What Is a Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder?

Symptoms of abnormal sleep and abnormal behavior during sleep are also manifestations of normal rhythmic alternation of sleep and awakening. It can be caused by a variety of factors, often related to physical illness, including sleep disorders and parasomnia. Sleep is closely related to human health. Surveys show that many people suffer from sleep disorders or sleep-related diseases, and the percentage of adults with sleep disorders is as high as 30%. Experts point out that sleep is an extremely important physiological function to maintain human life and is essential to the human body.

Basic Information

English name

sleep disorder

Visiting department

Neurology

Common causes

Caused by a variety of factors, often related to physical illness

Common symptoms

Sleep disorders and parasomnia

Causes of Sleep Disorders

Sleep is divided into two periods based on changes in EEG and eye movement, namely non-rapid eye movement (HREM) and rapid eye movement (REM). During the non-rapid eye movement phase, muscle tone is reduced, and there is no obvious eye movement. The EEG display is slow and synchronized. When awakened during this period, you feel tired and sleepy. During the fast eye movement period, muscle tone is significantly reduced, and rapid horizontal eye movements appear. The EEG shows a state similar to that during awakening. This period of arousal, clear consciousness, no sense of burnout, and colorful dreams appear during this period.

Studies have found that the tail of the brainstem has a very important relationship with sleep and is considered to be the center of sleep. Various irritating lesions at this site cause excessive sleep, while destructive lesions cause reduced sleep. In addition, it was found that the central nervous medium is involved during sleep. Stimulation of serotoninergic neurons or injection of serotonin can produce non-rapid eye movement sleep, and serotonin antagonists can cause reduced sleep. With norepinephrine antagonists, sleep is reduced during fast eye movement, while sleep with norepinephrine agonists increases sleep during fast eye movement.

Clinical manifestations of sleep disorders

1. Abnormal amount of sleep

It can include two types: one is an excessive increase in sleep, such as drowsiness or lethargy caused by various encephalopathy, endocrine disorders, metabolic abnormalities, and narcolepsy caused by brain disease, which is often manifested as Irresistible sleep episodes that occur for a short time (usually less than 15 minutes) are often accompanied by symptoms such as falls, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations before falling asleep. The other type is insomnia with insufficient sleep, which sleeps less than 5 hours all night, manifested as difficulty falling asleep, light sleep, easy to wake up or wake up early. Insomnia can be caused by external environmental factors (excessive indoor light, excessive noise around the clock, night shifts, taking a car or boat, just to an unfamiliar place), physical factors (pain, itching, severe cough, drinking strong tea or coffee before going to bed, frequent nocturia Or diarrhea, etc.) or psychological factors (anxiety, fear, excessive thought or excitement). Some diseases are often accompanied by insomnia, such as neurasthenia, anxiety, depression and so on.

2. Paroxysmal abnormalities in sleep

Refers to some abnormal behaviors during sleep, such as sleepwalking, nightmares (talking to sleep), night terrors (sudden turbulence during sleep, screams, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, general sweating, disorientation, or hallucinations), nightmares ( Have nightmares), molars, involuntary laughter, muscles or limbs beating involuntarily, etc. These episodic abnormal behaviors do not occur during sleep all night, but mostly occur during a certain period of sleep. For example, sleepwalking and night terrors occur mostly in the later stages of normal sleep; nightmares are more common in the middle and even early stages of normal sleep; molars, involuntary laughs, muscle or limb beats are more common in the early stages of normal sleep; Nightmare often occurs during heterosexual sleep.

Sleep disorder treatment

Traditional Chinese medicine is rich in the dialectical treatment of sleep disorders. In recent years, many medical practitioners have explored the mechanism of their occurrence from clinical reality and put forward some new dialectical ideas.

1. From the five internal organs

Some scholars believe that the etiology and pathogenesis of insomnia are mainly manifested in the liver, spleen and the five internal organs. He advocated the holistic view of "all five internal organs are unsatisfactory," a treatment system based on the liver, taking into account other internal organs, and adding and subtracting syndromes. Based on this, an insomnia syndrome treatment plan was formulated.

2. Govern from spiritual feelings

Spiritual sentiment is closely related to indifference. Therefore, indifference is divided into annoying, suspicious, nervous, and depressive. The methods of clearing heat and purging fire, relieving liver and reducing inversion, nourishing yin, clearing heat, resolving qi, and depressing depression are used. Harmonizing the liver and spleen method and other treatments has achieved good results.

3. From the circadian rhythm

Human sleep is a circadian rhythmic physiological activity, and insomnia is the result of this normal sleep-wake rhythm disorder. Following this rule, we propose "according to the time" to treat insomnia.

4. From the intersection of heart and kidney

All insomnia is caused by "fire does not return to the roots", all treatment options need to return to the problem of "ignition to the roots, heart and kidney intersect", and divide insomnia into five types: liver qi stagnation type, kidney essence deficiency type , Vigorous heart fire type, meridian stasis type, phlegm dampness type.

5. Treating from liver and spleen

Many of the etiology and pathogenesis that lead to insomnia are related to liver and spleen disorders. The choice of rationale and prescriptions for treating insomnia with traditional Chinese medicine should be based on dialectical treatment and focus on conditioning liver and spleen.

Prevention of sleep disorders

Sleep disorders are often caused by long-term ideological contradictions or mental overload, mental labor, long-term improper combination of work and rest, and weakness after illness. After suffering from this disease, the above reasons must first be lifted and work and life readjusted. Correctly understand the nature of the disease, the onset of which occurs slowly, the course of the disease is long, often repeated, but the prognosis is good. To relieve one's suspicion of "severe illness", participation in proper physical work and physical exercise can help to recover from sleep disorders.