Common Sleep Disorders

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is a recent framework developed to address the dysfunctional cognitions and behaviors that contribute to poor sleeping patterns. Insomnia often presents as a comorbidity to a medical or psychiatric disorder, but may also be an isolated diagnosis. According to research studies, benzodiazepine-receptor agonists (BzRAs) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are the two most effective therapies for treatment and management of insomnia. And while both treatments are beneficial for short-term management of insomnia, CBTi produces long-term sustained benefits with no side effects thus being more advantageous that prescription drug use only. CBTi involves five components: stimulus control, sleep restriction, relaxation training, cognitive therapy and sleep hygiene education. Because CBTi is a fairly new approach, trained professionals may be difficult to find; creative delivery of therapy through telephone or Skype appointments may be necessary.

Sleep can be simply defined as "a reversible behavioral state of perceptual disengagement from and unresponsiveness to the environment" (Kryger, Roth & Dement). As far as the sleeping disorders are concerned, they involve the difficulties that are associated to sleeping. When an individual has difficulty in falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at wrong times, falling asleep unnecessarily, or shows other abnormal sleep behaviors, he/she is said to have a sleep disorder.

As stated in a previous statistic, sleep disorders unfortunately target a wide variety of ages. Children are commonly affected by Sleep Apnea, teeth grinding, Night Terrors, Nightmares, sleep walking, Restless Leg Syndrome, bedwetting, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Adults tend to be affected by Insomnia, Hypersomnia, Sleep Apnea, Narcolepsy, Sleep Paralysis, Hypopnea Syndrome, and Noctoria. Sleep disorders are very common and also very dangerous in some circumstances. Ill treating or ignoring sleep disorders can lead to lethargy, poor mood, lack of motivation, and may negatively impact

Pharmacologic treatment include modafinil, ritanserin and armodafinil, that are effective for treating daytime sleepiness due to narcolepsy. Sodium oxybate, trycyclic antidepressants, venlafaxine and reboxetine to treat cataplexy. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors and venlafaxine for sleep paralysis and hypnogogic

What is Sleep Apnea? Sleep apnea is sleep related breathing disorder. It disrupts a person's normal breathing pattern while sleeping. This serious disorder decreases the levels of oxygen in the blood during long periods of sleep when the breathing repeatedly stops and starts while asleep. This chronic condition happens when the muscles at the back the throat relaxes and narrows the airway causing breathing pauses or shallow breaths, a common condition called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). This occurrence significantly affects the quality of sleep that explains the feeling of tiredness and sleepiness during the day.

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which the patient has pauses in breathing or shallow

Behavioral therapies may help control symptoms, which includes taking three or more scheduled naps throughout the day and exercising. Patients are also advised to avoid heavy meals and alcohol, which can disturb or induce sleepiness during the day. Counseling is also very important for people with narcolepsy. Narcolepsy symptoms are not widely understood by the general public and this may cause patients to feel uncomfortable, alienated, or depressed. This disease can be quite frightening and thus the fear of inappropriately falling asleep will often alter a person’s life. In addition to therapy doctors will also typically prescribe stimulants to improve alertness and diminish excessive daytime sleepiness. Antidepressants are often used to treat cataplexy, hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis (NINDS

The participants in the CBTI group had to attend five weekly 90-minute group treatment sessions. The groups were comprised of 5–15 participants. The intervention followed a treatment manual that had been used in three previous treatment trials. It included educational materials about sleep and the key CBT for insomnia components, which included sleep restriction, stimulus control, relaxation training, and cognitive strategies. The participants in the TAU group received routine individual treatment for insomnia, which was provided in primary care settings. Routine individual treatments could be from a mental health practitioner or a CBT therapist. The results showed that participants in the CBTI group had better sleeping outcomes post-treatment than those in the TAU group. There were smaller effects at 20 weeks. In addition, there were not significant differences

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) causing uncontrollable and sometimes inappropriate napping. Though the naps are often refreshing their frequent occurrences can severely impair daily social functioning. Apart from EDS the cardinal symptoms are; hypnagogic hallucinations, sleep paralysis, sleep onset rapid eye movement periods (SOREMP) and approximately 50% of all patients also suffer from cataplexy; sudden episodes of emotionally triggered muscle weakness (Saper et al., 2001, Schenck et al., 2007). In healthy individuals sleep normally progresses from light drowsiness to deep sleep and after approximately 90 minutes it will transition into rapid eyes movement (REM) sleep. With the

According to the National heart, lung, and blood institute website, “Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which a person has one or more pauses in breathing or weak breaths while they sleep” (NIH-National heart, lung and blood Institute, 2012, definition). The pauses and breathing can last from a few seconds to minutes, and breathing pauses may happen 30 times or more an hour. After the pauses, normal breathing can start but with a loud snort or choking sound (NIH-National heart, lung and blood Institute, 2012, definition). Sleep Apnea can be categorized in three types: obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea and complex sleep apnea syndrome.

A doctor will “order some tests, including blood tests, computed tomography (CT) scans, and a sleep test called polysomnography. In some cases, an additional electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures the electrical activity of the brain, is needed.” Once the doctor has diagnosed you with hypersomnolence disorder your doctor can prescribe various drugs to treat it, including stimulants, antidepressants, as well as several newer medications. Provigil and Xyrem are very popular medications to control daytime sleepiness. Modafinil (Provigil) is considered to be the first-line activating agent for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness. The ideal treatment for hypersomnolence is based upon the symptoms experienced. Stimulant medications, such as dose-controlled amphetamines, most-often prescribed for ADHD, can be used to sustain alertness in individuals with hypersomnolence. Several examples include d-amphetamine, methylphenidateand modafinil. Other drugs used to treat hypersomnolence include clonidine, levodopa, bromocriptine, activating antidepressants, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Behavioral techniques can also be helpful for regulating one’s sleep schedule in ways that promote optimal day-to-day functioning. If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, your doctor may prescribe a treatment known as continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP. With CPAP, you wear a mask over your nose

This would include going to bed at the same time nightly (Centers for Disease Control, 2017). They should ensure they sleep in a quiet, dark room, which is environmentally comfortable (Centers for Disease Control, 2017). Avoid large meals several hours before bed and have a sleep routine to promote relaxation (Centers for Disease Control, 2017). Additionally, all electronic devises and distractions should be kept out of the room, use the bedroom for sleeping (Centers for Disease Control, 2017). The patient should be educated on a reduction of stress and not to focus and dwell on insomnia, which will only make the problem worse. Pharmaceutically a patient may start with Melatonin which can detect which is a hormone produced by the Pineal gland that can be active on the GABA-nergic mechanism that induces sleep similar to benzodiazepine receptor agonist such as alprazolam (Woo & Robinson, 2016). The patient should follow up in one week or sooner if there is no improvement with the Melatonin, to escalate to a sedative. The effect of alprazolam is inhibiting GABA which has reduction in neurotransmission which decreases anxiety and enhances sleep (Woo & Robinson,

The sleep apnea is a respiratory disorder, where person's breathing pauses for five or more breaths during sleep. This can be either apnea or hypopnea. In apnea, breathing pauses or cessation of the airflow for at least 10s in duration, where as in hypopnea, a considerable reduction occurs in the airflow. These leads to a desaturation of oxygen levels in arterial blood.

I have always had problems sleeping due to trauma and have struggled for years to help myself control my insomnia and not let it control me. Sometimes it would come in handy and I could use it to my advantage but most of the time it just ruined me, my attitude, my focus, and my ability to cope. Naps were out of the question, I would literally have to stay awake until my body and mind gave out, something had to give eventually. No matter what I did, how much I exercised, what I ate, how much caffeine I didn’t drink, what medications I tried, it all never really helped me. I was so sick of always just putting a band aid on everything and it never ever solved the underlying problem. There were a few things I had started doing in order to

Some of you may be thinking, what are sleeping disorders? Sleeping disorders are categorized into four different groups: the people who have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, the ones who fall asleep at the wrong times, people who sleep too much, and people who have abnormal behaviors while sleeping. The most common types of sleeping disorders in teens is that they have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. This is because a teens natural sleeping pattern would be to fall asleep at 11 p.m.(National Sleep Foundation), so when they try and to go to sleep early, it is very hard to fall asleep. Also, teens have very irregular sleeping patterns because of school, work, and other extracurricular activities.