Psychiatry

Warning Signs - Sleep Disorders

Sleep disorders are a group of conditions characterized by disturbance in the amount, quality, or timing of a person's sleep. They also include emotional and other problems that may be related to sleep. There are about seventy different sleep disorders grouped under four broad categories: problems with falling and staying asleep; problems with staying awake; problems with adhering to a regular sleep schedule; sleep-disruptive behaviors.

If you or someone you know are experiencing these symptoms or warning signs seek medical attention:

•	Difficulty paying attention or concentrating at work, school, or home
•	Difficulty staying awake when inactive?
•	Frequent napping
•	Memory difficulties
•	Look tired
•	Falling asleep while driving
•	Slowed responses
•	Emotionally labile

Insomnia - An inability to sleep, or sleep that is prematurely ended or interrupted by periods of wakefulness. A symptom of some anxiety and mood disorders.

•	Depression or Stress
•	Disturbing thoughts while trying to sleep
•	Waking during the night with a difficulty going back to sleep
•	Lying awake for more than half an hour before falling asleep

Narcolepsy or excessive daytime sleepiness. When the brain is unable to properly regulate the cycles of sleep and wakefulness, people with narcolepsy begin to feel an overwhelming urge to sleep and may even fall asleep unexpectedly for periods last a few seconds or extend out to a few minutes.

•	Vivid nightmares or hallucinations when falling asleep or waking up
•	Paralysis when falling asleep or awakening
•	A feeling of "going limp" when angry or surprised
•	Excessive daytime sleepiness
•	Disturbed or fragmented sleep

"Restless Legs" Syndrome (Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep) - A condition in which your legs feel extremely uncomfortable while you're sitting or lying down. It usually makes you feel like getting up and moving around. When you do so, the unpleasant feeling of restless legs syndrome goes away

•	Muscle tension in legs
•	Kicking at night
•	Crawling sensations in legs
•	Daytime sleepiness

Parasomnias are physical acts that occur during sleep that often lead to awakening. These include walking while asleep, sometimes called somnambulism or talking during sleep, sometimes called somniloquy. Night terrors or body jerks are other examples of this condition.

•	Sleepwalking or sleeptalking
•	Severe nightmares/tremors
•	Sleep terrors
•	Teethgrinding
•	Bedwetting

	Source: Skyline Medical Center Nashville Tennessee

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