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AshaHarris
Ring
Psychology
22September2015

SleepDisorders
Sleepplaysaveryimportantroleingoodhealthandwellbeingthroughoutyourlife.Sleepcan
improvesafety,qualityoflife,mentalandphysicalhealth.Andtherefore,withoutenoughsleepdamage
canoccurtothebody.Sleepdeficiencycancausechronichealthproblemsandalsoaffectthewayyou
think,work,learn,andinteractwithothers.
Ongoingsleepdeficiencyislinkedtoanincreasedriskof
heartdisease,kidneydisease,highbloodpressure,diabetes,andstroke.Obesityisalsoariskofsleep
definciency.Becausesleephelpstomaintainhormonesyourghrelinandleptinlevelsareaffected,ghrelin
isahormonethatincreaseshunger.Almosteverybodysystemisaffectedbyongoingsleepdefinciency.
Somesaythatsleepdeprivationcausesthemostdamagetothecentralnervoussystem,yourCNSisthe
informationhighwaythroughoutthewholebody,andsleepkeepsitfunctioningproperly.Duringsleep,
thebrainrestbusyneuronsandcreatesnewpathwaysforthebrainbereadyforthenextday.Thecentral
nervoussystemisresponsibleforthefunctionsofdailylife.Thecentralnervoussysteminitiatesphysical
reactionswhichinterpretsexperiences,thoughts,feelingsandmovementstotherestofthebody.
AlthoughtheCNSislargelyaffected,sleepdeprivationcanmakechangestoyourwholebody.
SleepApneaisasleepdisorderthataffectsthebrainandrespiratorysystems,itoccurswhena
person'sbreathingisinterruptedduringsleep.Therearetwotypesofsleepapnea:Obstructivesleepapnea
(OSA)orCentralsleepapnea(CSA).OSAiswhenthereisaphysicalblockageoftheairways,for
example,whenthesofttissueisthebackofthethroatcollapse.CSAoccurswhenthebrainforgetsorfails
tosignalthemuscletobreathe,duetotherespiratorycontrolcenter.Thereisnophysicalblockagewith


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Centralsleepapnea.Ifsleepapneaisleftuntreatedthereisanumberofotherhealthproblemsthatcan
occur.HypertensionisthemaincauseofOSA.Thelowoxygenlevelsandthelackofsleep,cause
hormonestobeunbalanced,andmakehypertensionisabigriskfactor.Heartdiseaseisanotherriskof
OSA.Thelackofoxygenthroughoutthebodymakeitharderforyourbraintoregulatethebloodflow.
Althoughsleepapneacanaffectanyone,youaremoreatriskifyouareamaleover40andoverweight.
Havinglargetonsilsandalargenecksizealsoputsyouatriskforsleepapnea.
Whilewesleepatnight,ourbrainispreparingitselfforthenextdaybygoingthroughasleep
cyclethatincludeREM(rapideyemovement)andnonREMsleep.Yourbodymustgothroughnon
REMsleepbeforereachingREMsleepthroughoutthenight.TherearethreestagesofnonREMsleep:
stageoneiswhenyoureyesareclosedbutitiseasytowakeyouup.Stagetwoiswhatwewouldconsider
lightsleep,ourheartrateslowsandbodytemperaturedrops.Stagethreeiswhatwewouldconsider
deepsleep,duringthisstagethebodyisrepairingtissues,buildingboneandmuscle,andstrengthening
theimmunesystem.EachstageofNREMis515minuteslong.REMsleepusuallyoccurs90minutes
afteryoufallasleep.Mostdreamsoccurinthisstagebecausethebrainismoreactive.
bloodflow,
breathing,andbrainactivityincreases,andyourbrainisaboutasactiveasifyouwereawake.
AnothersleepdisorderthatmakephysicalandmentalchangetoyourbodyisNarcolepsy.
Narcolepsyistheinabilitytocontrolyoursleepwakecycle.Peoplewithnarcolepsyoftenface
uncontrollablesleepattackswhichlastfewsecondtoafewminutesandextremedaytimesleepiness.
Narcolepsyoccursinbothgendersequallyandisusuallydiagnosedbetweentheagesof1525.
Cataplexy,hallucinations,sleepparalysisaresomeofthesymptomsassociatedwithnarcolepsy.
Cataplexyis
asuddenlossofmuscletonethatleadstofeelingsofweaknessandlossofmusclecontrol.
Itcancausesymptomsfromslurredspeechtototalbodycollapse,andisoftenassociatedwithintense
emotionssuchassurprise,laughter,oranger.Althoughthereisnocurefornarcolepsy,therearedrugs
usedtocontrolsleepinessandforatnighttohelpgetabetternightofsleep.Somelifestylechangescan


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alsohelpapersonwithnarcolepsyreduceitssymptoms.Maintaininganormalsleepcycle,avoiding
smokingandalcohol,anddoingrelaxingactivitiesbeforesleep,areallthingthatcanreducesymptomsof
cataplexy.
Thevarioussleepdisorderscanplayavitalroleinapersonsdailylife.Sleepdeficiencyand
sleepdisorderscancauseemotionalandphysicalproblemsthatcanforeverchangessomeoneslife.The
humanbodyissensitive,andneedssleeptoreviveitselfaftereveryday.Sleepdisordersinterruptthe
brain'sprocessofrepairingitselfforthenextday,andthereforecancauseproblemsforthepersonwhen
theyareawake.Chronicdiseasescandeveloped,butalsoemotionalinstabilityisapossibilityifthereisa
sleepdeficiency.Sleepapneaisacurabledisorder,butcanbefatalorcausemanymorechronichealth
problemsifnottreated.Sleepapneaisverycommonandbeingoverweightandbigingeneralincrease
yourrisksofhavingthedisorder.Narcolepsyisalsoacommondisorderthathasmanyothereffects.
Narcolepsydoesnotmeanthatthepersondiagnosedgetsmoresleep,butinsteadtheirsleeptimeismore
spreadoutthroughouttheday,duetosleepattacks.Thesleepcycleisvitalforeverypersonslife.
NREMandREMareuniquecyclesthatwecannotlivewithout.NREMisthelightsleepstagethat
leadstoREMwhichisthedeepsleepstage.Eachstageisuniqueandveryimportantforrepairingand
preparingthebodyforthenextday.Wedontwanttostayinanystagefortoolongortoolittletime
becausetherecouldbesomeseriouseffects.Thehumanbodyisveryuniqueandinordertotakecareof
it,wehavetomakesurewegetenoughsleep.