Joan Esherick 
Sleep Disorders 

You’ve been doing it since birth. You will do it till you die. You spend a full third of your life doing it. So why is it so hard sometimes? Sleeping seems like it should be the easiest thing in the world. Lie back, close your eyes, and drift off to dream land! But for some people, sleep is anything but easy. For a growing segment of our population, sleep difficulties are becoming routine. In a recent survey done by the National Sleep Foundation, nearly 50 percent of Americans age eighteen or older reported that they are excessively tired during the day, presumably from lack of sleep at night. Teens are no exception: Nearly one out of three falls asleep in class once a week. We know we’re chronically fatiguedbut why are we so tired? Lifestyle issues, sleep habits, health conditions, medicines, drug abuse, stressthese can certainly rob us of sleep, but perhaps the greatest unrecognized source of our tiredness is a group of conditions called sleep disorders. Often undiagnosed, sleep disorders can seriously compromise the health and lives of those who wrestle with them. What are sleep disorders, and how can they be treated? What are their effects, and how does a person know if she has one? Using numerous case studies combined with easy-to-understand information, Sleep Disorders takes a comprehensive look at the causes and symptoms of sleep disorders, methods of diagnosis and treatment, specific drugs used in treatment, and alternative strategies for management. By examining the causes and cures of these sleep robbers, readers will discover that, contrary to popular belief, it is possible to get a good night’s sleep in our bustling world.