Sleep disorders

Sleep Disorders

What is sleep?

• behavior with a circadian rhythm.

• organized into cycles.

• four criteria of sleep: reduced motor activity, decreased response to activity, stereotypic postures, reversibility

Stages of sleep

We spend:

• 50% of our sleep time in stage 2,

• 20% in REM sleep

• 30% in the other stages.

• Experts say if you feel drowsy during the day,

you haven’t had enough sleep.

• Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep,

teenagers about 9, and infants require about

16 hours a day.

• Sleep gives neurons a chance to

shut down and repair themselves.

• Sleeping may also help learning because it

gives the brain a chance to exercise neural

connections that might deteriorate

otherwise.

REM Sleep

• Accounts for about 25% of sleep.

• occurs once every 90 minutes.

• Brain activity is high during REM.

Narcolepsy

• Usually occurs in people ages 15-30.

• The exact cause is unknown but it is linked to reduced amounts of a protein made in the brain called hypocretin.

Narcolepsy Symptoms

• Sleep paralysis – a person cannot move as they start falling asleep or when they wake up, may last 15 min.

• Cataplexy – Sudden loss of muscle tone when awake that makes you unable to move.

Narcolepsy Video

Sleep Apnea

– Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), caused by blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the back of throat collapses during sleep.

– Central Sleep Apnea (CSA), the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe due to instability in the respiratory control center.

Sleep Apnea• Breathing pauses can last a

few seconds to a few minutes, typically when normal breathing starts again, it starts with a loud snort or a choking sound.

• Disturbs nightly sleep making the person excessively sleepy during the daytime.

*Interesting Fact*Some very young infants

experience a kind of apnea due to immaturity of the brain

stem.

Insomnia

• is characterized by difficulty falling asleep,

staying asleep, or getting good quality sleep.

• can be acute (short-term) or chronic

(ongoing).

• can cause daytime sleepiness, lack of energy

and trouble learning.

Restless Leg Syndrome

• is characterized by unpleasant sensations of legs and an urge to move them when at the rest.

• Effects about 12 million Americans.

• Causes: Mostly unknown (idiopathic)

• Treatment: underlying cause, some meds, and exercise.

REM Behavior Disorder

• During REM sleep the electrical activity in the brain is

similar to the electrical activity that occurs when awake, but

when in REM sleep, one experiences muscle paralysis.

People with REM Behavior Disorder lack this muscle

paralysis, permitting them to act out their dramatic or

violent dreams.

“In 2001 Stephen Reitz claimed to be sleepwalking when he

stabbed and beat his married girlfriend to death in their hotel

room and later walked to the police station to turn himself in.

Reitz claimed to be dreaming of attacking a male intruder in

‘flashbacks’, although he also claimed to remember nothing of

the attack. Although Reitz had no apparent motive, he did

have a history of violence and abuse. In 2004, Stephen Reitz

was convicted of first-degree murder.” (Ciccarelli, 2010).Can watch story at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29658353/ns/dateline_nbc-

crime_reports/t/deadly-dreams/

REM Behavior Disorder“Murder while Sleepwalking”

“In 2003, Jules Lowe of Manchester, England, attacked and killed

his 82-year old father while sleepwalking. Lowe had a history of

sleepwalking, was under great stress, and had no motive to kill his

father. Sleep expert Dr. Irshaad Ebrahim testified that tests showed

Lowe to be sleepwalking at the time of the attack. In 2005, Lowe

was acquitted.” (Ciccarelli, 2010).

– A 77-year old minister had been behaving violently in his

sleep for 20 years, sometimes even injuring his wife.

– A 60-year old surgeon would jump out of bed during

nightmares of being attacked by "criminals, terrorists and

monsters."

– A 62-year old industrial plant manager who was a war veteran

dreamt of being attacked by enemy soldiers and fights back in

his sleep, sometimes injuring himself.

– A 57-year old retired school principal was inadvertently

punching and kicking his wife for two years during vivid

nightmares of protecting himself and family from aggressive

people and snakes. (National Sleep Foundation, 2011)

REM Behavior Disorder

THANK YOU!