Care of the patient with a sleep disorder

Abstract

We each spend 1/3 of our lives in the reversible state of perceptual isolation that we call sleep. Unsurprisingly, disruptions and disorders of this primary physiologic state can lead to declines in quality of life, diminished waking performance, more frequent illness, as well as increases in disease morbidity and mortality. The spectrum of sleep disorders mirrors the clinical population of patients seen in a family medicine practice with most patients with sleep disturbance receiving their medical care in the primary care setting [1]. Despite a high prevalence of sleep disorders, sleep complains are under-addressed by physicians. Recently, high-quality epidemiologic studies have documented the importance of the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders in primary care practice in reducing morbidity and mortality, improving comorbid disease processes, and improving patient quality of life [2, 3].