Sleep disorders and its consequences on biopsychosocial health: A narrative review

Abstract

Sleep disorders are often underdiagnosed and undertreated. Fewer than 20% of people with insomnia are correctly diagnosed and treated, even though a significant portion of the population suffers from severe sleep disorders that necessitate medical attention. Excessive sleepiness and restless leg syndrome have even worse statistics, with only limited cases correctly diagnosed and treated. Insomnia and excessive sleepiness have a wide range of effects on people's lives, including their professional, social, and family lives, concentration, and memory. In addition, a sleepy person is more likely to be involved in a car, workplace, or domestic accident. This review aimed to search and explore literature regarding sleep and normal physiology and its impact on physical and mental health. We also searched for sleep disorders and their consequences on cognitive dysfunction and clinical and complementary approaches to managing sleep disorders. We browsed Embase, Scopus, PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases till November 30, 2021. The high prevalence rates of insomnia indicate a significant public health concern that necessitates education and prevention efforts and increased attention from health-care professionals. This review highlighted the importance of timely screening and managing sleep disorders to prevent their consequences and discussed the evidence of complementary and alternative therapy for managing them.

Keywords

• biopsychosocial health
• complementary and alternative therapy
• insomnia
• psychology
• sleep deprivation
• sleep disorders