What are the 5 types of sleep disorders ?A sleep disorder is a condition that affects the quality, timing, or duration of your sleep.
Sleep disorders can cause daytime sleepiness, difficulty falling asleep, irregular breathing, or unusual movements or behaviors during sleep. Sleep disorders can also affect your health, safety, and well-being.
What are the 5 types of sleep disorders ?
According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Third Edition (ICSD-3), there are six major categories of sleep disorders. However, some sources group them into five general types, so here are :
1. Insomnia
This is the most common sleep disorder, characterized by difficulty falling or staying asleep, or waking up too early and not being able to fall asleep again.
Insomnia can be acute or chronic, and it can have various causes, such as stress, anxiety, medical conditions, or lifestyle factors. Insomnia can affect a person’s mood, energy, concentration, and overall health.
2. Sleep apnea
This is a sleep-related breathing disorder that causes interruptions in breathing during sleep. The most common type is obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs when the muscles in the throat relax and block the airway.
This can lead to snoring, gasping, choking, or waking up frequently. Sleep apnea can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
3. Narcolepsy
This is a sleep disorder that affects the brain’s ability to regulate the sleep-wake cycle.
People with narcolepsy experience excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden attacks of sleep, which can occur at any time and last from a few seconds to several minutes.
They may also have other symptoms, such as cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone), hallucinations, or sleep paralysis. Narcolepsy can be caused by a lack of a brain chemical called hypocretin, which regulates alertness and arousal.
4. Parasomnias
These are abnormal behaviors or events that occur during sleep, such as sleepwalking, sleep talking, nightmares, night terrors, or REM sleep behavior disorder.
Parasomnias can be triggered by stress, trauma, medication, or other factors. They can disrupt the quality and quantity of sleep, and sometimes pose a risk of injury or harm to oneself or others.
5. Restless legs syndrome (RLS)
This is a sleep-related movement disorder that causes an uncomfortable sensation in the legs, usually at night or when resting.
