Top 7 sleep disorders

What are the most common sleep disorders and how to identify them?

Sleep is a Biological process essential for life. However, it is also a facet of everyday life that lends itself to the development of specific disorders.

There are different sleep disorders that prevent us from having a restful sleep and that affect our day to day with various symptoms already mentioned in another article above.

Sleep disorders: what are they?

As his name indicates, the disorders of the dream are psychological alterations that affect negatively to the quality of life of the persons and that manifest themselves in the moments in which one sleeps or tries to sleep..

This means that suffering from one of these problems for a prolonged period of time can lead to other health complications, especially in the case of sleep disorders that prevent a good night's sleep. It should not be forgotten that not getting enough sleep, in the long run, leads to significant cognitive wear and tear, and increases the risk of suffering physical and mental pathologies.

Types of sleep disorders

Here you will find a summary of the sleep disorderswith their main symptoms and distinguishing characteristics.

1. Insomnia

Among the most common disorders is insomnia, which affects 25% of the population. It may be due to certain underlying disorders such as depression or anxiety. Insomnia is defined as the inability to fall asleep and stay asleep all night. Each person needs certain hours to feel rested although the normal is between 7 and 9 hours.

People with insomnia tend to feel sleepy throughout the day, which affects their daily life, and at night they will find it difficult to fall asleep again despite their tiredness. Within the insomnia; the so-called effect of "restless legs"consists of a tingling in the legs that forces the patient to move them. It occurs at night and makes it difficult to sleep.

• More information and advice on insomnia in: "Fighting insomnia: 10 solutions to sleep better".

2. Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which the sufferer pauses breathing during sleep. pause in breathing during sleep.. It usually lasts a short time and the person recovers normal breathing with a loud snoring. It is usually a chronic disorder that disturbs sleep as it occurs in the REM phase and goes into a light sleep causing the person not to rest properly.

The first to notice this symptom is usually a family member since the person does not realize this. The most common type is obstructive sleep apneawhich is due to an obstruction in the airway that prevents air from passing through. It is usually more common in overweight people.

If not treated properly there can be serious consequences because in periods of anoxia (lack of air in the brain) can damage neurons associated with sleep. And increase the probability of suffering a heart attack.

Other less common disorders are narcolepsy and cataplexy.

3. Narcolepsy

This neurological disease is due to a brain abnormality that alters the neural mechanisms of sleep; it consists of sudden episodes of sleep during waking hours, being able to fall asleep for 2-5 minutes anywhere and waking up feeling clear. It can occur while driving, talking or simply walking. These people lack slow wave sleep and go directly into REM sleep. Narcolepsy can also occur in dogs.

Within this disease we find some variants such as the cataplexyCataplexy: It is a total paralysis that occurs during wakefulness. The person suffers muscle weakness and can be totally paralyzed and fall to the ground. What happens is that the REM sleep phenomenon occurs at an inappropriate time. The person is conscious during these crises.

• Hypnagogic hallucinations: vivid daydreams that occur before the person falls asleep. These are dreams while awake.

• Sleep paralysis: Usually occurs just before sleep or upon awakening in the morning but at a time when it poses no danger to the person.

• More information on sleep paralysis can be found in: "Sleep paralysis: definition, symptoms and causes".

4. Behavioral disorders associated with REM sleep

In REM sleep we are paralyzed bodily. If it were not for this paralysis we would act out our dreams.

In REM sleep-associated disorder (which is a neurodegenerative disease), the patients act out their dreamsThey get up and move without being consciously aware of it. The patient may suffer injuries.

4. Disorders associated with slow wave sleep

During this phase, specifically in sleep phase 4 (one of the deepest), some people suffer from maladaptive behaviors such as sleepwalking, nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting) and night terrors. In the case of enuresis, it is a type of disturbance that occurs very frequently in boys and girls.

5. Sleepwalking

In children it is usually due to fatigue, lack of sleep or anxiety; in adults it may be due to mental disorders, alcohol among others. These people can get up and walk around normally, perform actions... these episodes are usually very brief and if they are not woken up they will go back to sleep but they can stay asleep in any different place.

Within sleepwalking is the sleep-associated eating disorderThe person eats while asleep. To prevent it, they usually keep food under lock and key.

• To learn more about sleepwalking, we recommend the article "Sleepwalking: the king of sleep disorders".

6. Night terrors

Night terrors are most common in children between the ages of 3 and 7. The child may be sweating or breathing heavily, in shock and very disoriented.

In short, a restful sleep is needed to be at 100% in our day to day life. That is why, in the event that you suffer from any of the symptoms described above, consult your doctor and he will be able to diagnose you properly and take measures if necessary.. Many of these disorders have highly effective treatments.

• Learn more about night terrors: "Night terrors: panic during sleep".

Bibliographic references:

• Mathias, J. L.; Alvaro, P. K. (2012). Prevalence of sleep disturbances, disorders, and problems following traumatic brain injury: A meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine. 13(7): pp. 898 - 905.
• Mai E, Buysse DJ (1 January 2008). "Insomnia: Prevalence, Impact, Pathogenesis, Differential Diagnosis, and Evaluation". Sleep Medicine Clinics. 3(2): pp. 167 - 174.
• Meltzer, Lisa J.; Johnson, Courtney; Crosette, Jonathan; Ramos, Mark; Mindell, Jodi A. (2010). Prevalence of Diagnosed Sleep Disorders in Pediatric Primary Care Practices. Pediatrics. 125 (6): e1410–e1418.
• Roepke, S. K., & Ancoli-Israel, S. (2010). Sleep disorders in the elderly. The Indian Journal of Medical Research, 131: pp. 302 - 310.
• Thorpy, M.J. (2012). Classification of sleep disorders. Neurotherapeutics, 9(4): pp. 687 - 701.