|
Health Conditions
|
Sleep Disorders
What is it?
Sleep disorders can be temporary or long-term problems and can affect the quantity or quality of sleep achieved. There are four recognized types of sleeping disorders:
- Extrinsic sleep disorders, caused by something outside of the body such as drug use or a poor sleep environment
- Intrinsic sleep disorders, caused by something within the body such as a physical or psychological ailment
- Circadian rhythm sleep disorders, which are disruptions in your regular daily biological clock such as jet lag or work shift changes
- Parasomnias, characterized by unusual physical occurrences during sleep such as sleepwalking, grinding teeth or bed-wetting
Insomnia, or difficulty falling asleep, can be caused by any one of the four types of sleep disorders mentioned above.
The National Institutes of Mental Health has identified three broad categories of insomnia. These include:
- Transient - insomnia lasting fewer than three days
- Short-term - lasting three days to three weeks
- Chronic - lasting more than three weeks
|
Note: The above information is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of your physician, pharmacist, or other healthcare professional. It is not intended to diagnose a health condition, but it can be used as a guide to help you decide if you should seek professional treatment or to help you learn more about your condition once it has been diagnosed.
|
|
What is it?
