We evaluate the different symptoms of potential sleep disorders, in order to provide a comprehensive treatment service for all of our patients, regardless of their age or needs. The Rosenberg Clinic team specialises in the short term treatment of sleep disorders, but should you require a longer recovery period, we work directly with the Oak Valley Sleep Disorder Center for inpatient care.

We evaluate the different symptoms of potential sleep disorders, in order to provide a comprehensive treatment service for all of our patients, regardless of their age or needs. The Rosenberg Clinic team specialises in sleep disorders, which are related to people with psychiatric and neurological disorders.

A sleep disorder – or, which is better known as 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, social, and emotional functions. Polysomnography is a test commonly ordered for some sleep disorders.

Disruptions in sleep can be caused by a variety of issues, from teeth grinding (bruxism) to night terrors. When a person has difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep with no obvious cause, it is referred to as insomnia.

Sleep disorders are broadly classified into dyssomnias, parasomnias, circadian rhythm sleep disorders, and other disorders, including ones which are caused by medical or psychological conditions and sleeping sickness. Some common sleep disorders include insomnia (which is the chronic inability to sleep), sleep apnea (which is abnormally low breathing during sleep), narcolepsy( which is excessive exhaustion at inappropriate times), cataplexy (which is the sudden and transient loss of muscle tone), and sleeping sickness (which is disruption of sleep cycle due to infection). Additionally, sleep disorders may also cause sufferers to sleep excessively, a condition which is known as hypersomnia. Other disorders include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, and bed wetting. Management of sleep disturbances, which are secondary to mental, medical, or substance abuse disorders should focus upon the underlying conditions.

Diagnosing insomnia

Insomnia is characterized by an extended period of symptoms, including trouble with retaining sleep, fatigue, decreased attentiveness, and dysphoria. To diagnose insomnia, these symptoms must persist for a minimum of 4 weeks. The DSM-IV categorizes insomnia-related issues into the following categories: primary insomnia, insomnia associated with medical or mental illness, and insomnia associated with the consumption or abuse of substances. Individuals with insomnia often worry about the negative health consequences that can occur, which often leads to the development of anxiety and depression.

Source: Wikipedia