Glossary

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Definitions from Wikipedia

CATAPLEXY

A sudden muscular weakness brought on by strong emotions (though many people experience cataplexy without having an emotional trigger). It often manifests as muscular weaknesses ranging from a barely perceptible slackening of the facial muscles to the dropping of the jaw or head, weakness at the knees, or a total collapse. Usually speech is slurred and vision is impaired (double vision, inability to focus), but hearing and awareness remain normal. In some rare cases, an individual's body becomes paralyzed and muscles become stiff.

CHRONIC DISEASE

A disease that is long-lasting or recurrent. The term chronic describes the course of the disease, or its rate of onset and development. A chronic course is distinguished from a recurrent course; recurrent diseases relapse repeatedly, with periods of remission in between. As an adjective, chronic can refer to a persistent and lasting medical condition.

DYSSOMNIAS

A broad classification of sleeping disorders that make it difficult to get to sleep, or to remain sleeping.

Dyssomnias are primary disorders of initiating or maintaining sleep or of excessive sleepiness and are characterized by a disturbance in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep. Patients may complain of difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep, intermittent wakefulness during the night, early morning awakening, or combinations of any of these. Transient episodes are usually of little significance. Stress, caffeine, physical discomfort, daytime napping, and early bedtimes are common factors.

EXCESSIVE DAYTIME SLEEPINESS (EDS)

Characterized by persistent sleepiness, and often a general lack of energy, even after apparently adequate night time sleep. Sudden involuntary sleep onset, and microsleeps are common complications. EDS is a symptom of one of the two forms of the sleep disorder hypersomnia, the other being prolonged nighttime sleep. Some persons with EDS, including those with narcolepsy, are compelled to nap repeatedly during the day; fighting off increasingly strong urges to sleep during inappropriate times such as while driving, while at work, during a meal, or in conversations. As the compulsion to sleep intensifies, the ability to competently complete tasks sharply diminishes, often mimicking the appearance of intoxication.

FATIGUE (also called exhaustion, lethargy, listlessness)

A state of awareness describing a range of afflictions, usually associated with physical and/or mental weakness, though varying from a general state of lethargy to a specific work-induced burning sensation within one's muscles. Physical fatigue is the inability to continue functioning at the level of one's normal abilities.

INSOMNIA

Most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions: "Do you experience difficulty sleeping?" or "Do you have difficulty falling or staying asleep?" Thus, insomnia is most often thought of as both a sign and a symptom that can accompany several sleep, medical, and psychiatric disorders, characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep or sleep of poor quality. Insomnia is typically followed by functional impairment while awake.

MICROSLEEP

An episode of sleep which may last for a fraction of a second or up to thirty seconds. Often, it is the result of sleep deprivation, mental fatigue, depression, sleep apnea, hypoxia, narcolepsy, or hypersomnia. Microsleeping can occur at any time, typically without significant warning. Microsleeps (or microsleep episodes) become extremely dangerous when occurring during situations which demand constant alertness, such as driving a motor vehicle or working with heavy machinery. People who experience microsleeps usually remain unaware of them, instead believing themselves to have been awake the whole time, or to have temporarily lost focus.

MULTIPLE SLEEP LATENCY TEST (MSLT)
A sleep disorder diagnostic tool used to measure the time elapsed from the start of a daytime nap period to the first signs of sleep, called sleep latency. The test is based on the idea that the sleepier people are, the faster they will fall asleep. The MSLT can be used to test for narcolepsy, to distinguish between physical tiredness and true excessive daytime sleepiness, or to assess whether treatments for breathing disorders are working. Its main purpose is to serve as an objective measure of sleepiness. The test consists of four or five 20-minute nap opportunities that are scheduled about two hours apart. The test is often performed after an overnight sleep study. During the test, data such as the patient's brain waves, EEG, muscle activity, and eye movements are monitored and recorded. The entire test normally takes about 7 hours. The MSLT is used extensively to test sleepiness in a number of research protocols.

NARCOLEPSY

A chronic sleep disorder, or dyssomnia, characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in which a person experiences extreme fatigue and possibly falls asleep at inappropriate times, such as while at work or at school. Narcoleptics usually experience disturbed nocturnal sleep and an abnormal daytime sleep pattern, which is often confused with insomnia. When a narcoleptic falls asleep they generally experience the REM stage of sleep within 10 minutes; whereas most people do not experience REM sleep until after 90 minutes. Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder. It is not caused by mental illness or psychological problems.

POLYSOMNOGRAPHY (PSG)

Also known as a sleep study, is a multi-parametric test used in the study of sleep and as a diagnostic tool in sleep medicine. It is usually performed at night, when most people sleep, though some labs can accommodate shift workers and people with circadian rhythm sleep disorders and do the test at other times of day. The PSG monitors many body functions including brain (EEG), eye movements (EOG), muscle activity or skeletal muscle activation (EMG) and heart rhythm (ECG) during sleep. Polysomnography is used to diagnose, or rule out, many types of sleep disorders including narcolepsy, periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), REM behavior disorder, parasomnias, and sleep apnea. It is often ordered for patients with complaints of daytime fatigue or sleepiness that may be caused by interrupted sleep.

RAPID EYE MOVEMENT (REM) SLEEP

A normal stage of sleep characterized by the rapid movement of the eyes. Criteria for REM sleep includes not only rapid eye movement, but also low muscle tone and a rapid, low-voltage EEG; these features are easily discernible in a polysomnogram, the sleep study typically done for patients with suspected sleep disorders. REM sleep in adult humans typically occupies 20–25% of total sleep, about 90–120 minutes of a night's sleep. During a normal night of sleep, humans usually experience about four or five periods of REM sleep. REM sleep is physiologically different from the other phases of sleep, which are collectively referred to as non-REM sleep (NREM sleep). Vividly recalled dreams mostly occur during REM sleep.

SLEEP DISORDER (SOMNIPATHY)

A medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person or animal. Some sleep disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental and emotional functioning.

Definitions from Wikipedia