Sleep Disorder?

That snoring twitching thing in the bed next to you may just be a huge annoyance—but in too many cases she or he has an undiagnosed sleeping disorder. What signs should alert you to pursue the subject with your doctor or a sleep specialist?  Get an evaluation whenever you feel a cause for concern, but see a specialist right away if you or a loved one suffers from any of the following:

Snoring—especially loud snoring. Snoring can signify a cold or a allergies, but regular snoring, says sleep specialist William Dement, “is a sign that your sleep is impaired.”*  In other words snoring it isn’t normal.  Dement suggests that 20% of people have a “dangerous level” of sleep apnea, a condition that makes you fight for breath all night long.  This condition is treatable, but left untreated can kill you.  Don’t wait for dangerously high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, or until you fall asleep and drive off the road.  See a sleep specialist if you or someone you love has loud snoring.  (By the way, while more rare, even children and young adults can have dangerous sleep apnea and develop high blood pressure as a result.)

Severe unexplained sleepiness. Some people are so sleepy that they can hardly keep awake or focused –even for interesting things.  If these folks are in bed a normal number of hours at night, then something is going wrong with either their sleeping or their ability to keep themselves awake.  The most serious indicator would be seen in the person who can fall asleep in the middle of talking, eating, or physical activity. People who do this may be suffering from narcolepsy. In very rare cases people can even seem paralyzed for a few minutes.  (They can be awake but unable to move or talk.) If you or a loved one is sleepy all the time, you are putting yourself and others in danger every time you drive a car.  Get to a sleep specialist—there are treatments and medications that can help.

Significant movement during sleep. Most of us will twist and turn a bit during the night, but excessive movement can signal an underlying sleep concern.  Perhaps the most common is Restless Legs Syndrome, where people feel an urge to move their legs whenever they lie down. These people will have very disturbed sleep (as will their partners) since their movement will continue to waken them throughout the night.  A related disorder, Periodic Limb Movement, also interrupts sleep. Less common is REM Behavior Disorder, where people act out what they are dreaming.  Most of us turn off our movement when we dream, but in this disorder people thrash, move around the room, and even attack objects or people.

*William Dement, The Promise of Sleep, Delacorte Press, 1999.

For more information try:

Mayo Clinic

Harvard sleep website

Sleep Resource Foundation