Sleep Disorders

What is a sleep disorder?

A sleep disorder is anything that causes clinically significant symptoms in sleep or from sleep or during the day.

How many types of sleep disorder are there?

There are about eighty four defined sleep disorders in the international classification of sleep disorders.

What is the most common sleep disorder?

There's a great deal of debate about what the most common sleep disorder is. The most common sleep disorder in terms of prevalence is the condition called insomnia- the lack of sleep, or not enough sleep, or interrupted sleep through <a href="http://www.videojug.com/interview/the-effects-of-sleep-deprivation-2">sleep deprivation</a> that results in daytime symptoms. That is the opposite to <a href="http://www.videojug.com/interview/hypersomnia-2">hypersomnia</a> which is excessive amounts of sleepiness.

Are sleep disorders hereditary?

There are a variety of factors that affect any disorder whether it's a sleep disorder or a non-sleep disorder. Of those factors, part of the picture is usually hereditary or inherited factors or biological vulnerability, social factors and psychological factors. All of these factors play a part in the genesis of sleep disorders.

Are nightmares a sleep disorder?

Nightmares are quite common in children, and if they persist and cause distress during the day and at night, then yes, they are classified as sleep disorders. Nightmares usually occur in a type of sleep we call rapid eye movement sleep, or, in inverted commas, 'dreaming sleep.'