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Out of eighty different types of sleep disorders, the most prevalent categories of sleep disorders are:
Insomnia
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder in which individuals face difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep. Insomnia can be caused by a variety of reasons including work schedules that disrupt sleep routine, jet lag, major stress, medications or caffeine intake. Insomnia can also be caused by other sleep disorders or mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
Insomnia varies both in the time duration of how long it lasts and frequency of how often it occurs. Insomnia of short duration is known as acute insomnia. Recurring lengthy periods of insomnia is known as chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia lasts anywhere between a single day to several weeks. Chronic insomnia is diagnosed when a person has insomnia at least three nights a week for a month or longer. Insomnia can also be episodic, with periods of time with no discernable sleep problems.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that is caused when a person’s breathing is repeatedly interrupted due to blockage of the upper airways during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea literally stop breathing a number of times during their sleep, which leads to waking-up many times during the night.
There are two major types of sleep apnea — obstructive and central. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is more common and is caused by the collapse of the upper airways due to relaxed muscles located in this region during sleep. In central sleep apnea (CSA), the upper airways do not collapse. Instead, the nervous system fails to communicate to the muscles in this region to breathe reflexively.
Learn more about sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment >>
Restless Legs Syndrome
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is also a sleep disorder that causes an irresistible urge to move your legs (or arms) to relieve creeping, pulling, painful or other type of sensations at night. These sensations are the results of long periods of rest, sitting idle or lying down for long durations. People with RLS have a strong urge to walk around quite often and shake their legs whenever possible to help relieve the sensation.
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder caused by a dysfunction of the brain. People with narcolepsy feel the urge to sleep at inappropriate times such as during daily work or even while driving. This type of neurological disorder may occur during any type of activity at any time of the day. In many cases, narcolepsy is undiagnosed and untreated.
