What Are Sleep Disorders?
Sleep disorders disrupt both the quality and consistency of your rest, making everyday tasks more challenging. These interruptions can affect your focus, mood, memory, and emotional balance. While everyone experiences a bad night’s sleep now and then, true sleep disorders persist and return regularly, signaling the need for professional support.
Though sleep troubles aren’t usually classified as mental health disorders, they’re closely connected. Chronic lack of sleep can leave you irritable, mentally sluggish, and emotionally out of sync. That’s why tackling sleep issues is essential for a well-rounded approach to mental wellness.
Researchers estimate that nearly 70 million American adults cope with a sleep disorder nationwide. Among these conditions, insomnia stands out as the most commonly experienced issue.
The ICSD-3R officially groups different sleep disorders by their key symptoms, underlying causes, and the body systems affected. These distinct categories are:
- Difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep.
- Sleep-related breathing disorders: Disrupted breathing during sleep, such as in sleep apnea.
- Interrupted breathing patterns during night rest, like sleep apnea.
- Persistent daytime tiredness not linked to disrupted nighttime rest.
- When someone’s internal biological clock doesn’t match their preferred sleep schedule.
- Odd activities at night, including wandering, chatting, or snacking.
- Disorders like restless leg syndrome lead to involuntary movements during rest.
Our psychiatric providers often address these common categories of sleep disturbances:
- Hypersomnia
- Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)
- Narcolepsy
- Sleep Terrors (Night Terrors)
Insomnia: Causes and Symptoms
Insomnia is marked by ongoing trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too soon. It can be triggered by stress, worry, low mood, poor sleep habits, physical discomfort, or stimulants like caffeine and nicotine.
Hypersomnia: Causes and Symptoms
Hypersomnia involves extreme daytime drowsiness despite adequate nighttime rest. Those affected may doze off during conversations, meetings, or meals. Common causes include sleep apnea, neurological conditions, medication side effects, and sometimes depression.
Typical signs include long naps that don’t feel refreshing, brain fog, and difficulty staying alert during the day. Unlike normal tiredness, hypersomnia significantly hampers daily functioning and mental clarity.
Restless Leg Syndrome: Causes and Symptoms
RLS creates a powerful urge to move the legs, often accompanied by tingling or crawling sensations. Symptoms usually worsen at rest—especially in the evening—and ease temporarily with movement.
Factors that contribute to RLS include iron deficiency, dopamine imbalances, genetics, pregnancy, and chronic illnesses like kidney disease. Treatment may involve iron supplements, dopamine-regulating medications, and lifestyle changes such as reducing caffeine and increasing exercise.
Narcolepsy: Causes and Symptoms
Narcolepsy occurs when the brain’s regulation of sleep and wakefulness falters, triggering uncontrollable daytime sleep attacks. It often relates to low levels of hypocretin, a chemical that promotes wakefulness. Genetics, autoimmune factors, and environmental triggers can all play a role.
Common symptoms include overwhelming daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (sudden muscle weakness), sleep paralysis, vivid hallucinations, and disturbed nighttime sleep. These issues can seriously affect daily routines and require thorough evaluation and care.
Night Terrors: Causes and Symptoms
Night terrors—or sleep terrors—are sudden episodes of intense fear during deep sleep. Unlike nightmares in REM sleep that you usually remember, night terrors happen in non-REM sleep and often leave no recall.
In children, these episodes may involve yelling, thrashing, or running while still asleep. In adults, stress, sleep deprivation, or other sleep disorders can trigger them. Though they’re often not linked to mental health issues, treatment may be needed if they become disruptive.
Treating Sleep Disorders
Effective treatment for sleep disorders typically combines changes in daily habits, therapeutic support, and, when appropriate, medication. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a well-established method. It’s also important to address any coexisting mental health concerns, since sleep and emotional well-being are deeply connected.
Alice’s Psychiatry & Wellness provides personalized treatment plans through both telepsychiatry and in-person care. By addressing sleep difficulties alongside mental health support, Alice’s Psychiatry & Wellness helps patients regain restful sleep and enhance overall wellness.
Exploring treatment for sleep disorders can truly be life-changing, helping you finally rest deeply, return to healthy daily rhythms, and boost your overall well-being. At Alice’s Psychiatry & Wellness, our telehealth services provide compassionate, reliable support from experienced psychiatric specialists. Thanks to the latest breakthroughs in sleep therapy, you’ll learn practical techniques for the most restorative sleep.