Sleep Disorders (Insomnia): Complications

The following are the most important diseases or complications that may be contributed to by insomnia (sleep disorders):

Eyes and eye appendages (H00-H59).

Glaucoma – People who slept less than three or more than ten hours a night were three times more likely to show optic nerve damage from glaucoma than subjects who slept seven hours a night.

Blood, blood-forming organs – immune system (D50-D90).

Increased susceptibility to infections (immunodeficiency); individuals with less than five hours of sleep compared with individuals with seven to eight hours of sleep had 55.3% more colds and infections

Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (E00-E90).

Skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99).

Cardiovascular system (I00-I99)

Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99)

Fibromyalgia (fibromyalgia syndrome) – syndrome that can lead to chronic pain (at least 3 months) in several regions of the body.
Bekhterev’s disease (synonym: ankylosing spondylitis)* – chronic inflammatory disease of the spine, which can lead to joint stiffness (ankylosis) of the affected joints.
Rheumatoid arthritis* – chronic inflammatory multisystem disease, which usually manifests itself in the form of synovitis (synovitis).
Sjögren’s syndrome (synonym: Sicca syndrome; Latin siccus ‘dry’)* – autoimmune disease from the group of collagenoses, in which the immune cells attack the salivary glands and lacrimal glands.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)* – autoimmune disease in which there is the formation of autoantibodies.

* Sleep disorders in patients without sleep apnea (non-apnea sleep disorder, NSD).

Psyche – nervous system (F00-F99; G00-G99).

Alcohol dependence (alcohol abuse)
Anxiety disorders
Impairment of attention, concentration, or memory.
Cephalgia (headache)
Delir
Dementia (in old age)
Depression
Exhaustion and fatigue – burnout syndrome
Lack of concentration
Alzheimer’s disease? – Probably not: study based on bidirectional Mendelian randomization-type analysis; used more than 500,000 records from genome-wide association studies
Irritability
Social isolation
Feelings of restlessness
Stress
Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Symptoms and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings not elsewhere classified (R00-R99).

Inflammation (CRP (C-reactive protein) ↑); women only.
Natural killer cells (NK cells; Engl. natural killer cells) – attenuated nocturnal increase in NK cells.
T-cell function is impaired: e.g., adhesion ability (binding strength) of T cells to ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1).
Fall propensity / fall risk increased (in old age).
Suicidal tendency (suicide risk) – insb. with sleep-through disturbances
Daytime sleepiness

Further

Age-related changes in sleep: REM latency (delay time) ↓, sleep latency ↑, superficial sleep, stage N1 + stable sleep, stage N2 ↑; deep and REM sleep fraction ↓: proportion of nocturnal wakefulness (WASO) ↑↑
Aging
Impairment of social and professional performance
Cravings (“fatigue appetite”) due to sleep loss increase the subjective value of food compared with non-food; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed increased activity in the amygdala, located in the temporal lobes of the brain and belonging to the limbic system, and in the hypothalamus, located in the diencephalon (midbrain)
Laboratory parameters
- Inflammation (inflammation) (CRP (C-reactive protein) ↑); women only.
- T-cell function is impaired: e.g.B. Adhesion ability (binding strength) of T cells to ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1).
Weakness in performance and concentration
24-hour sleep deprivation can lead to conditions similar to schizophrenia in healthy people
Mood swings, such as irritability.
Daytime sleepiness
Injuries with unclear cause of accident (in somnambulism/sleepwalking).
Increase in pain sensitivity (chronic pain, if applicable).

Prognostic factors

Sleep quality (= undisturbed sleep perceived as good) and low-fat diet correlate with daytime performance.