There are different classifications of sleep disorders, but in any case we will always find disorders that affect the initiation and maintenance of sleep: insomnia, disorders that involve excessive sleepiness, sleep-wake rhythm disorders or sleep-related dysfunctions.
It is one of the most frequent sleep disorders, since it is estimated that a third of the population has some type of insomnia, with the highest prevalence in females.
Among the situational factors that predispose to insomnia we find stressful situations, change of habits and usual spaces, change of work shift, etc. When insomnia is long-lasting, persists for months, it can be considered as a side effect of other pathologies or also as a side effect due to the intake of certain drugs.
It must be said that in many cases there is what is known by the name of erroneous perception of sleep states, that is, there is a contradiction between the inability to sleep that a person says they have and their EEG indicators regarding sleep . That is, he says or perceives that he sleeps less than he actually sleeps.
There are people with real problems to maintain attention during the day, since they suffer from excessive drowsiness or sleep attacks during the day. Thus, for example, we have narcoleptic patients.
Narcolepsy is a disorder in which the patient suffers frequent and intense sleep attacks that can occur at any time during wakefulness, each lasting between 5 and 30 minutes..
Narcoleptic individuals are identified by the appearance of REM sleep periods during wakefulness.
It seems that this disorder is actually a dysfunction of the wakefulness mechanisms that should inhibit the centers responsible for entering REM sleep..
In studies with dogs with these animals it has been seen that they present very high levels of receptors for acetylcholine and its release in the area of the pons of the brainstem.
Many narcoleptics also present cataplexy, that is, a sudden loss of muscle tone, sudden motor inhibition, but without loss of consciousness.
At the beginning of sleep, many narcoleptics also have a temporary inability to move or speak, a phenomenon known as sleep paralysis..
Narcolepsy occurs in different animal species, apart from humans. In 1999, a group of researchers from Stanford University (Mignot et al.) Found that narcolepsy in dogs is determined by a mutation in the gene for one of the orexin receptors (brain peptide, basically synthesized by neurons of the hypothalamus, which stimulates eating behavior).
Recent results suggest that complex interactions occur in the hypothalamus between mechanisms of different daily rhythms, such as sleep and eating..
Of the possible rhythm disorders, the most common is jet lag, which occurs as a result of time zone changes..
Different experiments point to the intake of melatonin as a possible solution to these disorders.
There are different classifications of sleep disorders depending on whether they affect more quantity or quality.
In any case, prolonged sleep deprivation can affect the subject's immune system, among other things..
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