Sleep Disorders

We’ve already learned that We need sleep. Children and teens need more

sleep than adults. Sleep deprivation can cause

Accidents A depressed immune

system

Altered States of Consciousness

Sleep Disorders

• According to the National Institute of Health, at least 40 million Americans each year suffer from long-lasting sleep disorders, and 20 million others have occasional sleeping problems.

• There are more than 70 different sleep disorders.

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– Sleep apnea is a disorder of brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.

Sleep Disorders

– The risk of developing sleep apnea is higher for people who are overweight and increases with age.

– Sleep apnea is a dangerous medical condition because it deprives a person of oxygen and is associated with increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, and automobile accidents.

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Narcolepsy• Characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks

•Lapses directly into REM sleep (usually during times of stress or joy)

– Insomnia is the prolonged inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or get back to sleep once a person is awakened during the night.

Sleep Disorders

– Insomnia becomes a pattern and can cause problems during the day, such as tiredness, a lack of energy, difficulty concentrating and irritability.

– Insomnia affects people of all ages. Click the mouse button or press the

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– Treatment for insomnia

– Sleeping medication: can be psychologically addictive

– CBT: cognitive behavior therapy

– recommended approach

Practice good sleep hygiene

Severe case = FFI (fatal familial insomnia)

lose ability to sleep at all

Sleep Disorders

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– Restless legs syndrome, or RLS, is a sleep disorder in which there are unpleasant sensations in the legs and feet and an urge to move them for relief.

Sleep Disorders• Restless legs syndrome (RLS)

– RLS can occur at any age, but occurs most often among the elderly.

– The cause of this disorder is not known but it is sometimes the result of diabetes or pregnancy.

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REM Rebound

• The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation

• What will happen if you don’t get a good nights sleep for a week, and then sleep for 10 hours?

You will dream a lot!!!

Night Terrors• A sleep disorder

characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified.

• Occurs in Stage 4, not REM, and are not usually remembered.

SleepwalkingSymptoms and Features:• Ambulation (walking or moving about) that occurs during sleep.

The onset typically occurs in pre-pubertal children. • difficulty in arousing the patient during an episode • amnesia following an episode • Fatigue (which is not the same as drowsiness), stress and anxiety

Young children who have the deepest and lengthiest Stage 4 sleep, are most likely to experience both night terrors and sleepwalking. As we get older, Stage 4 sleep diminishes – so do night terrors and sleepwalking.

Sleepwalking(Somnambulism)

• Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder effecting an estimated 10 percent of all humans at least once in their lives.

• Sleep walking most often occurs during deep non-REM sleep (stage 3 or stage 4 sleep) early in the night.

Sleepwalking

• The sleep walking activity may include simply sitting up and appearing awake while actually asleep, getting up and walking around, or complex activities such as moving furniture, going to the bathroom, dressing and undressing, and similar activities. Some people even drive a car while actually asleep. The episode can be very brief (a few seconds or minutes) or can last for 30 minutes or longer.

Sleepwalking

• One common misconception is that a sleep walker should not be awakened. It is not dangerous to awaken a sleep walker, although it is common for the person to be confused or disoriented for a short time on awakening. Another misconception is that a person cannot be injured when sleep walking. Actually, injuries caused by such things as tripping and loss of balance are common for sleep walkers.

Signs You Need More Sleep

You may need to get more rest and sleep if you answer yes to any of the following questions.

• Do you always have to have an alarm clock to wake up?

• Do you have trouble waking up in the morning?

• Do you feel tired and irritable most of the day?

• Do you think about and crave more sleep during the day?

• Do you rely on caffeine to stay awake during the day?

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