Diseases don't sleep at night
Dagan, Y.
Harefuah 146(7): 537-538; 573
2007
ISSN/ISBN: 0017-7768 PMID: 17803168 Document Number: 613269
Although humans spend as much as a third of their life sleeping, many schools of medicine around the world do not provide sufficient knowledge about the physiology and pathology of sleep to their students, as if diseases fall asleep at night. People suffering from impaired sleep are often unaware of the problem. Along with poor knowledge of sleep pathologies on the part of medical staff, this leads to underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis of sleep disorders. One of the symptoms indicating sleep abnormality is complaint of fatigue, which can represent: physical weakness, mental fatigue, or sleepiness. The latter type is associated with several sleep disorders, among which are: obstructive sleep apnea, periodic limb movement in sleep, narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia and circadian rhythm sleep disorders. To provide accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment, medical education programs should offer the students a deeper knowledge of sleep medicine.