Sleep disorder

Synonyms

Lunatism, noctambulism, insomnia, insomnia, moon addiction, difficulty falling asleep, sleep disorders, premature awakening, excessive sleep, (hypersomnia), sleep-wake rhythm disorders, insomnia (asomnia), sleepwalking (moon addiction, somnambulism), nightmares Please also note our topic on neurologically caused sleep disorders

Definition

A sleep disorder, also known as insomnia, is defined by difficulty in falling asleep, frequent awakening during the night, very early awakening in the morning and/or poor sleep quality.

Epidemiology

Almost every 6th adult suffers from a massive sleep disorder, which is equivalent to about 15%. Another 13-15% suffer from occasional and light sleep disturbances. Older people are more frequently affected than younger ones.

Among those over 60, about one in four regularly suffer from insomnia sleep disorder. Not all sleep disorders are the same. One divides sleep disturbances typically first once into two categories.

Intrinsic insomnia is divided as the 5 most common disorders: In extrinsic insomnia, the most common disorders are Sometimes, simple respiratory impediments are the cause of a sleep disorder. Causes can be, for example:

• Sleep disorders caused by internal processes – intrinsic insomnia
• Sleep disorders caused by external stimuli – extrinsic insomnia
• Nasal septum curvature
• Snoring
• Polyps
• Sniffles
• The so-called sleep apnoea syndrome: In sleep apnoea syndrome, various mechanisms (e.g. obesity) lead to prolonged breathing stops or respiratory arrests. As these interruptions can last between 10 and 60 seconds, the patient is placed in a so-called “oxygen debt”.

  This means that the body goes into a state of alarm and initiates emergency measures because it is in danger of suffocating. For the patient, this means that he or she becomes awake or almost awake very often. Insertion: Relatives, mostly wives, know this emergency “fasting wake-up”.

  Mostly it is indicated by a snorer shaking his or her blood vessels, with which the patient virtually gasps for air. Since dozens of these interruptions can occur each night, the patient’s sleep is almost constantly interrupted. The direct consequence is that the following morning he feels “as if he is exhausted”, as he is usually unable to achieve a deep, relaxing state of sleep.

  About 1-2% of adult men are more or less affected by this problem.

• Narcolepsy: In the so-called narcolepsy, extreme drowsiness during the day, as well as disturbances of night sleep. Typical symptoms that can occur in the context of narcolepsy: Sudden “sleep attacks”, against which the patient cannot defend himself Sudden loss of muscle tension and the associated “collapse” of the body, without loss of consciousness (technical term: cataplexy). Hallucinations when falling asleep (hypnagogic hallucinations).

  Both acoustic and optical phenomena can occur. Feelings of paralysis at night

• Sudden “sleep attacks” against which the patient cannot defend himself
• Sudden loss of muscle tension and the associated “collapse” of the body without loss of consciousness (technical term: cataplexy).
• Hallucinations while falling asleep (hypnagogic hallucinations). Both acoustic and optical phenomena can occur.
• Feelings of paralysis at night
• Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS): In this disorder, the patient typically feels tingling sensations in his legs.

  This is usually accompanied by a compulsion to move the legs. The movement is often accompanied by a feeling of relief. Typically, the syndrome occurs shortly before falling asleep, but it also occurs during the night when there is an urge to move and twitching when falling asleep.

  “Restless Legs” (RLS) is an English term which literally means “restless legs”.

• Psychophysiological factors: Under these factors sleep disturbances are summarized, with which as it were the “psychological attitude” to the sleep is disturbed and/or the psyche obstructs the sleep. Stress and fear lead thus exactly the same to sleep disturbances as for example the “abuse” of the bed as place, at which one always thinks about its everyday life problems or which one uses for many activities of the daily (telephone, television, meal, learning).Also the firm expectation of another bad sleep will cause a sleep disorder.
• Misperception of one’s own sleep: About 5% of patients undergoing treatment for sleep disorders have no objectifiable findings. I.e.

  it comes to a so-called false perception of the sleep quality. The persons firmly believe that they did not sleep, but had a light sleep.

• Sudden “sleep attacks” against which the patient cannot defend himself
• Sudden loss of muscle tension and the associated “collapse” of the body without loss of consciousness (technical term: cataplexy).
• Hallucinations while falling asleep (hypnagogic hallucinations). Both acoustic and optical phenomena can occur.
• Feelings of paralysis at night
• Sleeping pills and alcohol abuse: Both sleeping pills and alcohol initially have a sleep-inducing or sleep-inducing effect.

  But exactly the same as a durable use of headache medicines causes headache itself, aids such as sleeping tablets and alcohol provide for their part with durable use to an opposite effect on the sleep. The reasons for these effects typically lie in habituation (i.e. you need more and more substance to achieve the same effect), withdrawal (i.e. you need at least a certain amount of substance to become calm at all) or a mixture of both.

  The typical “culprits” are usually the so-called benzodiazepines: diazepam, oxazepam, flunitrazepam, lorazepam etc.

• Changes in the day-night rhythm: Every person has a so-called “inner clock” (technical term: circadian rhythm). If you try to sleep against this clock, you will in most cases have considerable difficulty falling asleep. This disorder is often found in people who are or have to be active at night (nursing, frequent disco-goers, etc.

  )

• Taking stimulants: Most drugs that stimulate in any way significantly reduce the need for sleep. Typical are disturbances in falling asleep and frequent waking up at night.

There are many causes which can ultimately lead to a sleep disorder. In the following now the most important ones.

• Physical causesPain or other irritation in or on the body can cause extremely disturbed night’s rest. Typical physical illnesses are e.g. chronic back pain, inflammatory joint diseases, “heartburn“, fibromyalgia or also the “restless leg syndrome”.
• Poor sleeping and environmental conditionsTypical environmental conditions that disturb a comfortable sleep are e.g. noise of any kind, too high or too low temperatures, too much brightness or a restless bed partner
• Substance intakeTypical “sleep killers” here are coffee, cola or other caffeinated drinks, alcohol, amphetamines, sleep drug abuse and cocaine
• Disturbances of the day-night rhythmMany who have worked in a 3-shift system know that sleep can also become a matter of luck here. The so-called jet lag also causes insomnia (insomnia-sleep disorder).