Other Sleep Disorders

Sleep apnea is not the only type of sleep disorder.

Getting a restful nights sleep is vital to good health. Sleep deprivation affects memory, concentration, mood and learning ability. It can influence the body's ability to heal properly after injury, illness or surgery. Sleep disorders can also affect other people in numerous ways. Family members may not rest properly due to loud snoring.

Co-workers may be carrying some of the sleep deprivation sufferer's load. Driving may become a hazard to others since driving sleepy is as bad as driving drunk. If a doctor suspects a problem with a patient's sleep, a sleep study will be scheduled. sleep studies help determine if there is a problem with a patients sleep and if so, what kind of disorder may me causing the issues.

Deprivation of sleep can be a primary condition or an underlying symptom of a medical condition. Figuring out if the sleep disorder is a symptom or a primary condition should be a top priority. One also needs to be correctly diagnosed with the proper disorder before treatment can be effective. Let's take a quick look at some common disorders that interrupt sleep.

Advanced or Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome: A syndrome characterized by increasingly earlier bedtimes or wake times until eventually the paitients sleep schedule is not the same as average folks.

Bruxism: Involuntary grinding, gnashing, or clenching of the teeth while sleeping.

HatzFeldt Syndrome: Irregular sleep patterns and behaviors.

Hypopnea Sydrome: Abnormally shallow inspirations or respiratory rate during sleep.

Insomnia: Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or awakening too soon.

Narcolepsy: Uncontrollable and inappropriate falling asleep at unwanted times.

Night Terrors: Thrashing or waking from extremely terrifying and realistic nightmares.

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD): Involuntary limb movement during sleep.

Rapid Eye Movement Behavior Disorder: During REM a patient physically acts out vivid dreams.

Restless Leg Syndrome: An uncontrollable urge to move legs. This will be severe enough to disrupt sleep. Sufferers often have PLMD

Shift Work sleep Disorder: Workers that are on night shift often cannot adjust to sleeping during the day therefore exhibiting insomnia signs and symptoms.

Sleep Paralysis:The body becomes paralyzed right before falling into a deep sleep, during sleep and for a bit of time after waking.

Sleep Apnea: Breathing cessation either by blocked or collapsed airway or the brains inability to signal the body to continue breathing. Gasping, gagging, choking, and snoring often accompany this disorder.

Somnabulism: Engaging in activities normal during waking hours such as eating, talking, walking, etc.

Snoring: Loud noises emmitted during sleep. Often caused by airway obstruction or swollen passages.

If your doctor suspects you have a sleep disorder...

Your doctor may prescribe a sleep study to determine which type of sleep disorder you have. For more information about sleep studies, click here.

Important: The information presented on this page and other pages on this site is based upon the opinions of the author and on the author's interpretation of published reports and articles. It is not intended to replace your relationship with a qualified health care professional, and is not intended as medical advice.

The author encourages you to make your own health care decisions in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

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