international classification of sleep disorders

sleep disorders

A poll carried out for the National Sleep Foundation showed that:

• 3 out of 4 of those polled reported that they frequently have sleep problems.



• Just 50% of those polled reported that they slept without difficulty on most nights.



• 25% of those polled reported that problems sleeping had an impact upon their daily lives.

The poll also showed that:

• 60% of motorists reported having driven whilst drowsy within the past twelve months. (4 % reported having an accident or near-accident because of tiredness or having fallen asleep while driving.)



• People named sleep-related problems as the most usual reason for being late for work. Almost two thirds of working adults reported missing work, events/activities or making mistakes at work through sleep-related problems in the previous three months.



• 3 out of 4 of adults reported a sleep problem with their partner - snoring being the most usual. Partnered adults, suffer doubly disruptive sleep difficulties, as one partner's sleep difficulty may cause the other to lose, on average, nearly an hour of sleep a night.



• 1 out of 4 of adults with partners report troubles in their sexual relationship as a result of tiredness. They enjoy sex less often or lose interest in having sex as a result of tiredness. A large number of couples sleep apart because of sleeping problems.

A significant number of people suffer from the odd night of sleeplessness without any consequences. If, however, the odd night from time to time becomes a pattern of several nights in a row, you face a sleeping problem.

Put simply, jet lag is an extremely common sleep disorder suffered by millions of travelers each day. It affects both people traveling on business and on holiday and, according to a recent survey of international business travelers, 1 in 4 of those questioned said that they frequently suffered from jet lag.

Jet lag affects people of all ages and, though it varies widely from one individual to another, it tends to be more severe the older you get.

In addition, if you are already experiencing a problem sleeping, you are likely to find that jet lag is more of a problem.

Jet lag also increases as you cross a growing number of time zones. If the difference in time between your departure point and your destination is just an hour or two, then you may not experience jet lag at all. But, if the time difference is three hours or more then jet lag will begin to appear and its effects will become increasingly pronounced the bigger the time difference.

Finally, the symptoms of jet lag do not always appear right away and, for a few people, it might be a couple of days before it hits.

Narcolepsy affects an estimated 250,000 people in the United States. Individuals with narcolepsy have frequent "sleep attacks" in the day, even if they get a normal amount of night-time sleep. Such attacks can last anything from just a few seconds to more than half an hour.

People with narcolepsy may also experience cataplexy (loss of muscle control during an emotional situation), hallucinations, temporary paralysis when they wake up, and interrupted night-time sleep. These symptoms seem to be features of Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep that appear during waking, which suggests that narcolepsy is a sleep regulation disorder.

The symptoms of narcolepsy often appear during adolescence, though it often takes years to get a correct diagnosis.

The disorder (or a predisposition to it) is ordinarily hereditary, but it is now and again linked to brain damage from a head injury or to neurological disease.

Once diagnosed, antidepressants, stimulatns, or other drugs can help to control the symptoms and prevent the embarrassing and dangerous effects of falling asleep at improper times. Naps at certain times of the day can also reduce the excessive sleepiness during the day.

Restless leg syndrome (RLS), a familial disorder inducing unpleasant crawling, prickling, or tingling sensations in the feet and legs and a desire to move them to get relief, is emerging as one of the more common sleep disorders, particularly in older people.

Affecting as many as 12 million adults in the US, this disorder leads to continual movement of the legs during the day and insomnia at night.

Severe RLS is most often seen in elderly people, although symptoms may start at any age. In some cases, it may be linked to other conditions such as pregancy, diabetes, or anemia.

In addition to the alarm clock beside your bed, your wrist watch or the clock on your mantelpiece, all of which, if you're something like me, govern your life to a large extent, you also have your own internal clock which dictates the rhythm of your body.

Your internal clock governs many of the functions of your body, regulating such things as temperature and the release of hormones and, most importantly, telling you when it is time to go to sleep and to get up.

Following the pattern of night and day (darkness and light) your internal clock tracks a pattern of approximately 24 hours thus giving your body a 24 hour rhythm or, more correctly, a circadian rhythm - from the Latin circa (about) dies (a day).

Whenever disruption to your circadian rhythm takes place due to shift work, you may suffer from temporary sleep disorders such as excessive daytime sleepiness or transient insomnia. Left untreated, transient sleep problems associated with a change in your work schedule may become chronic and in serious cases can even necessitate medical intervention.

Working shifts also places you at a heightened risk of chronic cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems. Heartburn, flu, menstrual irregularities, high blood pressure, weight gain, colds and indigestion are all seen more amongst shift workers.

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