Sleep Disorders Flashcards
What are Sleep-Wake Disorders?
-diagnostic category representing persistent or recurrent sleep-related problems that cause significant personal distress or impaired functioning
What are the two newest types of dyssomnias?
1) Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behaviour Disorder
2) Restless Leg Syndrome
What is primary insomnia?
Difficulty falling asleep, remaining asleep, or achieving restorative sleep for a period of a month or longer
What is the most common form of sleep disturbance?
Primary Insomnia!
Who does insomnia usually affect?
- Affects more older people
- In young people, the main problem would be taking too long to get to sleep
- In older people main problem would be waking frequently during the night or too early
What are triggers/causes of insomnia?
- high stress level
- shift work
- heavy drinking or cannabis
- obesity
- divorce
- female
- low levels of income or education
What is Hypersomnia?
Pattern of excessive sleepiness during the day that continues for a period of a month or longer
- difficulty waking after a prolonged sleep (8 to 12 hrs)
- pattern of daytime sleep episodes in the form of intended or unintended napping
What is causes a diagnosis for primary hypersomnia?
If the problems cannot be accounted for by:
- inadequate amount of sleep due to insomnia
- another psychological disorder
- drug or medical use, or other factors like noise
What is Narcolepsy?
Experience sleep attacks in which they suddenly fall asleep without warning at various times during day
How long do sleep attacks usually last in narcolepsy?
Usually 15 mins
When is the diagnosis for narcolepsy made?
If sleep attacks occur daily for period of three months or more and ARE combined with the presence of one or both of:
- cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle control)
- intrusions of REM sleep (associated with dreaming)
What is Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder?
Repeated disruptions of sleep due to respiratory problems
- These frequent disruptions result in insomnia or excessive daytime sleepiness
- most common type is obstructive sleep apnea
What is Apnea?
Repeated episodes of either complete or partial obstruction of breathing during sleep
What does Apnea result from?
Blockage of airflow in the upper airways, often due to structural defect
How often do people with Apnea stop breathing?
May stop breathing for 15-90 seconds as many as 30 times an hour
What happens when lapses of breathing occur during sleep apnea?
Sleeper may suddenly sit up, gasp for air, take a few deep breaths and fall back to sleep without awakening or realizing breathing is disrupted
-Narrowing of air passage produces loud snoring alternating with momentary silences
What is Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder?
Characterized by disruption of sleep due to a mismatch in sleep schedules between the body’s internal sleep-wake cycle and the demands of the environment
-needs to be severe enough to cause distress or impair one’s functioning
What is the treatment for Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder?
Treatment may involved program of making gradual adjustments in the sleep schedule to allow person’s circadian rhythm to become aligned with changes in sleep wake cycle
What are all the Dyssomnias?
- Insomnia
- Hypersomnia
- Narcolepsy
- Breathing related sleep disorder
- Apnea
- Circadian Rhythm sleep disorder
What is Nightmare Disorder
Involves recurrent awakening from sleep because of frightening dreams
What is a nightmare typically like?
Typically lengthy, story-like dreams that involve threats of imminent physical danger to the individual, such as being chased, attacked or injured
Is the nightmare recalled upon awakening?
Yes, very vividly
What is Sleep Terror Disorder?
- Begins with loud, piercing cry or scream at night
- Child may be sitting up, appear frightened, show signs of extreme physical arousal
- May start talking incoherently or thrash about wildly while remaining asleep
- Child will fall back to sleep after few mins and won’t remember the experience in the morning
What is Sleep Walking Disorder?
Involves repeated episodes of getting out of bed and walking about the house while remaining fully asleep
-unresponsive, blank stare, hard to wake
Is there any basis to the belief that you shouldn’t wake a sleepwalker?
No
What are the Parasomnias?
- Nightmare Disorder
- Sleep Terror Disorder
- Sleep Walking
What are Anxiolytics?
-most common meds to treat sleep disorders
Sedatives and anaesthetics that induce partial or complete unconsciousness
-1 in 10 people take sleeping bills, more common with increasing age and women
-reduce arousal, induce calmness
What biological treatment is useful for sleep terrors and sleepwalking?
Benzodiazepines and antidepressants
-decrease length of deep sleep and reduces partial arousals between sleep stages
What biological treatment is used for narcolepsy?
Psychostimulants
What biological treatment is used for sleep apnea?
Positive airway masks
What are some Cognitive-Behavioural techniques to treat sleep disorders?
- lower states of physiological arousal
- modify sleep habits
- change dysfunctional thoughts
- stimulus control
- relaxation training
- anxiety management
What are some sleep strategies?
- Go to bed only when sleepy
- Limit bed activities to sleep
- If after 20 minutes can’t sleep, get out of bed
- Establish regular routine
- Avoid naps in daytime
- Avoid thinking deeply in bed
- Relax before bed
- Establish regular exercise schedule
- Avoid caffeine
- Practice rational restructuring for self-defeating thoughts
Psychological treatments only treat ____
Primary insomnia
