{"id":10599,"date":"2020-07-09T19:19:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T23:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=10599"},"modified":"2020-07-17T15:00:24","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T19:00:24","slug":"common-sleep-disorders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/common-sleep-disorders\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Common Sleep Disorders and How to Treat Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are some common sleep disorders, and why do they happen? Is there a way to fix them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you think of common sleep disorders, you may think of insomnia or sleepwalking<\/a>. Those are two major disorders, but sleep is complicated, and there are more. Read about some of the most common sleep disorders, why they happen, and possible ways to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Common Sleep Disorders<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve talked before about how sleep deprivation causes disease. Now we\u2019ll discuss common sleep disorders, or primary issues with abnormal sleep, and their consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Somnambulism \/ Sleepwalking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sleepwalking is the act of walking and performing other behaviors while asleep. Automatic, nonconscious routines are executed, like brushing teeth or opening the refrigerator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleepwalking happens during NREM sleep, and not REM dreaming sleep (like some think). Neurologically, sleepwalking is accompanied by an unexpected spike in nervous system activity, causing the person to be stuck somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleepwalking is one of the more common sleep disorders in children rather than adults, for unknown reasons – possibly because kids spend more time in NREM sleep than adults do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one of the most extreme cases, a sleepwalker drove 14 miles to an in-laws\u2019 home, stabbed the mother-in-law to death, and strangled the father-in-law (who survived). This person was later acquitted as not being control of his actions. This defense has been tried in later cases (most unsuccessfully).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Insomnia<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Insomnia is defined as making enough time for sleeping, but having insufficient sleep quantity or quality, for more than 3 months. Symptoms include difficulty falling asleep, waking up in the middle of night, and feeling unrefreshed in the morning. It’s often cited as one of the most common sleep disorders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they do sleep, insomniacs have more fragmented REM sleep and shallower brainwaves in NREM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 out of 9 people suffers from insomnia. It\u2019s twice as common in women than men, and more common in blacks\/Hispanics than whites, for unknown reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most common triggers of insomnia are emotional concerns or distress. The biological cause is linked to an overactive sympathetic nervous system, which raises body temperature and levels of cortisol\/epinephrine. In turn, the thalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala all remain more active than in normal sleeping patients<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the complex physiology of insomnia, it\u2019s unlikely blunt instruments like sleeping pills will fix the root cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Narcolepsy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People with narcolepsy<\/a> show sudden bouts of extreme sleepiness <\/strong>during the day. Some people who are chronically sleep-deprived mistakenly think they\u2019re narcoleptic. The severity of feeling for narcolepsy is far more severe, equivalent to the feeling after 3 consecutive all-nighters. Narcolepsy occurs in just 1 out of 2,000 people<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narcoleptics also suffer other symptoms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n