Common Sleep Disorders

If you have trouble getting to sleep or sleeping through the night, if you wake up too early or have a hard time waking up at all, or if you are overly tired during the day, you may have one of the following sleep problems:

SLEEP APNEA

This is a life-threatening disorder which causes you to stop breathing repeatedly during your sleep.

INSOMNIA

This is a persistent inability to initiate or maintain sleep. Insomnia is associated with daytime fatigue and sleepiness. Most of these symptoms can be diagnosed and treated effectively.

HYPERSOMNIA

This is sleeping too much and/or at inappropriate times. Sleep Apnea and Narcolepsy are the chief causes of Hypersomnia.

NARCOLEPSY

This s a lifelong disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks during the day and muscle weakness triggered by sudden emotional reactions like laughter or fear. Some Narcolepsy patients experience vivid dreamlike scenes or paralysis upon falling asleep or awakening. This can be improved with medications.

PARASOMNIA

This is indicated by such problems as nightmares, sleepwalking, sleep talking, abnormal movements, chest pain and bedwetting that occur during sleep. These conditions are more common in children and may worsen in adolescents and adults.

CHRONIC FATIGUE

This is an ongoing feeling of tiredness, malaise, sleepiness, boredom or depression.

RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME

This is a sensory phenomenon consisting of discomfort in the legs and an irresistible urge to move them. The discomfort is typically difficult to define. Patients use a variety of terms such as creeping, crawling, itching, soreness and sometimes aching to describe it, but rarely call it truly painful.