• Often, people with the disorder report that they cannot sleep until early morning, but fall asleep at about the same time every “night”
• Unless they have another sleep disorder such as sleep apnea in addition to DSPS, patients can sleep well and have a normal need for sleep
• Therefore, they find it very difficult to wake up in time for a typical school or work day
• If, however, they are allowed to follow their own schedules, e.g. sleeping from 4 a.m. to noon, they sleep soundly, awaken spontaneously, and do not experience excessive daytime sleepiness
• The syndrome usually develops in early childhood or adolescence, and sometimes disappears in adolescence or early adulthood. Depending on the severity, it can be to a greater or lesser degree treatable. Prevalence among adults, equally distributed among women and men, is approximately 0.15% or three in 2000

DSPS was first formally described in 1981 by Dr. Elliot D. Weitzman and others at Montefiore Medical Center. It is responsible for 7–10% of patient complaints of chronic insomnia. However, as few doctors are aware of its existence, it often goes untreated or is treated inappropriately. DSPS is frequently misdiagnosed as primary insomnia or as a psychiatric condition. (By Wikipedia)

This is the most common circadian-rhythm sleep disorder that results in insomnia and daytime sleepiness, or somnolence.

• A short circuit between a person’s biological clock and the 24-hour day causes this sleep disorder
• It is commonly found in those with mild or major depression. In addition, certain medications used to treat bipolar disorder may disrupt the sleep-wake cycle
• It often recommend chronotherapy to patients
• This therapy, an attempt to move bedtime and rising time later and later each day until both times reach the desired goal, is often used to adjust delayed sleep phase syndrome
• To adjust the delayed sleep phase problem, sleep specialists might also use bright light therapy or the natural hormone melatonin, particularly in depressed patients.
  

Hypnic headaches is divided into the following types:

• moderate
• throbbing
• bilateral
• unilateral

Unilateral hypnic headache

• This type of hipnic headache wakes the person once or many times during night
• This headache starts a few hours after sleep begins and can last from 15 min to 3 hors or longer
• There is normally no nausea, photophobia, phonophobia or autonomic symptoms associated with the headache
• Hypnic headache commonly occur at the same time every night possibly linking the headaches with circadian rhythm, but polysomnography has recently suggests that hypnic headaches may be linked to REM sleep

Treatment

• Lithium carbonate 200-600 mg at bedtime is an effect treatment for most patients.  
• For those people who can not tolerate Lithium, Verapamil, indomethacin or methylsergilide may be tried
• Two patients have also responded to flunarizine 5 mg
• It has also been shown that 1-2 cups of coffee ortrikes 1-2 mg of caffeine before bed can prevent hypnic headaches.

How hypnic headache is diagnosed?

• Hypnic headache syndrome s diagnosed when it s at least 15 times per month for at least one month
• Differential diagnosis of hypnic headaches in the elderly people are also identified by one or a few of the following causes:
  • drug withdrawal
  • temporal arteritis
  • sleep apnea
  • oxygen desaturated
  • pheochomatoma
  • intracranial causes
  • primary and secondary neoplasms
  • communicating hydrocephalus
  • subdural hematoma
  • vascular lesions
  • migraines
  • cluster headaches
  • chronic paroxysmal hemicrania.
• All other causes must be ruled out before the diagnosis of hypnic headache can be made. (Wikipedia)

Watch Vide: How to Reduce & Relieve Headaches

Learn how to do scalp calisthenics, or a scalp massage, to relieve headaches with expert medical tips in this free online headache relief video clip. Expert: Dr. Susan Jewell is a trained doctor and scientist in clinical research medicine:

Last update Nov 22,2009

• sleep disorders
• dyssomnias
• insomnia
• parasomnias
• sleep study
• phyilogy
• narcolepsy
• treatment os sleep disorders
• periodic limb movement disorder
• restless leg syndrome
• depression
• anxiety
• sleep disturbances
• others

Watch Video: SLEEP DISORDERS

• Dyssomnias are classified as sleeping disorders
• Dyssomnias become primary sleep disorders by due to ability for initiating or maintaining sleep and or excessive sleepiness
• Dyssomnias also characterized by a disturbance in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep

Dyssomnias Symptoms

People who diagnosed with dyssomnia usually complain of the following symptoms:

• difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep
• intermittent wakefulness during the night
• early morning awakening
• combinations of any of those mentioned above

What causes dyssomnias?

•  Stress
• Caffeine
• Physical discomfort
• Daytime napping
• Early bedtimes

Types of dyssomnias

There are over 30 recognized kinds of dyssomnias. Major groups of dyssomnias are listed below:

Dissomnias Treatment

Two most common types of treatment and another two types, which may be combined:

• Psychological, or cognitive-behavioral: for primary insomnia disorder
• Pharmacological: in the presence of acute distress, such as a grief reaction
• Combination of both types: In situations when ingestion of the hormone melatonin or bright light therapy for circadian rhythm disorders.

In conlusion, specialists in sleep medicine are trained to diagnose and treat these disorders.

See aso: Parasomnias

There are two types of Sleeping Sikness illness: 

• East African Trypanosomiasis
• West African Trypanosomiasis

Treatment for Sleeping Sickness

Nairobi (by IRIN –  Humanitarian News and Analysis)— Patients at an advanced stage of Human African Trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, can now access more convenient, safer and cheaper treatment after the introduction of Nifurtimox-Eflornithine Combination Therapy (NECT). Developed by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) and partners, NECT comprises the administration of oral nifurtimox, and eflornithine injections for 10 days.

Symptoms

At the initial stages, symptoms include fever and aching muscles and joints.

Brain invasion by those parasites in advanced stages of the illnes leads to problems such as:

• confusion
• personality changes
• slurred speech
• seizures
• difficulty walking and talking

Left untreated, the disease is fatal.

The tsetse fly is large, brown and stealthy. While taking blood from a mammalian host, an infected tsetse fly (genus Glossina) injects metacyclic trypomastigotes into skin tissue. The parasites enter the lymphatic system and pass into the bloodstream

• Inside the host, they transform into bloodstream trypomastigotes
• are carried to other sites throughout the body, reach other blood fluids (e.g., lymph, spinal fluid), and continue the replication by binary fission
• The entire life cycle of African Trypanosomes is represented by extracellular stages. A tsetse fly becomes infected with bloodstream trypomastigotes when taking a blood meal on an infected mammalian host
• In the fly’s midgut, the parasites transform into procyclic trypomastigotes,
• multiply by binary fission,
• leave the midgut, and
• transform into epimastigotes
• The epimastigotes reach the fly’s salivary glands and continue multiplication by binary fission.
• The cycle in the fly takes approximately 3 weeks to progress.

Watch Video: Drug Discovery: African Sleeping Sickness   

Rommie Amaro, Computational and Theoretical Biophysical Chemist, discusses how she uses the resources at SDSC to conduct her drug discovery research on African Sleeping Sickness. Originally posted by SDSC on SDSC’s CI Channel at: www.cichannel.org 

In medical terminology, an addiction is a chronic neurobiologic disorder that has genetic, psychosocial, and environmental dimensions and is characterized by one of the following:

• The continued use of a substance despite its detrimental effects
• Impaired control over the use of a drug (compulsive behavior)
• Preoccupation with a drug’s use for non-therapeutic purposes (i.e. craving the drug)

Addiction is often accompanied by the presence of deviant behaviors (for instance stealing money and forging prescriptions) that are used to obtain a drug. (Wikipedia)

31-August 09

Q: Is anyone else addicted to sleeping? I sleep all the time and although some people say it’s normal for a teenager, my mom gets really mad all the time and yells at me a lot for it. I tell her I can’t help it but she think I’m just being really lazy. Also sometimes I just don’t feel like doing anything or putting something off until later. And sleeping is so peaceful. 

A1: From Jim Bow 

Well sleeping can be so comforting as well. It is not abnormal in itself, but what you need to check out is that you are not a little depressed or something.My daughters went through a phase of spending more time in bed than I thought healthy, but now they are both married it all different.Do have a physical check up just to be on the safe side. We all get moods when we feel it is better to stay in bed and do nothing. Best Wishes.

 A2: Well, I do think it is normal for teenagers to like to sleep a lot. When I was a teenager, everyone I knew would sleep late on the weekends. Sometimes even until three or four in the afternoon, though I myself never slept past noon. My family got mad and thought us teenagers were being lazy, too. They thought everyone should be up by eight at the latest. So, I’d say that whether the issue is a cause for concern depends on what’s happening. What does your mom expect? How long and how much are you sleeping? If you do spend most of your free time in bed, then perhaps you should check things out. 

A3: I sleep in but most i get is 10 hours sleep. the least is 6 hours sleep and i notice if i sleep too much and do too little then i get tired and i stay tired and sleep more that is why i try do more in the day otherwise i would sleep too much maybe. When i was a teenager i slept a lot and on the odd occasion i would not wake up until 4pm but I don’t think it does the body any good. Circulation for one thing cant be good if you sleep too long and poor circulation is not good for ones health. If your worried aobut it then maybe see a doctor? 

Now you can see that sleep addiction is a sleep disorder, not necessarily a sleep illness, however, the most common people complain can be described as follows:

I must have sleep addiction. I simply cannot get out of bed to work out in the morning.

Let’s ask the doctor:  (from Western Washington Univerity)

Q: Is there such thing as a “sleep addiction”? Because sometimes I think I have one.  

I’ve often thought that if there were a “sleeping competition” at western I would win it by far. I also have this weird habit/ability to sleep almost anywhere, or anytime, no matter how much I’ve slept that day just because I like it that much. It was more of a problem for me last year, and I’ve limited my sleep and am doing fine, but sometimes – especially during midterms and finals – I can’t help it. Suggestions? 

A: There are many reasons for “hypersomnia” which is a need/desire for excessive sleep–not exactly an addiction but roughly defined as sleeping more than 10 hours daily. There are a number of sleep disorders which can cause this, including narcolepsy, which can cause sudden sleep at inappropriate times (i.e. in class, while driving, during high stress situations) or sleep apnea which causes disrupted sleep patterns from hypoxia (low oxygen levels) so one is always sleepy, having not had restful sleep. There is depression which causes excessive sleep need, primarily due to fatigue, but also as an escape from the pain and worry of daily activities. Some medications and recreational substances can cause excessive sleep need. And then, a particular affliction of college students: no set sleep routine, no predictable hours of rest, being up at all hours of the night and so there is constant tiredness and sleep craving. Bottom line, if the excessive sleep need persists despite several days of at least 9 hours of sleep at night, then being evaluated in a sleep clinic for a sleep disorder makes a great deal of sense.

Watch Video: Sleep and Addiction

Symptoms of jet lag. Besides insomnia and fatigue a jet lag victims may experience constipation, anxiety, diarrhea, dehydration, headache, confusion, irritability, nausea, coordination problems, sweating, and even memory loss. It has been reported of other additional symptoms, such as irregularities in heartbeat and increased vulnerability to deceases.

What is a time zone? A time zone is a region, which maintains one hour time period everywhere within it.

• There are 24 time zones in the world, one for each hour in the day.
• Each zone runs from North to South along Earth meridians that are approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) wide.
• Sometimes the actual width of each zone varies with geographical and political restrictions.
• As the Earth rotates on its 24-hour schedule, sunrise occurs at a exact hour in one time zone, an hour later in the time zone immediately to the West, and so on through the 24-hour cycle.
• Thus, in the USA when it is 5 a.m. in the Eastern Time Zone, it is 4 a.m. in the Central Time Zone, 3 a.m. in the Mountain Time Zone, and 2 a.m. in the Pacific Time Zone.sleep schedule

How jet lag occurs? The main reason for jet lag occurrence is failure of an air passenger to quickly adjust to the time in a different zone.

• Thus, when someone who lives in San Francisco arrives in Rome at midnight Rome time, his or her body is still functioning on San Francisco time.
• That is why the body fights with the new and temporary sleep problems, such as fatigue, insomnia, irritability, sleep deprivation, lack of dreams, and even impaired ability to maintain to concentrate may occur.
• Another real problem is a changed in bathroom schedule causing constipation or even diarrhea.
• If that happens, the brain may get confused and also disoriented by attempting to maintain the old schedules.

How does the body keep time? As it described in the previous article Circadian Rhytms a small part of our brain, called the hypothalamus, behave as an alarm clock.

• Its main function is to activate various functions of our body, such as: thirst, hunger, and sleep. It provides  many other very critical regulations of blood pressure, temperature, and the amount of hormones, as well as level of  glucose in the blood stream.
• Here is how a “time stamp”  in our brain is functioning:  there are over 100 million receptors in the eye transmitting  perceptions of light and darkness through fibers in the optic nerve assisting our body to tell the time of day by to a timekeeping center within the hypothalamus.
• Thus, being previously set for a specific timeframe, and when the eyes of the traveler sense dusk or dawn several hours before or after than usual, the hypothalamus may initiate activities that the rest of the body is not expecting yet, and jet lag occurs.

Watch Video: How To Avoid Jet Lag

You don’t have to accept fatigue and sleeplessness as the cost of traveling to distant lands. There are a half a dozen things you can do to lessen the impact of crossing time zones.

Sleep Paralysis is a horrifying form of paralysis that happens when a person suddenly finds him/her self being unable to move for a short period of time, a few minutes or so, mostly when falling asleep or awakening.

• Sleep Paralysis is still grey area among sleep researches, however, several symptoms of sleep paralysis have been identified.
• They include sensations of noises, levitation, smells, paralysis, terror, as well as images of frightening situations and intruders.
• Sleep Paralysis has been considered as a very rare disorder.
• Unfortunately, about 50% of all people now believe to encounter sleep paralysis sometime during their life.

Rapid eye movements (REM) sleep and slee paralysis

According to the latest study, sleep paralysis usually occurs when a person is moving into or out of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

More on REM Sleep see in this article. During REM sleep the body muscles are normally paralyzed.

During sleep, the brain is makes the body paralyzed until mind and body are synchronized.

It becomes clear now that Sleep Paralysis is the product of early mind-body detachment when a person is entering or exiting from REM sleep.

It has been noticed that Sleep Paralysis strikes when normal REM patterns is interrupted, especially after jet lag or periods of sleeplessness.

How sleep paralysis affect us

• It has been also observed that Sleep Paralysis affects men and women equally of all ages, however, it is most common in teenagers.
• Sleep Paralysis can be familial and may be genetic (inherited) in some cases.
• Sleep Paralysis attacks are mostly harmless and short.
• They tend to disappear in a minute or two as soon as the brain and body re-connect again in full consciousness and aperson is capable of moving again.
• However, people who have been stricken by sleep paralysis, keep the memory of those terrifying sensations during sleep paralysis when they felt suffering. (Some scholars believe that sleep paralysis may account for some of the old claims of attacks by witches and the more recent “reports” of nocturnal abduction by space aliens.)
• From a medical point of view, sleep paralysis is sometimes called waking paralysis (same as sleep paralysis), predormital (before-sleep) paralysis, postdormital (after-sleep) paralysis, and REM sleep atonia.

Watch Video: Sleep Paralysis With David Hufford 

The authority on sleep paralysis David J Hufford speaks openly about sleep paralysis. He will experience the terrifying phenomenon of sleep paralysis. Victims wake to find that they are paralyzed and unable to move or speak. Many experience frightening visions of demons, shadows, or an old woman known as “The Hag.” For others there is simply the unmistakable presence of evil. In extreme cases, these potentially supernatural attacks can occur for decades. Overwhelmed, exhausted, and entirely alone, victims can lead shattered lives dominated by the fear of social stigma. Those who seek medical advice are often misdiagnosed and labeled psychotic or schizophrenic.

Anxiety is a multifaceted mixture of the feeling of fear, apprehension, and worries often associated with physical sensations, such as palpitations, chest pain and/or shortness of breath. It may exist as a primary disorder or may be associated with other medical problems including other psychiatric disorders.

Anxiety disorders are a group of conditions with exaggerated anxiousness and worry about variety of concerns, which persists for an extended period of time.  

Anxiety disorders are not the same as the common anxiety that we feel as a result of a situation, which we perceive as threatening. Good examples of such situations are:

•  stage or classroom presentation,
•  near-missing car accident, or
•  simply expecting the results of a blood test.

Occasionally, anxiety can be quite helpful:

• Anxiety can stimulate people to deal with a threatening situation, put some efforts into study for an exam, or perform better in sports.In other instances, anxiety could be very repetitive.

It could interfere with your ability to cope your daily routine or even disrupts person’s daily life.

• In this case, it means that a person may have an anxiety disorder.

• Anxiety disorders are illnesses, which force people to feel nervous most of the time without obvious reasons.

• Generalized anxiety disorder, in comparison to social anxiety disorder, drive people in getting occasional and/or, intense moments of anxiety, which can make them totally immobilized. Anxiety disorders are the most widespread of all mental disorders. Many people misinterpret these disorders and think they can recover from them by themselves (i.e., without professional treatment). Apparently, this is not the case.

• Luckily, there are many treatments available today to help people with anxiety disorders. Consult your family doctor for an advice.

Watch video: Anxiety Disorders

Stress and Anxiety

As we know now, stress in its different forms is capable of provoking anxiety. It can also progress into anxiety disorder. Stress is a normal part of our lifes. Unfortunately, it can’t always be managed among different life situations surrounding you. However, it is in your power to make decision on how to react to stress and how to prevent stress from taking control of you.

A few advices to cope with stress on your own:

• Pinpoint the sources of your stress, analyze it, so you can deal with it.

• Talk about your stress situations with a friend or just keep personal notes, which eventually will help you to find out what situations are causing you stress.

• Then do something about it.

• Remember, if you are not in control of a situation, it can add other negative attributes to the stress you are feeling.

• Analyze necessary steps you need to take to deal with the stressful situation, then take action.

• Physical exercises can help relieve your stress. Note that your mind and your body will be preoccupied reducing stress symptoms. Take a walk, stretch, play tennis, swim, play card games with your friends or family members, or just do whatever you like to do. Doing regular exercises will help you cope with stressful situations in the future.

• A well-maintained body will give you more resources to handle stress.

• Enjoy the taste of different vegetables, fruits, whole-grain foods, and protein-rich meat.

• Consume plenty of water and reduce or totally eliminate sugar and caffeine (in pop, coffee, and tea) in your diet.

Watch videos: How anxiety affects  the body 

Watch videos: Relieve Stress and Anxiety with Exercise

If your stress gets out of control or lasts for too long,

it can have a negative impact on your mental health:

Ask for help!

Watch video: The Truth About Stress, Anxiety and Stress  

Take Anxiety Quiz to find out how you are responding to the events of anxiety and stress in your life

Cataplexy, a abrupt muscular weakness as a result of a very strong emotional burst. Cataplexy is a medical condition, which may also disturb people diagnosed with narcolepsy. Cataplexy manifests itself as muscular weaknesses as follows: from a lightly noticeable break of the facial muscles to the actual dropping of a person’s jaw, or a head, as well as a weakness at the knees, or even a total collapse.

Note that a similar sensation is observed in the patients with a reduced oxygen in their blood stream, whereby an actual collapse of the person is due to a reduced oxygen in the brain.  

Watch Video: Waking Up from Narcolepsy

Treatments for Narcolepsy

It is critical to identify apparent outcome goals for specific target symptoms in the treatment of narcolepsy. There are prescription drugs available for treating patients with narcolepsy, as well as treating the narcolepsy symptoms. Also, there are medications that will help patient with narcolepsy to deal with this disease by way of behavioral modifications.

The following list of treatments and procedures for treating Narcolepsy:

• Avoid operating machinery.
• Avoid driving. Motor-vehicle authorities prohibit people with narcolepsy from driving
• Avoid swimming
• Avoid diving
• Maintain regular sleep routines
• Avoid over-reacting
• Avoid any drugs that can affect sleep
• Schedule daytime naps on regular intervals

Narcoleptic’s ability to function well, maintaining work, and socially interacting obligations will be increased with nap(s) during the day lasting from even 5min to as long as 30 minutes. 

Narcoleptics often have many difficulties socially and in their work related lives, due to their disease. There are some professionally supervised support groups that help patients cope with these issues.

More information can be found here.

Questions To Ask Your Doctor About Narcolepsy (more will be covered in “Ask the Doctor” article)

• What is the cause of my sleep disorder?
• What should I do to avoid sleepiness during the day or reduce it?
• Would medication help me to cope with this problem?
• How often, and when, should the medication be taken?
• What are the side effects of these medication(s)?
• What is the prognosis of my condition?

To download a free book about narcolepsy please click here:

In cataplexy patients, as a rule, only speech is garbled, eye vision is impaired with inability to focus or even with a double-vision. However, hearing and attentiveness stay normal. In some rare cases, an individual’s body becomes paralyzed and muscles will become stiff, as explained in the Other Sleep Disorders article.

The term syndrome, as it  used in medicine and psychology, is associated with many clinically identified features: (a) signs, which are observed by a physician; (b) symptoms, which are reported by the patient, phenomena; or (c) characteristics that often occur together, so that the presence of one feature alerts the physician to the presence of the others.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, also known as DSM-IV, is a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) that includes all currently recognized mental health and all sleep disorders. DSM-IV recognizes three major categories of sleep disorders:

1.   Dissomnias are broad classification of sleeping disorders that make it difficult to get to sleep, or to stay sleeping

2.   Parasomnias is a broad term used to describe various uncommon disruptive sleep-related disorders. They are intense, infrequent physical acts that occur during sleep. Some common Parasomnias include sleepwalking, sleep talking, sleep terror, nightmares, and teeth grinding.

3.   Neurological and psychiatric disorders. 

 Watch Video: Sleep Disorders Overview 

Alternatives to sleep medications

Insomnia treatment: Cognitive behavioral therapy instead of sleeping pills.  

Cognitive Behavior Therapy vs. Pharmacotherapy for Insomnia:

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has a better impact on insomnia in young and middle-aged adults than does pharmacotherapy. Sleep studies published by American Academy of Family Physicians discuss obvious benefits of CBT vs sleep medications. Mayo Clinic, a non-profit organization and internationally renowned medical practice headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota, has conducted well-documented analysis of the previous statement by concluding accurate results.

Sleep researches recommend changing your sleep environment and bedtime behaviors instead of beginning to take a sleep medication. Most of the time, it is the first thing to try before medication. Why? Because behavioral and environmental changes can produce as much of an impact if not more than sleep medications, without any risk of side effects or developed dependencies.

The following short list will give you an idea about other common sleep disorders:

Cataplexy symptoms: a loss of muscle tone that leads to feelings of weakness and a loss of voluntary muscle control.

Central sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which the airway is not blocked, however, the brain doesn’t control the muscles to breathe.

Circadian rhythms are biological rhythms that include the internal “clock,” which creates a set of signals to the brain, such as: when, how much, and how well we sleep.

Mixed sleep apnea is a combination of central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea (see below).

Narcolepsy is a neurological condition when people are subjects to unexpected and excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis (see below), hallucinations, and intermittent, uncontrollable sleep attacks during the daytime.

Non 24-hour sleep-wake disorder is a circadian rhythm disorder, commonly noticed in blind people, when the sleep-wake rhythm does not coincide to the common 24-hr day cycle.

Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep is one of the two main stages of sleep. It consists of stages 1, 2 (light sleep) and stages 3,4 (deep sleep).

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common kind of sleep apnea, which is caused by a blockage of the upper airway. Check article on Snoring for more details).

Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) is also a disorder, in which rhythmic jerking of the legs are the reasons for interrupts sleep.  PLMD usually results in insomnia and/or excessive daytime sleepiness.

Parasomnias are a category of sleep disorders that involve abnormal and unnatural movements, behaviors, emotions, perceptions, and dreams that occur while falling asleep, sleeping, between sleep stages, or arousal from sleep. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a relaxation method that involves tensing and relaxing muscles of the body in a special order. Ultimately, achieve relaxation of a part or the whole body is very useful in some cases of insomnia, as well as for eliminating  muscle cramps during the night.

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is one of the two basic states of sleep. REM sleep, also known as a “dream sleep,” is accompanied by REM, and includes, as a rule, erratic breathing and heart beat in comparison with NREM sleep.

Sleep paralysis is the main symptom of narcolepsy (see above). It involves short-term inability to move or even speak while falling asleep or waking up. Note that in hypnotic stage, which is known as catalepsy, is observed very similar paralysis symptoms, which might tell you that this disorder has cognitive nature and could be cured cognitively. Consult your family doctor for a specific advice.  

For more information please click here:

Effects of sleep deprivation:

Side-effects of sleep deprivation can be similar to being drunk. Study shows that track drivers who spent about 18 hours  behind the wheels perform as bad as drivers with alcohol level in their  blood equal or more that 0.05%! It is kinow now that sleep deprivation can impact your physical, emotional and cognitive abilities.

Watch video: Sleep Deprivation Part I

Physical Effects of Sleep Deprivation

• Difficulty focusing eyes
• Difficulty performing accurate hand manipulation functions
• Reduced muscle strength and endurance
• Increased appetite leading to weight gain

• Weakening of immune system

Cognitive Effects of Sleep Deprivation 

• Poor concentration
• Memory impairment
• Fragmented or scattered speech
• Reduced reaction time
• Impaired decision-making abilities
• Problems generating new ideas
• Hallucinations 

Emotional Effects of Sleep Deprivation

• Increased irritability
• Increased stress
• Increased anxiety
• Loss of emotional control that could result in emotional outburst and violence.
• Increased risk for depression

Watch video: Sleep Deprivation Part II

How much sleep do you need?

Every person might need different amount of sleep. Depending on their lifestyle, some people may need less than 6 hours of sleep while the others required more than 9 hours each night. How much sleep you need is also a factor of your age. Medical researchers and practitioners advice that every person between 16 to 65 years of age should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. As a general rule, you are getting the right amount of sleep in the morning if you are able to wake up without the need of an alarm clock feeling restful and refreshed.

Watch Video:   How Sleep Apnea Occurs  

Types of sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea. It happens when the upper airway becomes blocked during sleep. Most frequently, the blockage of airways happens when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses and closes the throat during the night. Another blockage happens when throat muscles are relaxed, and there is only a narrow airway in place. At this time, a large tongue or abnormal tissue in the throat can also block the airway.

Central apnea and mixed apnea are other types of sleep apnea, but are uncommon. In case of central sleep apnea there is a part of the brain, which controls our breathing mechanism, doesn’t work appropriately.  

How do you know if have sleep apnea?

The following symptoms can give you an indication of having sleep apnea:

Snoring, which is followed by silent pauses, as well as a daytime sleepiness are strong signs that you might possess sleep apnea disorder. In addition, you could feel abnormally tired and sleepy during the working hours due to your sleep being disrupted throughout the night. You could even fall asleep at the wrong time of the day, for example, while at work or while driving. Sleep apnea is common sleep disorder. It affects men, women, and children of all ages, however, majority of people don’t realize they have this type of disorder.

If you experience any sleep apnea signs and/or symptoms, daytime sleepiness, or even slight concerns about sleep apnea, the you need to test yourself with a SleepStrip, then consult a doctor.

Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

Family members or bed partners often notice the signs and symptoms of sleep apnea first. Many people with sleep apnea usually do not know whether or not they’re snoring and out of breath during the night. If you have any of the following signs, conduct sleep apnea test on yourself, then see a doctor:

• Sleepiness during daytime
• Silent time periods preceded by loud snoring
• Short of breath or choking during sleep
• Headache in the morning
• Frequent mood changes, irritability or agitation
• Lack of concentration or loss of memory
• Reduced sex drive
• Falling asleep behind steering wheel  

The devastating effects of the lack of sleep

If sleep apnea is left untreated, it can initiate severe health problems, as follows:

• Extensive daytime sleepiness
• Reduced intellectual abilities
• Anxiety
• Loss of memory
• Depression
• Panic attacks
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Heart problems, which can provoke heart failures and strokes

Other health problems that have been caused by sleep apnea, can lead to termination of employment, as well as marriage or relationship break-up. Clinical research shows that untreated sleep apnea is also responsible for permanent memory loss and dementia, especially observed in the elderly people. Sleep apnea is also responsible for some of the car accidents, as well as for industrial accidents due to the sleepiness it causes during daytime.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Updated Nov 22, 2009

Last update: Dec 10, 2009

·         For a period of one year 20% to 40% of all adults experience insomnia in one way or another

·         At least, at some point in their lives there are1 out of 3 people have insomnia

·         More than 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders and/or wakefulness problems

·         60% of those people have a chronic sleep disorder of some sort

Sleep Apnea Statistics

·         Sleep apnea is responsible for over 18 million Americans who suffer from it

·         Still more than 10 million Americans remain undiagnosed

·         People age 40 and over have been diagnosed with apnea in 50% cases

·         Apnea is more prevalent in men than in women

·         4 to 9% of middle-aged men suffer from apnea

·         Women suffer from apnea in 2 to 4% of middle-aged population

Restless Leg Syndrome Statistics

·         Restless legs syndrome affects as many as 10% of Americans 

·         It can begin at an early age and becomes even worse later in life

·         This disorder is observed during pregnancy or when hormonal changes are temporarily worsen

Children & Sleep Statistics

·         Sleep disorders is diagnosed in over 2 million children who suffer from it

·         It has been estimated that 30% to 40% of children do not sleep enough

·         9 to 10 hours of sleep in average is required for children each night

Women & Sleep Statistics

·         Have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep in women is twice as likely as in men

·         Sleep patterns is worsen during pregnancy

·         Changes in sleep pattern is more likely to happen during menopause or any hormone changes

Older Adult Statistics

·         People older than 65 experience disturbed sleep in 50% of the cases

·         Those  people consist of 13% of the US population. They also consume over 30% of prescription drug and 40% of sleeping pills

General Statistics

·         8 to 8.5 hours of sleep each night is an average requirements for an adult

·         An estimated $15.9 billion of the national health care costs is accounted for sleep problems add

·         An astonishing 84 classifications of sleep disorders are recognized at the present time 

Financial Worries are the Cause of more than 90% of Employees Losing Sleep

Recent poll conducted by ComPsych Corp. shows that 92% among corporate employees claim financial worries for keeping them up at night. Only 8% of employees say that they are “not worried.”Employees have been asked: “Do financial worries keep you up at night? If so, what is your biggest concern?”

Here is what they said:

·         Cost of living (30%t)

·         Credit card debt (29%)

·         Mortgage payment (14%)

·         Retirement account (13%)

·         Kids’ tuition (3%)

·         Health care costs (3%)

SLEEP DISORDERS INFORMATION

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 1. Dyssomnias – the disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep and the disorders of excessive sleepiness

• Intrinsic Sleep Disorders
• Extrinsic Sleep Disorders
• Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders

2. Parasomnias – the disorders of arousal, partial arousal, or sleep stage transition, which do not cause a primary complaint of insomnia or excessive sleepiness.

• Arousal Disorders
• Seep-Wake Transition Disorders
• Parasomnias Usually Associated with REM Sleep
• Other Parasomnias

3. Sleep Disorders – comprises disorders with a prominent sleep complaint that is secondary to another condition

• Associated with Mental Disorders
• Associated with Neurologic Disorders
• Associated with Other Medical Disorders

4. Proposed Sleep Disorders – when insufficient information available to confirm their acceptance as definitive sleep disorders.

For more information on sleep disorders classification please send me a line and I will email you a link to a 399-page article completely free

Note to medical practitioners:

A differential diagnostic listing is shown on page 331 on that article. This listing helps to assist the clinician in diagnosing disease related to one of three major sleep symptoms: insomnia, excessive sleepiness, or an abnormal event during sleep. 

Watch video: Sleep Disorders Overview

Sleep Disorders

The International Classification of Sleep Disorders lists over 80 sleep and wakefulness disorders. This list can be treated as information or it can function as a guide for diagnosis by providing a brief description of the most common sleep disorders, For a detailed listing of the primary and secondary sleep disorders, go to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) or to Sleep Education.

The most common sleep disorders and their short descriptions are:

• Insomnia – difficulty falling asleep, stay awake and a problem returning to sleep, waking too early or experiencing no refreshing sleep
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea – brief disruption in breathing during sleep, usually caused by a physical obstruction, with a presence of loud snoring, preceded by excessive daytime sleepiness, and morning headaches
• Central Sleep Apnea – brief disruption in breathing during sleep, caused by a central nervous system or cardiac dysfunction, with excessive daytime sleepiness, snoring, and a regular awakening with shortness of breath
• Narcolepsy – excessive sleepiness with uncontrollable urge to fall asleep, sudden muscle tension deficit, sleep paralysis ,and hypnagogic hallucinations
• Restless Legs Syndrome – creeping, crawling, tingling or aching sensation in the leg(s) that occur just before falling asleep that create an irresistible urge to move leg(s) 

Some of the remaining more common sleep disorders are:

• Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome – sleeps and wakes too early; usually in aging adults
• Bruxism – teeth grinding that disrupts sleep
• Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome – sleeps and wakes too late, usually in teens
• Fibromyalgia – muscular pain affecting sleep, usually in women
• Gastroesophageal Reflux – heartburn and regurgitation of stomach contents during sleep
• Hypersomnia – extreme daytime sleepiness
• Idiopathic Hypersomnia – extreme daytime sleepiness and extreme difficulty awakening from sleep and post-awakening confusion
• Inadequate Sleep Hygiene – bad sleep habits that keep your sleep from being refreshing; see Sleep Hygiene
• Jet Lag – disturbed sleep, decreased alertness and impaired daytime function due to time zone travel
• Nightmares – frightening dreams that can be recalled
• Nocturnal Enuresis – chronic bedwetting
• Nocturnal Hyperphagia – eating while asleep
• Panic Disorder – awakening with chest pain that brings on panic attacks
• Periodic Limb Movement Disorder – limb movements while sleeping that disrupt sleep patterns
• REM Behavior Disorder – acting out dreams with limb movements while asleep
• Rhythmic Movement Disorder – repetitive, and sometime harmful, movements during sleep (headbanging, bodyrocking, headrolling – side-to-side head movement in the prone position, etc.)
• Shiftwork Sleep Disorder – sleep problems occurring from change of sleep cycle
• Sleep Hyperhidrosis – extreme sweating while asleep
• Sleep Paralysis – inability to move upon awakening
• Sleep Terrors – frightening dreams that can’t be remembered
• Somnambulism – walking/performing activities while asleep
• Somniloquy – talking during sleep

. . . plus over 50 others

 For more information on Headbanging and Bodyrocking please send me a line and I will email you a 2-page article completely free

 Additional information can be found here.

Lasdyt updat Nov 22, 2009