Article Sections

Introduction

Sleep-wake disorders encompass a wide range of conditions that affect sleep quality, timing, and duration, leading to impaired daytime functioning and overall health.  This article discusses normal sleep physiology and the following sleep-wake disorders: insomnia disorder, sleep-related breathing disorders, central disorders of hypersomnolence, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, parasomnias, and sleep-related movement disorders.

Normal sleep physiology

Sleep is characterized by distinct stages that repeat in cycles throughout the night and is divided into rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep ( Table 1).  NREM sleep is further divided into 3 substages (N1, N2, N3).  Each stage and substage is characterized by a unique pattern of brain waves of different frequencies ( Figure 1), which can be measured by polysomnography:

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Figures

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Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2

Tables

Table 1
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