Types of Sleep Disorders

With the growing interest in sleep medicine in the 1980’s, it soon became effective to put together a universal method to make sense of the vast research and conclusions. By 1997, thanks to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and other sleep research organizations worldwide, The International Classification of Sleep Disorders was revised from its original version from 1990 and given its current title. Although it would be tedious and overwhelming to sort through it all, we need to appreciate the work that went into its compilation so that future research, diagnostic methods and treatment of sleep disorders would go forward. Just the size alone, almost 400 pages, should indicate the scope of this vast topic. We can, however, break this subject down into the three main categories to get a better look at it. With the different sleep disorders identified, we can hopefully better understand the significance of a subject that impacts us all on a daily basis.

The dysomnias – lying wide awake at night

If falling asleep and staying asleep is difficult for you, it might be a dysomnia. Literally, the word means “difficult sleep.” On a general level, we would probably call that condition “insomnia,” which is the most common sleep disorder. But, it certainly does not stop there; obstructive sleep apnea, jet lag, delayed sleep phase syndrome and restless leg syndrome also help comprise this category. This group is sub-divided into three smaller categories.

  • Intrinsic sleep disorders - These are caused from our own body or nervous system, not any external conditions. Examples are:
    • Narcolepsy
    • Obstructive sleep apnea
    • Central sleep apnea
    • Restless legs syndrome
    • Psychophysiological insomnia
    • Sleep state misperception
    • Post traumatic hypersomnia
    • Idiopathic insomnia
    • Periodic limb movement disorder
  • Extrinsic sleep disorders – Lifestyle choices influence these, things that are external. Some examples:
    • Bad sleep habits
    • Poor sleep environment
    • Stimulant and alcohol habits
    • Food allergy insomnia
    • Toxin induced sleep disorder
  • Circadian rhythm sleep disorders – Caused by misalignment of our internal clock with our sleep-wake schedule. The most common are:
    • Shift work sleep disorder
    • Jet leg syndrome
    • Advanced sleep phase syndrome
    • Delayed sleep phase syndrome
    • Non-24 hour- sleep-wake disorder
    • Irregular sleep wake pattern

Parasomnias – moving while asleep

While dysomnias are making it difficult to sleep at all, the parasomnias disrupt our sleep with involuntary physical activities. For the purpose here, the Greek prefix “para” indicates faulty, so we have faulty sleep when we combine it with the Latin “somnus”, meaning sleep. That is a perfect description for any of us who on an unconscious level experience strange episodes while we are sleeping. These can happen when we are transitioning into sleep, in a deep sleep or in a dream state (REM sleep). Let’s look at the four main disorders that disrupt sleep.

  • Arousal disorders – Called that because the moving around is obvious. They can be so severe that sometimes aggressive or violent attacks are present. Often, these occur when we are in a deep sleep. Common examples are:
    • Somnambulism (sleepwalking)
    • Night terrors
    • Confusional arousals
  • REM sleep disorders – Some parasomnias take place while we are dreaming, even though this is when normally our brain has quit sending messages to our muscles so that we do not act out our dreams.  Examples are:
    • REM Sleep Behavior Disorder
    • Nightmares
    • Sleep paralysis
    • Sleep related painful erections
    • REM sleep related sinus arrest
  • Sleep-wake transition disorders – These take place while we are between being awake and being asleep, and they interfere with deep sleep stages. Common ones include:
    • Somniloquy  (sleep talking)
    • Rhythmic movement disorder
    • Nocturnal leg cramps
    • Sleep starts (falling feeling)
  • Other parasomnias – Ones that don’t fit in the other categories but still qualify as involuntary physical movement that can disrupt our sleep:
    • Teeth grinding (bruxism)
    • Primary snoring
    • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
    • Bedwetting
    • Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome
    • Infant sleep apnea

Sleep disorders caused by other health conditions

This last group of sleep disorders stems from, or depends on, other health issues, physical and mental. Sleepiness contributes to some of them and is the result of others. As usual, sleep somehow integrates itself into many.

  • Sleep and mental disorders – These all create a downward spiral by contributing to sleep problems, and at the same time worsening because of the same problems.
    • Alcoholism
    • Anxiety disorders
    • Mood disorders
    • Psychosis
  • Sleep and neurological disorders – All of these are involved with our bodies’ nervous system: the brain, spinal cord and nerves.
    • Brain diseases and trauma
    • Parkinson’s disease
    • Alzheimer’s disease
    • Dementia
    • Sleep related headaches
    • Fatal familial insomnia
    • Sleep related epilepsy
  • Sleep and other medical disorders – There are numerous ones in this group, but here are the most common.
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Sleeping sickness
    • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
    • Acid reflux disease
    • Peptic ulcers
    • Sleep related asthma
    • Nocturnal cardiac ischemia

We all benefit

We could say, “And, the lists go on and on.” The International Classification of Sleep Disorders covers well over 80 different circumstances that connect up with our sleep in a negative way. The work done to put this efficient system together so that future research would advance sleep medicine certainly paid off in terms of getting sleep noticed more. Primary care doctors now take sleep much more seriously, often spotting a need for their patient to undergo a sleep study to test for sleep disorders. We all benefit from those efforts, and in years to come it will be interesting to watch the statistics concerning common health conditions. Hopefully, by handling many of the sleep problems, other disorders and diseases will see improvement. It will be interesting journey to see how it impacts all of our lives in the future.

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