Personal narrative I am the professional head of occupational therapy at the South London and Maudsley Foundation National Health Service (NHS) Trust, responsible for professional advice to the occupational therapy…
Personal narrative It was Monday 10 December 1980, 5 days before my fourteenth birthday when I first experienced what I called a ‘fright night’. Often when my mother, stepfather, two…
OVERVIEW If available, a reliable sleep history is generally more useful than sleep investigations in diagnosing sleep disorders Cyclical dips in blood oxygen saturations overnight form the basis of diagnosing…
OVERVIEW Sleep almost certainly serves a vital function at the cellular level and is an absolute requirement for every animal In large population studies across the globe, chronically poor or…
OVERVIEW Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) syndrome most commonly develops on the background of severe snoring and affects around 4% of middle-aged males Most, but not all, patients with OSA have…
OVERVIEW Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a common symptom that is often overlooked despite causing significant disability in potentially all areas of daily activities Most commonly, EDS is secondary to…
OVERVIEW Parasomnias are unwanted motor or sensory nocturnal phenomena that are usually categorised by the sleep stage (e.g. non-REM or REM) from which they most commonly arise Phenomena such as…
OVERVIEW Many classes of drug, whether prescribed or recreational, are taken with the specific aim of influencing the sleep-wake cycle The formal evidence base for the pharmacological treatment of the…
OVERVIEW Generally, it is parents that recognise and are troubled by sleep-related symptoms rather than the children themselves Poor quality sleep most often leads to daytime behavioural problems rather than…
OVERVIEW A variety of common general medical conditions may seriously affect overnight sleep quality but not necessarily be recognised if symptoms are predominantly nocturnal and the subject sleeps alone Asthma,…
