A Guide to Disorders That Keep People Awake

If your snoring, leg twitching and nightmares keep you up at night, perhaps it’s time to do some research. The following sleep disorder definitions will give you a head start:

* Snoring is caused by allergies, alcohol and sedative abuse, a narrowing of the nasal cavity, a drooping soft palate in older sufferers or general thickening of airways in overweight people. It is experienced by 50% of those over the age of 40. Treatment ranges from a simple shove by a bed partner (mild snoring often only occurs while sleepers are lying on their backs), nasal surgery, a tongue-detaining device or a tonsillectomy in younger victims. Snoring has been measured at 80 decibels--enough racket to rouse the neighbors.

* Nocturnal myoclonus, or leg kicking, is experienced by about 40% of those over the age of 60. Between 50 and 400 muscle contractions that cause the kicking can occur during sleep, waking victims and their bed partners. The drug Klonopin is used, not to stop the kicking, but to prevent the sufferer from waking during the bumpy night.

* Apnea, most common to older, overweight men, can cause breathing to stop up to 680 times during sleep. Apnea, usually caused by blocked airways resulting from a thickened tongue and soft palate, can cause daytime sleepiness, high blood pressure, heart failure, heart attack and stroke. An air pressure device worn during sleep can keep airways open.

* Sleep terrors are characterized by an abrupt awakening and piercing scream, accompanied by rapid breathing, heavy sweats and fragmentary recall of nightmares. Sleep terrors begin between the ages of 4 and 12 and are accompanied by disorientation after awakening and an inability to comprehend or hear the people surrounding them. Up to 4% of children have the disorder and many more experience isolated incidents.

* Sleepwalking usually begins between the ages of 6 and 12. The disorder can become chronic if it begins in adulthood. About 15% of all children experience isolated sleepwalking, with up to 6% having the disorder. More common in males, sleepwalking is more likely to occur during times of stress or fatigue. Since sufferers have no awareness of their surroundings, precautions should be taken for their safety at night.

* Hallucinations or waking nightmares, experienced by narcoleptics, are caused when dreams overlay reality. The victim’s eyes may be wide open and her view may be of her bedroom, but she is convinced there is a dangerous animal or person present. Impending death or suffocation are other symptoms common to sufferers, who experience the hallucinations either while falling asleep (hypnagogic state) or awakening (hypnopompic state).

* Sleep paralysis involves partial or complete paralysis of skeletal muscles while a person is entering or awakening from sleep (a normal occurrence while all sleepers are in the dream state). Victims, who are usually narcoleptic, are unable to move, despite struggling to “wake up” even though their eyes are open. The condition frequently occurs during hallucinations.