Apnea.
One of the most well-known sleep disorders is sleepy (nocturnal) apnea. Apnea in Greek means “lifeless”. Nighttime apnea is called periodic stopping in a dream of breathing – imperceptible to the patient, but dangerous for his life. The respiratory tract is periodically overlapped by the tongue or soft palate that sinks in them.
Usually the patient snores loudly intermittently. Breath stops lasting up to 90 s occur up to 200 times per night. During such pauses, the level of oxygen in the blood drops sharply, which provokes reflex awakenings that last for a few seconds – restoring breathing. This disrupts the work of the respiratory center of the brain.
Narcolepsy.
In Greek, this means “sleep attacks”.
The main symptom is extreme daytime drowsiness. Sometimes the patient suddenly “completely disconnects” directly during work or conversation.
Another symptom is practically immobilizing muscle weakness (catalepsy) as a reaction to strong short-term experiences such as anger, amazement, joy. Narcolepsy is also characterized by nightmarish dreams or bright hallucinations during sleep and awakening. Usually the disease begins in adolescence and lasts until the end of life.