• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.13-22
• /
• 1995

To provide the physician with adequate information to diagnose and treat sleepwalking and sleep terrors, the author reviewed clinical features, epidemiology, causative and precipitating factors, polysomnography, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and treatment for these disorders. Sleepwalking and sleep terrors have been defined as disorders of arousal that occur early in the night and have their onset during stage 3 or 4 sleep. In both disorders, patients are difficult to arouse, and complete amnesia or minimal recall of the episode is frequent. Genetic, developmental, and psychological factors have been identified as causes of both sleepwalking and sleep terrors. Sleepwalking and sleep terrors typically begin in childhood or early adolescence and are usually outgrown by the end of adolescence. When sleepwalking or sleep terrors have a post-pubertal onset or continue to adulthood, psychopathology is a more significant causative factors. The behavior that occur from deep slow-wave sleep can be painful or dangerous to the individual and/or disturbing to those close to that individual. The assessment of patients suspected of having these conditions requires a thorough medical and sleep history. The most important consideration in managing patients with sleepwalking or sleep terrors episodes is protection from injury.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.78-90
• /
• 2022

Objectives The purpose of this study is to review relevant clinical studies to investigate the effectiveness of herbal medicines for night terror in children. Methods Studies on herbal treatment for night terrors were searched and analyzed through electronic databases such as PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, CiNii, J-STAGE, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System and Science ON. Studies included Randomized controlled trials, case series, and case reports. Results A total of 25 studies were selected and analyzed. In most studies, improvement of night terrors was observed after treatment, such as high total effectiveness. In one study, the frequency of night terrors was decreased significantly in herbal medicine group. Conclusions Based on the results of the clinical studies, we identified that herbal medicine is an effective treatment for night terror. But it is considered necessary to prove the effect and safety through additional systematic clinical studies.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.66-76
• /
• 1997

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to analyse sleep habits and sleep disorders in the elderly population ased 65-84 years. Methods : Epidemiological survey was performed at home by means of semi structured interviews in the city of Pusan, Korea. Subjects were randomly selected. The questionnaire consisted of 128 items including demographic findings, sleep habits, sleep disorders, somatic illnesses, and psychological distresses. Results : (1) The mean retiring time was 10.28 h (SD 1.30 h) and the mean wake-up time was 5.24 h (SD 1.33 h). The mean duration of sleep was 5.63 h (SD 1.80 h). The mean sleep onset time was 44.51 min. The mean frequency of daytime napping was 2.49 (SD 3.23). The subjects reported they woke up an average of 2.05 (SD 1.59) times per night. All of the above results were not related to age or gender. However, the mean frequency of difficulty in initiating/maintaining sleep was 2.2 times for men and 3.2 times for women (p<0.05). (2) The prevalence of insomnia was 57.7% and was not related to age or gender. Difficulty in initiating sleep was the most commonly reported insomnia complaint(52.4%). Early morning awakening was reported by 50.0% of patients and difficulty in maintaining sleep was reported by 45.1% of them. Worrying in bed and physical pain were strong contributing factor to insomnia. Conclusions : The results of our study showed several characteristics of sleep habits in the elderly. Sleep disorder in old age is not inevitable or trivial. Since sleep disturbance in older adults is common and distressing, it has implications for general health and well-being. Active concern and therapeutic intervention for the sleep habits and sleep disorders in the elderly are needed.