Sleep is something that every person needs. Without sleep a normal days task seem never ending. Your body suffers and you suffer even people who come in contact with you suffer too. Without sleep you can function normally. Your moods change changing your personality, changing how you perceive the world. The average adult needs eight hours of sound sleep each night. However most adults get between five and six hours, " (Encarta 1998).This one or two hours that is lost each night can have an affect on our health and our lives. "The single element that ties sleep disorders together is that they disrupt in one or more parts of out sleep cycle."(Zimbardo pg.98) The three types of sleep disorders are: insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea. These disorders make a night's sleep sometimes hard …show more content…
99)Doctors can treat sleep apnea with a "device that pumps extra air into the lungs and jeeps the airway open during sleep." ( Zimbardo PG.99) Narcolepsy is a symptom where you suddenly fall asleep without warning. It happens so suddenly that people fall asleep while eating, driving and talking." Oddly anything exciting causes a narcoleptic attack "(Zimbardo Pg.99) It is described as a "disorder of REM sleep involving sudden REM sleep attacks accomplished by cataplexy"(Zimbardo pg.99) Cataplexy is a second symptom of narcolepsy. It is described as "a sudden loss of muscle control." (Zimbardo pg.99) These episodes occur right before the narcoleptic attack. The person feels like they are awake but unable to move. Narcolepsy is a disorder of REM sleep." The victim of narcolepsy has an abnormal sleep -onset REM period. Instead of the usual time it takes REM to occur (ninety minutes) narcoleptics REM period starts as sleep begins." ( Zimbardo