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Because the prevalence of several medical and psychiatric conditions that affect sleep, as well as the prevalence of specific sleep disorders, is high in the elderly population, it is extremely difficult to…

In the 1950s, scientists discovered that sleep is an active process, not, as formerly believed, a passive state not worthy of scientific investigation. By recording brainwave activity (the electroencephalogram, EEG), eye movements,…

In some good news for parents who wage bedtime struggles with their children, a new study shows that various forms of “sleep training” can put kids’ sleep difficulties to rest.

Arousal disorders are characterized by confusion and automatic behavior after sudden arousal from delta sleep. The tendency to arouse from delta sleep spontaneously is a familial trait unrelated to epilepsy. Most patients have an affected…

“Nightmares are frightening dreams that usually awaken the sleeper from REM sleep.” Because nightmares occur during REM sleep, the subject arouses easily and has detailed dream recall. Episodes typically occur later…

“Sleep bruxism is a stereotyped movement disorder characterized by grinding or clenching of teeth during sleep.” This is a common disorder that is sometimes correlated with stress. It results in disrupted nocturnal sleep, temporomandibular joint…

Sleep is an active, clinically important behavior, during which many physiologic processes of the organism change. These processes are temporally organized under cerebral influence. Sleep abnormality may represent a primary disorder of mechanisms regulating…

Associated With Mental Disorders. Disordered sleep is typical of most psychiatric disorders. Unipolar depression is characteristically associated with a disorder of initiating and maintaining sleep, most commonly early morning awakening. The patient…

“Menstrual-associated sleep disorder is a disorder of unknown cause, characterized by a complaint of either insomnia or excessive sleepiness, that is temporally related to the menses or menopause.” Premenstrual excessive sleepiness is a sometimes…

Sleep-wake transition disorders occur in the transition from wakefulness to sleep or vice versa. Because these disorders most often occur in otherwise healthy persons, they are considered variants of normal physiology rather than indicators…

The most common REM parasomnia is the nightmare. Nightmares are frightening awakenings from REM sleep associated with dream reports that are typically anxiety-laden. Stress of various kinds, and especially traumatic experiences, increases the frequency and…

The two intrinsic dyssomnias that most commonly affect children and adolescents are both disorders of excessive somnolence: obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and narcolepsy. In the former, children may be sleepy during the daytime because of…

• Does the child complain of being too sleepy or weary during the day?
• Is there any evidence of daytime sleepiness, such as excessive or inappropriate napping? Or, paradoxically, are there…

Disorders of arousal, first described by Broughton (1990), have certain features in common during an episode: mental confusion and disorientation, automatic behaviors, relative nonreactivity to external stimuli, difficulty in being fully awakened, and fragmentary…

Normally, our sleep-wake cycle approximates a 24-hour diurnal rhythm. We sleep during the dark part of the day and are awake during the light part. When studied in an artificial time-isolation environment,…

Narcolepsy is a REM sleep hypersomnia of unknown etiology that is attributed to dysfunction of brain-stem mechanisms associated with sleep-wake regulation (Broughton 1990). Epidemiological studies have reported the prevalence of narcolepsy at 0.04%-0.07%, making narcolepsy twice…

Parental concerns about sleep are common, even though youngsters may not complain themselves. Young children never seem tired and typically resist going to bed. Adolescents, in contrast, can sleep anywhere, anytime.…

In the revised International Classification of Sleep Disorders Diagnostic and Coding Manual (ICSD-DCM), the American Sleep Disorders Association (ASDA; 1990) broadly classifies three categories of disordered sleep: 1) dyssomnias, 2) parasomnias, and 3)…

Diagnostic Features

The essential feature of Nightmare Disorder is the repeated occurrence of frightening dreams that lead to awakenings from sleep (Criterion A). The individual becomes fully alert on awakening (Criterion…

Diagnostic Features

The essential feature of Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder is a persistent or recurrent pattern of sleep disruption that results from altered function of the circadian timing system…