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Introduction to Sleep and Sleep Disorders

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Sleep Medicine and Mental Health

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Abstract

Sleep is important for energy conservation, replenishment, and memory consolidation leading to rejuvenation of the body and mind. Since sleep disorders can lead to both psychiatric and medical complications, it is essential for mental health professionals to understand the normal sleep process, expected sleep duration, and variability with age and gender. Monoamine neurotransmitters also play an integral role in both psychiatric and sleep disorders, with psychotropic medications affecting their levels. Thus, understanding their function in both conditions is essential. In the past, sleep disorders (especially insomnia) were considered to be part of the psychiatric disorders. However, unless both sleep and psychiatric conditions are addressed in the management plan, relapse of psychiatric disorders is likely. This chapter introduces readers to the normal sleep process, sleep stages as measured by polysomnography, and changes in sleep that typically occur with age. In addition, both subjective and objective measures available for assessing sleep disorders are reviewed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry Veterans Affairs Staff Psychiatrist, San Diego, CA, USA

    Racha Nazir

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  1. Racha Nazir
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Mount Laurel, NJ, USA

    Karim Sedky

  2. Mount Laurel, NJ, USA

    Racha Nazir

  3. College of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    David Bennett

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Nazir, R. (2020). Introduction to Sleep and Sleep Disorders. In: Sedky, K., Nazir, R., Bennett, D. (eds) Sleep Medicine and Mental Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44447-1_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44447-1_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-44447-1

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