Some of the most common sleep disorders include the following:

Everyone has a restless night once in a while. Occasional stress, too much caffeine or indigestion can keep you tossing and turning in bed. But those who find themselves consistently not getting the quality or the quantity of restorative sleep may need to seek the advice of a sleep medicine specialist.

Sleep Centers at both Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and Northwest Hospital Center in Randallstown offer assessment and evaluation of sleep patterns and the diagnosis of sleep disorders. Both Sleep Centers are staffed by certified technicians and supervised by board-certified medical directors.

There are over 85 recognized sleep disorders. The most common affect more than 20 percent of the population. No continuous sleep disturbance should be ignored, as some sleep disorders may prove deadly.

Typical symptoms of sleep disorder include daytime sleepiness, loud irregular snoring, morning headaches, moodiness, poor concentration or memory loss, high blood pressure and frequent nighttime urination. Your primary care provider will rule out other causes of these symptoms before ordering a sleep study.

Some of the most common sleep disorders include the following:

Sleep Apnea: A person stops breathing for brief moments, awakens and then gasps for air throughout the night. Sleep apnea has been shown to be life threatening, leading to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and premature death.

Parasomnia: Nightmares, night terrors, sleep walking and bed-wetting may be symptoms and contribute to complaints of insomnia.

“Restless Legs” Syndrome or Nocturnal Myoclonus: Involuntary, periodic nocturnal leg movements disrupting sleep.

Gastroesophageal “Acid” Reflux: Gastric acid may back up into the esophagus, disturbing sleep.

Narcolepsy: Excessive daytime sleepiness with uncontrollable sleep attacks lasting minutes to hours.

REM (rapid eye movement) Behavior Disorder: Muscles fail to paralyze during REM sleep when dreams occur; sleeper may act out dreams.

An 8- to 10-hour sleep study is required to diagnose a sleep disorder. During a sleep study, up to 25 “channels” of sleep are monitored with state-of-the-art computer-assisted equipment. Channels measured may include an EEG; EKG; oxygen saturation; nasal airflow; patient position; snoring; eye, chin, leg, and abdominal and thoracic movement.

To measure each channel, electrodes or sensors are applied to the head, nose, face, finger, chest and legs. No needles are involved, and the test is painless. Sleep studies at the Sinai Sleep Center are conducted 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At Northwest Hospital, sleep studies are conducted overnight only.

Following the test, patient sleep data is scored and analyzed. A physician specializing in sleep medicine then reviews the scored data and appropriate recommendations for treatment are made. Full sleep study reports are complete in two to three weeks.

If you suspect you have a sleep disorder, discuss your symptoms with your primary care physician first. Referrals are needed to obtain a sleep study. For more information, call 410-601-WELL (9355).