Mental health articles

What are the signs of a sleeping disorder? Sleep is an absence of consciousness, inactivity of voluntary muscles, and absence of sensory activities that occurs for approximately 8 hours each day.
The ability of a person to react to stimuli is diminished but not totally absent,
enabling the person to be aroused. Brain activity, breathing, and other physiologic
functions change but remain active. The amount of physiologic activity
depends on the stage of sleep.
The reason for sleep is unknown, although researchers have put forth several
theories of why a person sleeps. Restorative theory states that sleep provides an
opportunity for the body to repair. This is supported by studies that show that
major restorative functions occur during sleep such as tissue repair, muscle
growth, release of growth hormone, and protein synthesis. A sleeping disorder
disrupts sleep, resulting in symptoms that impede the patient’s activities of
daily living. In this chapter, you will learn about sleep and sleeping disorders
and how to intervene to minimize the effects of a sleeping disorder.

Tags: sleeping disorder