Sleep Disorders–causes of Sleep Disorders

A sleep disorder (somnipathy) is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person or animal. Some sleep disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental and emotional functioning. A test commonly ordered for some sleep disorders is the polysomnogram.

Sleep is absolutely essential for normal, healthy function. Scientists and medical professionals do not fully understand this complicated, necessary, physiological phenomenon. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, about 40 million people in the United States suffer from chronic long-term sleep disorders each year and an additional 20 million people suffer occasional sleep problems.

Causes of Sleep Disorders

The cause of major depressive disorder is a combination of brain chemistry, family history, and psychosocial environment. It is not certain which of these factors dominates, but abnormal levels of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine are closely linked with depression. Thus, the cause of depression is often attributed to a “chemical imbalance.” These neurotransmitters play important roles in how we experience pleasure and moods.

Night shift workers often experience sleep disorders, because they cannot sleep when they start to feel drowsy. Their biological clock is telling their body to do one thing while they are doing something entirely different. People who work at night often have an increased risk for heart and digestive problems, as well as emotional and mental problems.

Age: Although depression can occur at any age, its onset is typically between the ages 24 and 44. Later onset may correlate with the absence of a family history of depression. Fifty percent of people with major depressive disorder experience their first episode of depression at about age 40, but this may be may be shifting to the 30s. Studies find that the rate of incidence is higher among middle-aged people.

Genetic Factors: Statistics show that the children of parents who suffer from depression are likely to develop the disorder. A person has a 27% chance of inheriting a mood disorder from one parent, and this chance doubles if both parents are affected. Studies of the occurrence of depression in twins show a 70% chance for both identical twins to suffer from depression, which is twice the rate of occurrence in fraternal twins.

Aging: About 50% of adults over the age of 65 have some type of sleep disorder. It is not clear whether this is a normal part of aging, or a result of medications.

Mental Illness: Most patients with mental illness experience some type of sleep disorder. Depression often causes patients to wake up early in the morning, unable to go back to sleep.

Taking a nap during the day not only is a refreshing thing to do, it might actually make you smarter. Basically, when you sleep, you learn. Sleep is the time that the brain is “offline” from monitoring reality and has time to put new facts and experiences in place. If you sleep during the day, you’ll gvie yorself some time to incorporate the first part of your day into memory.

Sleepwalking or somnambulism: Engaging in activities that are normally associated with wakefulness (such as eating or dressing), which may include walking, without the conscious knowledge of the subject.

Obesity is strongly associated with sleep apnea and is a cause of it in some cases. Imaging scans have shown fatty cells clogging the throat tissue, which indicates that they narrow the airways. In one study, the more obese a person with sleep apnea was, the higher the pressure on the airway and therefore the greater the obstruction of the airway. (Obstructive sleep apnea may also contribute to obesity itself, however, since a sleepy person tends to be sedentary).