Is Irregular Sleep-Wake Rhythm In Elderly A Neurodegenerative Disorder

Can Irregular Sleep Wake Rhythm Be Considered As A Neurodegenerative Disorder

Recent studies of various cases of patients suffering from irregular sleep wake rhythm have disclosed that it occurs often alongside neurodegenerative disorder. Many patients who suffer from neurodegenerative disease also have reported with irregular sleep wake rhythm. This irregular sleep wake rhythm can be a big cause of large assumption of medicines. There can be other reason too behind the same, but that is still not particularly defined. Though, normal functions of brain and sleep generation are connected through neurotransmitter systems which regulate pathways. Thus, when sleep disruption occurs, it automatically modifies timing of sleep and wake, encourages pathologies’ range and destabilizes physiology. These factors are related to abnormal sleep.

Sleep Mechanisms’ Destabilization & Its effect

It is understood from above mentioned study that irregular sleep wake rhythm and neurodegenerative disorders have similar mechanistic origin. And several co-morbid pathologies arise when sleep mechanisms’ destabilization occurs. Thus, sleep stabilization indicates to reduce symptoms of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disease which allows early intervention of sleep to one. Following you will read several factors about irregular sleep wake rhythm that will help you understanding its relationship with neurodegenerative disorder.

Key Elements

Irregular sleep wake rhythm is one of severe kind of sleep disorders that consists to single consolidated sleeping period breakdown to multiple small naps. This irregularity disperses for 24 hours. In elderly patients who suffer from neurodegenerative disorders, this sleep disorder is a common issue. In irregular sleep wake rhythm several factors contribute which include psychiatric, neurologic disorders, side effects of medications or other medical effects etc. To improve the disrupted sleep wake rhythm, use of multimodal therapy can be beneficial. This therapy includes timed melatonin light treatment, non-pharmacological interventions etc.

Understanding Irregular Sleep Wake Rhythm Clinically

This sleep disorder is consisted to not only with irregular sleep wake habit, but also with disorganization of sleeping pattern. In this disorder, a patient experiences several short sleep blocks throughout 24 hours of period. The intensity of short blocks can be varied day to day. Generally, a patient bears lack of sleep, sometimes normal sleep and moreover, some experience high sleep in a day. In this duration, some episodes of sleep are considered as normal because a patient does not go asleep or awake for consistent period.

Severe Effects Of Irregular Sleep Wake Rhythm

People who experience severity of irregular sleep wake rhythm, often complaint of poor maintenance of sleep at night, onset sleep insomnia, excess amount of daytime sleepiness along with frequent naps and so on. In impaired persons, this disorder is quite common. Some people consider this sleep disorder as a part of circadian rhythm sleep disorder, but its core causes and treatment are varied from each other. There are several neurodegenerative disorders are associated with this sleep disorder like vascular dementia, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson Disease, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Huntington Disease and Multistage Atrophy.