O sleep, where art thou?

Henriette Lamprecht – Counting sheep. Done. Warm milk with honey. Done. Comfortable cushion, curtains closed. Done. You still not getting any sleep. Undone.

A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person or animal, with some sleep disorders serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning. Polysomnography and actigraphy are normally ordered for some sleep disorders which can include Sleep Apnea, Leg Cramps, Insomnia, Restless Legs Syndrome, Narcolepsy and Snoring.

Sleep disorders are classified into three major categories: lack of sleep (e.g., insomnia); disturbed sleep (e.g. sleep apnea, REM sleep behavior disorder, restless leg syndrome [RLS,also called Willis-Ekbom disease], periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) and excessive sleep (e.g., narcolepsy).

Insomnia, the inability to get to sleep or sleep well at night, can be caused by stress, jet lag, a health condition, the medications you take, or even the amount of coffee you drink. Insomnia can also be caused by other sleep disorders or mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.

For people who suffer from hypersomnia, oversleeping is actually a medical disorder. The condition causes people to suffer from extreme sleepiness throughout the day, which is not usually relieved by napping. It also causes them to sleep for unusually long periods of time at night.

Too much sleep on a regular basis can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and death according to several studies done over the years. Too much is defined as greater than nine hours. The most common cause is not getting enoughsleep the night before, or cumulatively during the week.

Too much is defined as greater than nine hours. The most common cause is not getting enough sleep the night before, or cumulatively during the week. This is followed by sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, idiopathic hypersomnolence, as well as depression. Get enough sleep, seven to nine hours a night

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, about 40 million people in the United States suffer from chronic long-term sleep disorders each year and an additional 20 million people experience occasional sleep problems.

Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by a reduction or

pause of breathing (airflow) during sleep, loud and chronic snoring, choking, snorting or gasping during sleep, long pauses in breathing and daytime sleepiness, no matter how much time you spend in bed.

Snoring and sleep apnea is detrimental to the patients’ health and to quality of life. It also affects your loved ones.

Sleep apnea (AP-ne-ah) is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep. Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They may occur 30 times or more an hour. Typically, normal breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound.

Although a diagnoses of sleep apnea will often be suspected on the basis of a person’s medical history there are several tests that

can be used to confirm the diagnoses. The treatment of sleep apnea is based on a specialist examination

of the patients airway and specialised tests and may either be surgical or none surgical.

If you suffer from insomnia, try to stick to a routine at bedtime, and go to bed at the same time every day. Avoid caffeine and nicotine before bedtime, and get plenty of exercise during the day. A dark room free of noise may also help-consider buying a “white noise” device if your bedroom is noisy. ([email protected]; www. sleepeducation.org)