Whether healthy sleep or disturbed sleep - sleep medicine deals with both. First and foremost, of course, sleep physicians are called in to treat disorders. Regular sleep deprivation over a long period of time can have serious mental and physical consequences. Diseases and disorders that affect sleep include sleep apnoea, sleepwalking, sleep-through disorders and "restless legs", i.e. restless legs syndrome.
If sleep disorders or sleep-wake disorders have an impact on the body, specialists are required. If the sleep disorders persist for a long time, an examination is often carried out in a sleep laboratory. Patients then spend a certain amount of time in a clinic. There, doctors monitor their sleep electronically.
Polysomnography records the following activities and then analyzes the data:
- Brain waves
- heart rate
- eye movements
- muscle activity
- Oxygen saturation
In the end, many points provide an overall picture to find the cause of the sleep disorder. Patients with narcolepsy also consult sleep physicians.