Do you take a good night’s sleep for granted? There is nothing that affects how we feel in the daytime more than sleep. Sleep is remarkable for several reasons. First, there is a complete loss of the sense of time. Without external cues, it is difficult to know what time you wake up or exactly how long you slept. Second, it can completely restore alertness and concentration. Third, it is a time of complete relief from pain or sickness. Finally, it opens the mind to dreaming and imagination.
Until recently, there was very little known about sleep. However, even with all we now know about sleep, we are only scratching the surface of this deep mystery. As our knowledge of sleep unfolds, we are finding new disorders and ways to treat them. Therefore, we can restore normal patterns of rest and improve daytime functioning. What is impressive is that this functioning is not limited just to our moods and alertness but can alter our very body chemistry and even make us healthy or sick. Sleep disorders have now been linked to such common health problems as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Fixing these problems can lead to improved medical management of these conditions and may someday help with their prevention and cure.
Sleep is also a very dynamic and active state. Sleep is often mistaken for a passive activity, in which the body and brained are “turned off” to rest. Contrary to this belief, sleep is a time of increased activity for the brain. This is the time where conscious control “let’s go” and the brain is free to learn, build memories or set and reset basic functions. The cardiovascular system also varies in its activities, with significant swings in blood pressure and heart rate. Hormones are turned off and turned on. Muscle tone increases and decreases. The list of physiologic changes is almost endless.
This leads us to the conclusion that sleep is important, if not essential, to human life. Not only is it usually an enjoyable activity, but it is restorative to the body on a physiologic level as well. What occurs during sleep, is at least as important, as what happens in the daytime. Therefore, by pursuing and correcting sleep disorders, we may benefit both our minds and bodies and give ourselves a happier and healthier future.
I hope that this book offers the reader a quick introduction to some of the disorders of sleep, so that they can be recognized, and appropriate diagnosis and treatment be obtained. I also hope that this may calm fears or misperceptions about sleep disorders, their evaluations and treatment to break down barriers that may prevent people from seeking medical attention.
You are NOT Alone: Famous People with Reported Sleep Disorders
- Narcolepsy: Jimmy Kimmel
- Sleep apnea: Reggie White
- Insomnia: Michael Jackson
- REM Behavior Disorder: Mike Birbiglia
- Bedwetting: Michael Landon
- Nightmares: Mary Todd Lincoln