| Disorder |
Symptoms |
Treatment Options |
Notes |
Narcolepsy
(sudden, uncontrollable sleep) |
Dozing off at inappropriate times, sudden loss of muscle tone, frequent awakenings at night |
Stimulants, antidepressants, naps, exercise and avoiding caffeine |
One of the best-known, affecting more than 100,000 Americans, it's more common in men and begins in their 20s, according to a Mayo Clinic study. |
Sleep apnea
(brief interruptions of breathing during sleep) |
Snoring, choking sensations while sleeping, excessive daytime sleepiness |
Therapy, weight loss, use of pillows, surgery |
It is generally estimated that as many as 80 percent to 90 percent of sleep-apnea patients remain undiagnosed and untreated, with the number of untreated patients between 12 to 15 million. |
| Night terrors |
Abrupt awakenings, violent dreams, screaming, sleep walking |
Klonopin, relaxation, meditation, therapy |
Most children experience a few episodes of night terrors, but they end in adolescence. In adults, condition is thought to be genetic; it differs from nightmares in that episodes often are not remembered. |
| Nocturnal eating syndrome |
A rare form of sleep-walking in which people eat in their sleep without remembering it, resulting in significant weight gain |
Stress management, therapy, Valium-related drugs |
This disorder is sometimes linked to anorexia. Dangers include choking on food, setting fires and eating poison. |
Restless leg syndrome
(continuously moving legs while at rest) |
A creepy crawly feeling in the legs, relieved by moving them |
Valium-related drugs, Vitamin E |
As much as 5 percent of the population may have this disease, according to the National Sleep Foundation. It can begin in youth, but mostly affects people middle-aged and older. |
| Sleep paralysis |
Awake but unable to move or speak; hallucinations involving suffocation and death |
Going to bed earlier, stress reduction, exercise |
Some doctors suspect people who claim to have been abducted by aliens were experiencing sleep paralysis. Studies have shown people taking anti-anxiety drugs are more susceptible. |