Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine

Epileptic seizures, especially in certain epileptic syndromes, are more common during sleep.  Conversely, seizures can disturb sleep, affecting daytime alertness.  Nocturnal seizures may also mimic the parasomnias that are more familiar to sleep medicine practitioners.  This podcast discusses practical aspects of these relationships.

While less common than its cousin, Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy is commonly associated with severe sleep disturbances, at least one of which may be life threatening. In this podcast we discuss how to identify these disorders, their significance and management.

Hallucinations at night may be frightening and distressing.  Some may indeed indicate serious disease but most are harmless.  In this podcast we discussed different types of nocturnal hallucinations, their causes and the conditions with which they may be confused.

Sleep specialists are often asked to initiate non-invasive ventilation for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The guest on our podcast today, Dr. Peter Gay, a world expert in this area, provides very helpful practical information to guide this process.

Most headache sufferers are well aware of the relationship between their disorder and sleep. In in this podcast, we discuss how understanding this association may assist our patients with both their pain and their sleep disturbances.

Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. In this podcast, we discuss the intimate relationship between sleep, sleep disorders and Alzheimer disease.

Idiopathic hypersomnia is sometimes regarded as the stepchild of narcolepsy. But it may be more common than its better known relation. In this podcast, we discussed the diagnosis and management of this elusive disorder. 

Narcolepsy most commonly starts in adolescence. But how it presents and how it is diagnosed may be different from an adult presentation. In this podcast, we discuss narcolepsy and its management in childhood and adolescence.

Although obstructive sleep apnea is most common in older adults, it can also be seen in children, often resulting in severe morbidity.  In this podcast, we discuss how to identify sleep apnea in the pediatric population and approaches to its management.

Parents of children with insomnia know how distressing this condition can be.  In this podcast, we discuss possible causes and how best to help children and families.