Types of Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders are a highly common medical issue that affects millions of Americans each year. While some people suffer from mild sleeping problems, such as the occasional nightmare, others have extremely severe sleep disorders that can negatively affect their health if left untreated.

In fact, 95 percent of people suffering from a sleep disorder remain undiagnosed. This staggering number means that a huge number of people aren’t getting the treatment they need, putting them in danger of permanently damaging their health.

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In this section, we will outline and examine various types of sleep disorders. Our articles discuss everything from the causes and effects of sleep deprivation to the prevalence of sleep disorders in women and children. Read on to learn more about different types of sleep disorders.

Lack of Sleep

At some point in life, you are likely to suffer from lack of sleep. However, while your lifestyle, work demands and family responsibilities may keep you from getting the sleep you need, a chronic lack of sleep can trigger the development of serious conditions, including heart disease, depression and hypertension. Common symptoms of lack of sleep include fatigue, blurry vision and irritability.

 

Keep reading to learn more about the various causes and effects of sleep deprivation.

Excessive Sleep

Although many people suffer from sleep disorders that prevent them from falling and staying asleep, a select group of people actually get too much sleep. Known in medical circles as hypersomnia, excessive sleep is clinically defined as getting more than 10 hours of sleep per night and still experiencing daytime drowsiness.

 

While the particular causes of excessive sleep vary with each individual case, in most instances, treatment for this type of sleep disorder involves making some lifestyle changes. Read on to learn more about the causes of and treatments for excessive sleep.

Disrupted Sleep

Any condition in which your sleep doesn’t follow the typical sleep phase cycle or doesn’t stay in one or more cycles for long enough is a disrupted sleep disorder. Those who have disrupted sleep tend to not only get less sleep but also to not experience as deep of sleep. Unfortunately, this often means that these individuals don’t reach the levels of sleep necessary to be considered “restorative sleep.”

 

Keep reading to learn more about the causes, symptoms and treatments for disrupted sleep.

Kids & Sleep Disorders

Diagnosing and treating sleep disorders in children is particularly difficult because kids not only tend to be less likely to accurately describe their symptoms but they also suffer from different symptoms, depending on their particular sleeping problem. Similarly, children are more likely to suffer from sleeping problems that don’t affect adults, making it hard for some parents to even recognize that their children have a sleep disorder.

 

Some of the common sleep disorders that affect children include night terrors, nightmares and bedwetting. Read on to learn more about the causes of and treatments for sleep disorders in children.

Women & Sleep

Women are twice as likely than men to suffer from sleep disorders. Approximately 30 percent of employed women suffer from sleep conditions. Although menopausal and pregnant women are far more likely to suffer from a sleep disorder (mainly due to the dramatic hormonal changes each of these experiences), all women are, in fact, two times more likely than men to experience a sleep disorder.

 

Keep reading to learn more about the relationship between women and sleep.

Resources

eMedicine Health Staff. (n.d.) Sleep disorders in women. Retrieved September 16th, 2009, from the eMedicine Health Web site: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/sleep_disorders_in_women/article_em.htm.