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Article: Sleep disorders
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Sleep disorders
Definition
Sleep disorders are chronic disturbances in the quantity or quality of sleep that interfere with a person's ability to function normally.
Description
An estimated 15% of Americans have chronic sleep problems, while about 10% have occasional trouble sleeping. Sleep disorders are listed among the clinical syndromes in Axis I of the American Psychiatric Association's
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
, also known as the
DSM
. They may be either primary (unrelated to any other disorder
—
medical or psychological) or secondary (the result of physical illness, psychological disorders, or drug or alcohol use).
In the revised fourth edition ...