What Are Parasomnias

If you have ever had an unusual behavior or experience during your sleep, you may wonder: what are parasomnias? From the Latin meaning “around sleep,” parasomnias are a collection of sleep disorders that are characterized by abnormal actions or events that occur during sleep.

Parasomnias typically involve unconscious, semi-purposeful, and goal-directed behaviors that have meaning or importance to the individual experiencing them. Some common occurrences that are categorized as parasomnias include:

• Sleep terrors
• Sleepwalking
• Sleep eating
• Sleep sex
• Rapid eye movement (REM) behavior disorder (RBD)
• Sleep paralysis

Collectively the parasomnias may include undesirable movements, behaviors, emotions, perceptions, or dreams. They can occur in any stage of sleep, including both REM and non-REM sleep periods. Although the behaviors may be quite complex and appear purposeful, the person experiencing them remains asleep and often has no memories of the events.

The cause of parasomnias is not clearly understood, but may relate to other disorders (such as the relationship between RBD and Parkinson’s disease) or even be secondary to medication or drug use.

_Sources:

_{American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "International classification of sleep disorders: Diagnostic and coding manual." 2nd ed. 2005.}