+Sleep Disorders

Insomnia

Sleep Apnea

Narcolepsy

Hypersomnia

+Insomnia

Refers to difficulties in going to sleep and, less commonly, in staying asleep.

Appears twice as many women than men In the US, 15-20% of population and more

than half a billion dollars a year on medication

Appears to be caused by factors such as stressful events, emotional disturbances, use of drugs, change of sleep schedule.

Stress tends to be most common cause in late teens and early adults.

Treatment (Drugs)

Non-prescriptive drug – little or no sleep inducing capabilities

Prescription drugs (benzodiazepines or minor tranquilisers) – can be helpful, but can also cause rebound insomnia when withdrawn.

Research show drugs should last no longer than two weeks to avoid drug dependence.

+Tips

Maintain regular sleep scheduleAvoid excessive amounts of time in bedUse relaxation techniques before going to

bed (warm baths, meditation, soothing music) – but not in bed

Exercise during the day but not just before bedtime

Avoid stimulants and depressantsMake your room sleep friendly! Quiet and

dark; earplugs.

+Sleep Apnea

Affects 40% of elderly people.

Causes the sleeping individual to stop breathing for periods of 20 sec to 2 minutes.

Windpipe closes or the brain centres that control breathing are not functioning properly

Link to obesity - Excess body fat on the neck and chest constricts the air-passageways and sometimes the lungs.

By day – normal breathing. Each night – cycles not breathing, waking slightly to gulp in air and falls back asleep.. May be hundreds of times without awareness

Tend to experience daytime drowsiness, very loud snoring

Especially dangerous during infancy – suspected of being one cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) – the most frequent cause of death amongst infants under 12 months

Treatment

Can be attached to a monitor that sounds an alarm when he or she stops breathing

Surgical procedures such as enlarging the upper airway passages of the nose, removing the uvula

Sprays to shrink tissues lining the throat

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device

Narcolepsy

Irresistible and sudden sleep attacks lasting from a few minutes to half an hour.

These instant periods of sleep are usually accompanied by muscular relaxation, when the person may simply fall asleep or collapse.

Wakefulness -> REM… skipping other stages

Causes unknown, but appears genetic

One in every 2000

Some appear able to continue automatic behaviours like driving a car satisfactorily for a few kilometres without awareness.

+Hypersomnia

Less urgent sleep attacks, but longer in duration than those in narcolepsy

Causes a person to experience either excessive daytime drowsiness or to have nocturnal sleep periods of longer than average duration.

Likely to be inheritedThought to be caused by disruption to the

hypothalamic sleep centres which results in a failure of the turn on and turn off mechanisms that regulate sleep

Treatments

No cure exists

Stimulants manage symptoms to some extent