With quality sleep, cells are repaired, the immune system is strengthened and mental functions are sharpened. Quality sleep can also help reduce the occurrence of common pains, such as backaches, and increase your resistance to illness.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), the most serious sleep disorder, is periodic obstruction of the upper airway during sleep and has a prevalence rate of three to eight percent. Periods of apnea can last up to 90 seconds and may occur several hundred times per night. OSA is the most common medical cause of excessive daytime sleepiness and is more common in men.

Symptoms of OSA are listed below.

• Loud, habitual snoring
• Pauses in breathing during sleep
• Daytime sleepiness
• Irritability/Personality changes
• Obesity
• Choking/Gasping/snorts during sleep
• Hypertension
• Non-refreshing sleep/inability to wake up
• Daytime fatigue
• Memory and concentration problems
• Morning headaches
• Upper airway abnormalities
• Frequent napping
• Nocturnal Angina/Arrhythmias
• Frequent awakenings
• Sexual problems

Diagnosis for Obstructive Sleep Apnea should be made by pertinent history, physical examination, oximetry and polysomnography. Most people benefit from appropriate evaluation, treatment and follow-up.
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Narcolepsy has a prevalence rate of five per 100,000 population.
Classical symptoms include:

• Excessive sleepiness
• Cataplexy (physical weakness with emotion)
• Hypnagogic hallucinations
• Sleep paralysis (occurs upon waking)
• Automatic behavior
• Low concentration
• Occupational/School problems

Symptoms may appear rapidly or develop slowly over the years. The cause of Narcolepsy is still unknown but shows strong familial clustering.
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Periodic Limb Movements (PLM) are characterized by rhythmic jerking of the feet or legs. Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is described as a “creeping, crawling” sensation that creates an urge to move the legs. Its prevalence rate is two to five percent. Patients with PLM or RLS often complain of the following symptoms.

• “Creepy” or “jumpy” legs
• Unpleasant sensation during sleep
• Insomnia/Non-refreshing sleep
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Increased activity
• Restless sleep

Treatment for Restless Legs Syndrome and Periodic Limb Movements is highly effective for 90 percent of patients seeking help.
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Insomnia, in its chronic form, affects approximately nine percent of the population. It can last for weeks, months, or even years and may be related to the following:

• Worry, anxiety or stress
• Psychiatric disorders
• Primary sleep disorders
• Substance abuse
• Medical problems
• Behavioral/Conditional factors

Those with chronic insomnia may experience reduced productivity and accidents as a result of fatigue. Because insomnia is a symptom, the physician must search for the cause. Over 70 percent of insomnia sufferers sleep better after appropriate evaluation and treatment.
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Parasomnia refers to a wide variety of disruptive, sleep-related events or “disorders of arousal.” These arousal disorders include:

• Sleep Walking
• Sleep terrors (pavor nocturnes)
• Nightmares
• Partial seizures
• Violent behavior during sleep
• REM behavior disorder (acting out dreams)

Severe cases may lead to injury, violence, excessive eating, or disturbance of others in the bed or house. In most cases, Parasomnia can be effectively diagnosed and treated.
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Children and Sleep Apnea
Many children have sleep problems. Examples include:

When we think of people who suffer from sleep apnea, we usually think of large men. But there's another group likely to suffer from the disorder. Children with allergies often suffer from sleep apnea, a condition that occurs when a person stops breathing while sleeping. It tends to affect men who are overweight or who have large necks, but the congestion from allergies has the same effect on children.

Allergies in children are fairly common, affecting 8 to 12 percent of all children. Allergies may cause excess mucus secretion and swelling of nasal tissues. That may makes it harder to breathe, particularly when a child is lying down and the mucus doesn't drain. The airway may become blocked, keeping the child from breathing, which then wakes him up, often coughing or gasping. Because these interruptions keep the child from getting enough normal sleep at night, children who suffer from sleep apnea may be drowsy during the day.

Researchers have estimated that about 60 percent of children with allergies have some problems with sleep apnea. If your child snores regularly and has allergy symptoms like a constantly runny nose or frequent congestion, he or she might also have occasional bouts of sleep apnea.

• Some children who have been diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder (ADD) may in fact be suffering from a lack of sleep caused by sleep apnea, Stanford University researchers say.
• "A child who isn't getting enough sleep is going to fidget and be unable to concentrate, and to the teacher or parent, this looks a lot like ADD," says Dr. Rafael Pelayo, instructor at Stanford's Sleep Disorders Center.

ADD is a brain and hormonal ailment that may affect the behavior of about 3.5 million children and as many as 5 million adults. Sleep apnea, which affects 2 to 8 percent of the population, is caused by a blocked airway and an inability to breathe properly at night, which in turn leads to a lack of sleep.

Nightmares are relatively common during childhood. The child remembers nightmares, which usually involve major threats to the child's well-being. Nightmares, which begin at a variety of ages, affect girls more often than boys. For some children nightmares are serious, frequent, and interfere with restful sleep.

Sleep terrors, sleepwalking, and sleep talking constitute a relatively rare group of sleep disorders, called "parasomnias." Sleep terrors are different from nightmares. The child with sleep terrors will scream uncontrollably and appear to be awake, but is confused and can't communicate. Sleep terrors usually begin between ages 4 and 12. Children who sleepwalk may appear to be awake as they move around, but are actually asleep and in danger of hurting themselves. Sleepwalking usually begins between ages 6 and 12. Both sleep terrors and sleepwalking run in families and affect boys more often than girls.

Fortunately, as they mature, children usually get over common sleep problems as well as the more serious disorders (parasomnias). However, parents with ongoing concerns should contact their pediatrician or directly seek consultation with a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
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