Sleep disorder in the context of Sleep study

Neurology (from Greek: νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the spinal cord and the peripheral nerves. Neurological practice relies heavily on the field of neuroscience, the scientific study of the nervous system, using various techniques of neurotherapy.

A neurologist is a physician specializing in neurology and trained to investigate, diagnose and treat neurological disorders. Neurologists diagnose and treat myriad neurologic conditions, including stroke, epilepsy, movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, brain infections, autoimmune neurologic disorders such as multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, brain injury, headache disorders like migraine, tumors of the brain and dementias such as Alzheimer's disease. Neurologists may also have roles in clinical research, clinical trials, and basic or translational research. Neurology is a nonsurgical specialty, its corresponding surgical specialty is neurosurgery.

Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. Mental health plays a crucial role in an individual's daily life when managing stress, engaging with others, and contributing to life overall. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is a "state of well-being in which the individual realizes their abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to their community". It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health includes subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, intergenerational dependence, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential, among others.

From the perspectives of positive psychology or holism, mental health is thus not merely the absence of mental illness. Rather, it is a broader state of well-being that includes an individual's ability to enjoy life and to create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. Cultural differences, personal philosophy, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how one defines "mental health". Some early signs related to mental health difficulties are sleep irritation, lack of energy, lack of appetite, thinking of harming oneself or others, self-isolating (though introversion and isolation are not necessarily unhealthy), and frequently zoning out.

Alcohol use and sleep have a complex relationship. While alcohol may initially induce drowsiness, it can disrupt sleep quality and exacerbate sleep disorders in the long run. During abstinence, sleep disruption is one of the greatest predictors of relapse.

A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epilepsy and sleep disorders.

Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder causing difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, irritability, and a depressed mood. It may result in an increased risk of accidents as well as problems focusing and learning. Insomnia can be short-term, lasting for days or weeks, or long-term, lasting more than a month. The concept of the word insomnia has two distinct possibilities: insomnia disorder or insomnia symptoms.

Insomnia can occur independently or as a result of another problem. Conditions that can result in insomnia include psychological stress, chronic pain, heart failure, hyperthyroidism, heartburn, restless leg syndrome, menopause, certain medications, and drugs such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. Risk factors include working night shifts and sleep apnea. Diagnosis is based on sleep habits and an examination to look for underlying causes. A sleep study may be done to look for underlying sleep disorders. Screening may be done with questions like "Do you experience difficulty sleeping?" or "Do you have difficulty falling or staying asleep?"

Aircraft noise pollution refers to noise produced by aircraft in flight that has been associated with several negative stress-mediated health effects, from sleep disorders to cardiovascular disorders. Governments have enacted extensive controls that apply to aircraft designers, manufacturers, and operators, resulting in improved procedures and cuts in pollution.

Long COVID or long-haul COVID is a group of health problems persisting or developing after an initial period of COVID-19 infection. Symptoms can last weeks, months or years and are often debilitating. The World Health Organization defines long COVID as starting three months after the initial COVID-19 infection, but other agencies define it as starting at four weeks after the initial infection.

Long COVID is characterised by a large number of symptoms that sometimes disappear and then reappear. Commonly reported symptoms of long COVID are fatigue, memory problems, shortness of breath, and sleep disorder. Several other symptoms, including headaches, mental health issues, initial loss of smell or taste, muscle weakness, fever, and cognitive dysfunction may also present. Symptoms often get worse after mental or physical effort, a process called post-exertional malaise. There is a large overlap in symptoms with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

Polysomnography (PSG) is a multi-parameter type of sleep study and a diagnostic tool in sleep medicine. The test result is called a polysomnogram, also abbreviated PSG. The name is derived from Greek and Latin roots: the Greek πολύς (polus for "many, much", indicating many channels), the Latin somnus ("sleep"), and the Greek γράφειν (graphein, "to write").

Type I polysomnography is a sleep study performed overnight with the patient continuously monitored by a credentialed technologist. It records the physiological changes that occur during sleep, usually at night, though some labs can accommodate shift workers and people with circadian rhythm sleep disorders who sleep at other times. The PSG monitors many body functions, including brain activity (EEG), eye movements (EOG), muscle activity or skeletal muscle activation (EMG), and heart rhythm (ECG). After the identification of the sleep disorder sleep apnea in the 1970s, breathing functions, respiratory airflow, and respiratory effort indicators were added along with peripheral pulse oximetry. Polysomnography no longer includes NPT monitoring for erectile dysfunction, as it is reported that all male patients will experience erections during phasic REM sleep, regardless of dream content.

Dyssomnias are a broad classification of sleeping disorders involving difficulty getting to sleep, remaining asleep, or of excessive sleepiness.

Dyssomnias are primary disorders of initiating or maintaining sleep or of excessive sleepiness and are characterized by a disturbance in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep.

Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low consciousness, with performance of activities that are usually performed during a state of full consciousness. These activities can be as benign as talking, sitting up in bed, walking to a bathroom, consuming food, and cleaning, or as hazardous as cooking, driving a motor vehicle, violent gestures and grabbing at hallucinated objects.

Although sleepwalking cases generally consist of simple, repeated behaviors, there are occasionally reports of people performing complex behaviors while asleep, although their legitimacy is often disputed. Sleepwalkers often have little or no memory of the incident, as their consciousness has altered into a state in which memories are difficult to recall. Although their eyes are open, their expression is dim and glazed over. This may last from 30 seconds to 30 minutes.

Night terror, also called sleep terror, is a sleep disorder causing feelings of panic or dread and typically occurring during the first hours of stage 3–4 non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and lasting for 1 to 10 minutes. It can last longer, especially in children. Sleep terror is classified in the category of NREM-related parasomnias in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. There are two other categories: REM-related parasomnias and other parasomnias. Parasomnias are qualified as undesirable physical events or experiences that occur during entry into sleep, during sleep, or during arousal from sleep.

Sleep terrors usually begin in childhood and usually decrease as age increases. Factors that may lead to sleep terrors are young age, sleep deprivation, medications, stress, fever, and intrinsic sleep disorders. The frequency and severity differ among individuals; the interval between episodes can be as long as weeks and as short as minutes or hours. As a result, any type of nocturnal attack or nightmare may be confused with and reported as a night terror.

Nightmare disorder is a sleep disorder characterized by repeated or deliberate intense nightmares that most often center on threats to physical safety and security. The nightmares usually occur during the REM stage of sleep, and the person who experiences the nightmares typically remembers them well upon waking. More specifically, nightmare disorder is a type of parasomnia, a subset of sleep disorders categorized by abnormal movement or behavior or verbal actions during sleep or shortly before or after. Other parasomnias include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, bedwetting, and sleep paralysis.

Nightmare disorders can be confused with sleep terror disorders. The difference is that after a sleep terror episode, the patient wakes up with more dramatic symptoms than with a nightmare disorder, such as screaming and crying. Furthermore, they do not remember the reason of the fear, while a patient with a nightmare disorder remembers every detail of the dream. Finally, the sleep terrors usually occur during NREM Sleep.

In acoustics, noise measurement can be for the purpose of measuring environmental noise or measuring noise in the workplace. Applications include monitoring of construction sites, aircraft noise, road traffic noise, entertainment venues and neighborhood noise. One of the definitions of noise covers all "unwanted sounds". When sound levels reach a high enough intensity, the sound, whether it is wanted or unwanted, may be damaging to hearing. Environmental noise monitoring is the measurement of noise in an outdoor environment caused by transport (e.g. motor vehicles, aircraft, and trains), industry (e.g. machines) and recreational activities (e.g. music). The laws and limits governing environmental noise monitoring differ from country to country.

At the very least, noise may be annoying or displeasing or may disrupt the activity or balance of human or animal life, increasing levels of aggression, hypertension and stress. In the extreme, excessive levels or periods of noise can have long-term negative health effects such as hearing loss, tinnitus, sleep disturbances, a rise in blood pressure, an increase in stress and vasoconstriction, and an increased incidence of coronary artery disease. In animals, noise can increase the risk of death by altering predator or prey detection and avoidance, interfering with reproduction and navigation, and contributing to permanent tinnitus and hearing loss.