorder is characterized by involuntary movement of limbs that prevent or disrupt sleep.
  
  
• Rapid Eye Movement Behavior Disorder: Rapid Eye Movement Behavior Disorder causes people to act out violent or dramatic dreams that occur during the REM stage of sleep.
  
  
• Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS): Restless Leg Syndrome, a condition that affects approximately 12 million Americans, is a neurological disorder that causes a person's legs to feel painful. RLS can also make a person feel the need to move his or her legs. Often, RLS becomes more intense when a person is trying to relax. RLS often prevents people from sleeping comfortably.
  
  Restless Leg Syndrome has been linked to pregnancy, extreme fatigue, specific anti-depressants and certain medical conditions.
  
  
• Sleep Apnea: Sleep apnea occurs when a person stops breathing for brief periods of time during sleep. Sleep apnea is typically caused when something (enlarged tonsils, tongue, etc.) block a person's airway during sleep. It can also be caused by an illness or neuromuscular disorders.
  
  
• Sleep Paralysis: Sleep paralysis occurs when a person is temporarily unable to move parts of his or her body shortly before falling asleep or after waking.
  
  
• Snoring: Some studies indicate that by the age of 60, 40 percent of women and 60 percent of men will snore. Snoring can be a symptom of a physical problem, such as sleep apnea.
  
  
• Somnambulism: Somnambulism is when a person engages in activities normally associated with consciousness during sleep. People affected by somnambulism walk, bathe, dress, etc. Somnambulism is believed to affect 10 percent of the population at some point in their lives.

If you think you may be suffering from a sleep disorder, talk to your doctor. He or she can suggest treatment options to best suit your lifestyle, health and needs.

Kids Health (2007). Sleep. Retrieved July 5, 2007, from the Kids Health Web site: http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/take_care/sleep.html.