The sleep history

Abstract 

When identifying sleep-related problems, the aim is to establish whether the patient has a disorder of breathing during sleep (e.g. obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), central sleep apnoea, nocturnal hypoventilation), an intrinsic sleep disorder (e.g. narcolepsy, insomnia, REM sleep behaviour disorder, restless leg syndrome, sleep terrors) or a condition that may affect sleep quality and quantity (e.g. nocturnal asthma, cardiac failure, pain from arthritis, depression). This contribution focuses on sleep-disordered breathing in which the key features are snoring, excessive somnolence, nocturnal choking and restlessness, but physicians should be aware of the other sleep-related problems listed above.

Keywords: intrinsic sleep disorder, narcolepsy, sleep apnoea, sleep deprivation, sleep-disordered breathing