Abstract
It is a commonly held misperception that practitioners of sleep medicine are highly dependent on sophisticated investigative techniques to diagnose and treat sleep‐disordered patients. The inability to focus or maintain concentration is the most disabling aspect of conditions causing excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), described as 'brain fog' or even masquerading as dementia. The commonest causes of mild and severe EDS are probably insufficient sleep and poor quality overnight sleep, respectively. Sleep onset or sleep maintainance insomnia can reflect an idiopathic or primary phenomenon but is more often secondary to a variety of disorders, including other primary sleep disorders. In patients with underlying neuropathies, radiculopathies or demyelinating disease, restless legs syndrome (RLS) may be secondary to the primary diagnosis and should not be overlooked. The nocturnal disturbances are usually of more concern to the bed partner who may incur injuries from violent dream enactment.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Sleep Disorders in Neurology |
Subtitle of host publication | A Practical Approach |
Editors | S. Overeem, P. Reading |
Place of Publication | Hoboken |
Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
Chapter | 1 |
Pages | 3-11 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Edition | 2nd |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781118777251 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781118777268 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |