8 diseases hidden in sleep

As we all know, one-third of human life is spent sleeping. Sleep has a good regulating and restorative effect on various functions of the human body. But do you know that there are 8 major diseases hidden in sleep?

1. Talking in sleep

Sleep talking is when a person talks loudly during sleep, and sleep talking may occur multiple times during sleep. There is currently no medication to treat the disorder, but to avoid loud sleep talking multiple times throughout the night, sufferers can wear a mouth guard.

2. Sleep apnea syndrome

Breathing stops temporarily during sleep. During each apnea, the patient will miss 1 to 2 breaths, and this phenomenon will occur repeatedly throughout the sleep process. Severe clinical diagnosis is 5 or more apneas per hour. Individuals with this symptom are rarely aware that they have difficulty breathing and may have become accustomed to daytime sleepiness and fatigue.

3. Sleep sex

Sexsomnia is a sleep disorder that causes people to engage in sexual activity during sleep. Medical experts have used polygraphs and videotaped patients with this phenomenon and found that patients have distinctive brain wave activity during the attacks; the frequency and degree to which patients are affected by this disease varies from person to person.

4. Periodic hypersomnia (bulimia syndrome)

This is a very rare sleep disorder in which patients need too much sleep, sometimes up to 20 hours a day, and are also accompanied by gluttony and abnormal sexual desire. Researchers speculate that it is caused by genetics, but some people also believe that it is the result of autoimmune dysfunction. Stimulant drugs such as amphetamines, Ritalin, imipramine, and modafinil are used to treat sleepiness, but their effectiveness is very limited.

5. Night terrors

Night terrors are sleep disorders characterized by extreme fear and temporary inability to regain full consciousness. Patients are suddenly awakened from light sleep, often with gasps, groans, or screams; they rarely remember their night terrors. Night terrors are different from nightmares. The person having night terrors cannot be fully awakened. He/she may continue to have night terrors for 10 to 20 minutes. This is very dangerous. He/she may hurt himself/herself or others.

6. Restless Legs Syndrome

This can affect people more severely, usually in the legs but may also affect the arms and torso, with patients temporarily alleviating some of the uneasiness by shaking the affected area. Some doctors prescribe anticonvulsant drugs or benzodiazepines, but drug treatment is generally controversial.

7. Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder. Generally, patients fall asleep at any time, dream most of the time, and rarely enter deep sleep. As a result, they cannot stay awake for long periods of time, quickly fall asleep again, and are unable to restore their physical strength effectively. Another symptom is cataplexy, in which a person suddenly faints after experiencing a strong emotional blow and quickly falls asleep and does not wake up for a long time. Sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations are also common symptoms of narcolepsy. The cause of narcolepsy is still uncertain. It is generally believed to be the result of autoimmune dysfunction, but genetics may also be the culprit. Treatment may include stimulants, antidepressants, or hypnotic medications such as Xyrem.

8. Non-24-hour sleep-wake cycle disorder

The characteristic is that the human body cannot recognize the 24-hour sleep cycle and cannot rest according to the regular sleep pattern of day or night. This cycle continues around the clock, and may eventually return to "normal" within 1 or 2 days, before falling back into "chaos" again, in many cases for up to a week. From this, you see, all of the above diseases can be contracted during sleep. For your health, you should pay attention to them as early as possible.