CMN 557: CMN 557 Module 2 Primary Study Guide(sleep disorders) Updated Solution Guide

To understand sleep and its disorders, it helps to begin with the sleep’s three basic characteristics: (1) Sleep is a process required for proper brain function. Failure to sleep impairs thought processes, mood regulation, and a host of normal physiological functions. (2) Sleep is not a single process; there are several distinct types of sleep. These different types of sleep differ both qualitatively and quantitatively. Each type of sleep has unique characteristics, functional importance, and regulatory mechanisms. Selectively depriving one particular type of sleep produces compensatory rebound when an individual is allowed to sleep ad lib. (3) Sleep is not a passive process; sleep can be associated with a high degree of brain activation and metabolism. Several physiological mechanisms regulate sleep and when these systems go awry, sleep disorders occur. Initial interest in sleep disorders emanated from psychiatrists, psychologists, and neurologists. Medical research during the past four decades expanded sleep medicine into a multidisciplinary field. Research illustrating sleep-disordered breathing’s medical consequences attracted many pulmonary, internal medicine specialists, and cardiologists to the field. Perioperative risks associated in patients with sleep-disordered breathing attracted the attention of anesthesiologists and treatment options for breathing disorders now involve surgeons and dentists. Sleep–wake cycle-related endocrinology and circadian rhythm research has migrated from the laboratory bench to the bedside. Nonetheless, the seriousness of sleep disorders remains poorly recognized by the general public and many clinical practitioners. Progress, however, is being made. In the past decade, Sleep Medicine became a recognized medical specialty and ACGME accredited Sleep Medicine Fellowship Training programs followed. Sleep disorders are both dangerous and expensive. Hypersomnolence is a serious, potentially li