Sleeping disorders affect millions of individuals and cause a great deal of distress in their lives. They often disrupt the normal function of an individual in work social and family settings and are often accompanied by irritability, joint pain, drowsiness, inability to concentrate, distortion of short term memory and decreased productivity. There are various types of sleeping disorders; some are related to REM (rapid eye movement) sleep pattern while others are related to slow wave sleep.

Sleeping Disorder type: Disorders associated with REM sleep

Perhaps the most dramatic disorder of REM sleep is narcolepsy, a disorder in which sleep occurs at unexpected and often inappropriate times. Individuals suffering from narcolepsy often have sleep attacks in which they experience an irresistible urge to sleep in the midst of waking activities such as eating, walking, talking or at work. They sleep for two to five minutes and then wake up without feeling refreshed. Another symptom of narcolepsy is cataplexy in which the individual falls down suddenly and without warning. Often, such persons remain fully conscious but their muscles are paralyzed, as during REM sleep. Sometimes these individuals also experience vivid dreams while in this state, often called dreaming while they are awake.

Another REM sleep disorder is REM sleep without atonia — REM sleep that occurs without muscle paralysis. Persons suffering from this disorder do something most of us are prevented from doing. They tend to act out their dreams. This disorder can lead to serious injury as these individuals move around and do whatever they are doing in their dreams.

Sleeping Disorder Type: Disorders associated with slow wave sleep

Somnambulism is the most common disorder associated with slow wave sleep and is also known as sleep walking. Almost 25 percent of children go through one or more episodes of somnambulism. This disorder is characterized by suddenly awaking to find that the individual has gotten out of bed and has walked to another room, garden or kitchen.

Night terrors are another sleeping disorder that is characterized by individuals, especially children awakening from deep sleep with signs of intense arousal and powerful feelings of fear. Yet, they have no memory of any dream relating to these feelings. Night terrors seem to occur in stage 4 of sleep. Both somnambulism and night terrors appear to be linked to disturbances in the functioning of the autoimmune system, which plays a key role in regulating brain activity during sleep.

Nightmares are another common disorder and most of us have had them at some point of time in life. They occur during REM sleep and can be vividly recalled.