ABSTRACT
Humans have always had an interest in sleep. With the advancement of scientific exploration, the evaluation and treatment of sleep disorders became possible. A meeting of sleep researchers was held in 1960 for the purpose of adopting a standard scoring system for stages of sleep. A standard scoring system was not adopted at that time but the charter members agreed to meet annually to communicate their research findings. The Association for the Psychophysiological Study of Sleep was formed in 1964. Insomnia is a major sleep problem which most people have experienced at some point in their life. By definition, insomnia is difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep, or non-restorative sleep. Parasomnia is an experiential phenomenon that occurs around the time of sleep. These phenomena or undesirable events may occur on entering sleep, within sleep, or during arousal from sleep. Sleep-related movement disorders include sleep-related rhythmic movement disorder, sleep-related bruxism, sleep-related leg cramps, periodic limb movement disorder, and restless-legs syndrome.
