Sleep and Ventilation Disorders - Overview

Disorders that disturb sleep and ventilation span a heterogeneous spectrum, yet they can be organised coherently once you anchor them to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, 3rd edition, Text Revision (ICSD‑3‑TR; AASM, 2023). The ICSD provides a consensus framework that underpins:

• Standardised diagnostic criteria – ensuring research studies and clinical services speak the same language.

• Pathophysiological insight – grouping conditions first by the dominant mechanism (e.g., upper‑airway obstruction, circadian misalignment, motor dysregulation) rather than by a single symptom.

• Risk‑stratified management pathways – because predisposing factors such as obesity, cardiopulmonary disease or neuro‑degeneration map neatly onto the six major ICSD families and guide targeted investigations (polysomnography, actigraphy, iron studies, etc.).

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Under the ICSD‑3‐TR, sleep disorders are divided into Insomnia Disorders, Sleep‑Related Breathing Disorders, Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence, Circadian Rhythm Sleep‑Wake Disorders, Parasomnias, and Sleep‑Related Movement Disorders. Each family aggregates conditions that share clinical phenotypes and biological drivers, streamlining differential diagnosis and clarifying natural history. For instance, Sleep‑Related Breathing Disorders range from obstructive sleep‑apnoea—where repetitive upper‑airway collapse produces cyclical hypoxaemia—to congenital central hypoventilation, marked by blunted ventilatory drive. In contrast, Circadian Rhythm Sleep‑Wake Disorders feature intact ventilation but a mis‑timed suprachiasmatic pacemaker, so therapy pivots to light or melatonin...