Other Dyssomnias

Kleine-Levin syndrome

Kleine-Levin syndrome is a recurrent form of hypersomnia that affects a person three or four times a year. Doctors do not know the cause of this syndrome. It is marked by two to three days of sleeping 18-20 hours per day, an abnormally uninhibited sexual drive, apathy, compulsive eating, and irritability. Men are three times more likely than women to have the syndrome.

The disorder primarily affects adolescent males. When awake, affected individuals may exhibit irritability, lethargy, and/or apathy. They may also appear confused (disoriented) and experience hallucinations. Symptoms of Kleine-Levin syndrome are cyclical. An affected individual may go for weeks or months without experiencing symptoms. When present, symptoms may persist for days to weeks. In some cases, the symptoms associated with Kleine-Levin syndrome eventually disappear with advancing age. However, episodes may recur later during life.

There is no good treatment for Kleine-Levin syndrome. Doctors often prescribe Ritalin or modafinil stimulants, and these can relieve the symptoms, but do not affect the underlying problem. There is interest in using mood stabilizers such as lithium or carbamazepine although reports indicate these work only in some patients.

Sleep Starts

Sleep starts are so common that they almost don’t count as a sleep disorder. Most have experience them - a sudden, often violent, jerk of the entire body or one or more body segments that occurs upon falling asleep. Sleep starts are also known as hypnic or hypnagogic jerks. Somewhat related are: a visual sleep start - usually a sensation of blinding light coming from inside the eyes or head and an auditory sleep start - a loud snapping noise that seems to come from inside the head.

Contributing factors that can lead to sleep starts include stress, exercise before bed, and caffeine or other stimulants. Patients that suffer sleep starts often have an iron deficiency and/or a urea buildup. They are also side effects of some antidepressants and antihistimines.

At times, many jerks may occur one after another. They can be frequent, intense, and repetitive. Intense or frequent sleep starts may lead to a fear of falling asleep. In most people, they only occur from time to time. Sleep starts affect all ages and both men and women. They are more common among pregnant women and the elderly.

Treatment options include leg exercises, iron supplements, and in bad cases, dopamine agonists similar to those used for restless legs syndrome, although pregnant women can't have dopamine agonists.

Nocturnal Paroxysmal Dystonia

Nocturnal paroxysmal dystonia is a disorder where the person behaves as if he or she has had an epileptic fit during sleep. Such attacks may take place seven to eight times during one night and each attack last from fifteen to sixty seconds. These attacks typically take place during the non-REM period of sleep. The patient may also wake up from sleep after such a seizure. The behavior pattern of people who suffer from this affliction may also include somnambulism or what is more commonly known as night walking.

Some researchers believe that this disorder is exactly similar to frontal lobe epilepsy but the clinical evidence is not absolutely conclusive. The most common form of treatment of this disorder follows the same route as that taken for treating an epilepsy patient.

Sleep Disorders

Dyssomnias

Parsomnias

Insomnia Medications