Sleeping disorders are a cluster of disorders associated with the normal sleep patterns of an individual. Some sleep disorders disrupt the normal physical, emotion lane mental functioning of the individual causing deep distress. Almost 40 percent of adults have sleeping disorders. These disorders seem to increase with age and are somewhat more common among women than men. While a number of individual suffering from these disorders report insomnia, when their sleeping habits are studied, it turns out that many of them sleep for as long as people who do not complain of insomnia. This does not mean that such persons are faking, rather, it is possible that although they attain an amount of sleep that falls within normal limits (6.5 hours or more per night) this is not enough to meet their individual needs. Further, the quality of their sleep may be disturbed in ways not yet measured in research.

Common Sleep Disorders:

Bruxism: This refers to the grinding or clenching of the teeth involuntarily while sleeping.

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS): This refers to the inability to sleep and awaken at socially acceptable timings.

Hypopnea syndrome: This refers to an abnormally shallow rate of breathing while sleeping.

Narcolepsy: In this disorder sleep occurs at unexpected and often inappropriate times. Persons suffering from this disorder often have sleep attacks in which they experience an irresistible urge to sleep in the midst of waking activities.

Night Terrors: In this disorder, individuals, especially children awaken from deep sleep with signs of intense arousal and powerful feelings of fear. Yet they have no memory of any dream relating to these feelings.

Nightmares: These occur during the REM sleep and often can be vividly recalled.

Somnambulism: This refers to walking in one’s sleep. Almost 25 percent of children experience this disorder) at lest one sleep walking episode).

Parasomnias: This refers to a variety of sleep related disorders.

Periodic limb movement disorders: This refers to the sudden involuntary movement of the arms or legs during sleep.

Sleep apnea: This is a sleep disorder in which individuals stop breathing while sleeping and wake up many times each night.