avatarRobert Roy Britt

Summary

The article discusses six unusual and potentially disturbing sleep disorders known as parasomnias, which range from rare to not uncommon and can significantly impact sleep quality and overall well-being.

Abstract

The web content delves into the peculiar world of sleep disorders, focusing on six parasomnias that go beyond typical sleep disturbances. These conditions include Somniphobia, an irrational fear of sleep; Exploding Head Syndrome, characterized by perceived loud noises upon awakening; Sleep Paralysis, where one is conscious but unable to move; Night Terrors, intense episodes of fear during sleep; Dysania, the inability to get out of bed; and Sexsomnia, engaging in sexual acts while asleep. The article emphasizes the rarity of some of these disorders, while others, like Sleep Paralysis, are experienced by about 5% of people at least once in their lifetime. It also touches on the prevalence of these conditions, with estimates provided by Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, from the University of Arizona's Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences. The causes of these parasomnias are often unknown, and while they may be harmless in some cases, they can also lead to significant distress or even legal issues, as with Sexsomnia. The article suggests that while good sleep hygiene can help, those suffering from these disorders should seek medical evaluation from a sleep specialist to address potential underlying sleep disorders, medical conditions, psychiatric issues, or medication side effects.

Opinions

  • The author, having written extensively on sleep, acknowledges that common sleep tips do not cover the full spectrum of sleep impediments.
  • Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy provides professional insights into the prevalence of these sleep disorders, highlighting the need for medical evaluation.
  • The article implies that pharmaceutical companies may overstate the prevalence of insomnia to market sleep aids.
  • The author suggests that sleeping pills, despite their intended purpose, can be a cause of sleep problems.
  • Baland Jalal, PhD, explains the phenomenon of Sleep Paralysis as a collision of paralysis, dreams, and wakefulness.
  • Mark Salter, representing the Royal College of Psychiatrists, is quoted on Dysania, linking it to major depressive disorder.
  • The author emphasizes the importance of addressing sleep issues beyond mere sleep hygiene, advocating for professional medical assessment.

Six Strange & Scary Sleep Sabotagers

These nightmarish ‘parasomnias’ range from odd to downright dangerous

Image: Pexels/Samer Daboul

Common tips lists on how to sleep better can’t possibly illuminate all the impediments to falling asleep, staying asleep, and enjoying high-quality, restful and rejuvenating slumber. I know. I wrote a 321-page book about how to sleep better and barely mentioned some of the strangest and more obscure sleep disorders that nonetheless cause gut-wrenching sleepless and scary nights for those afflicted.

Some 70 million U.S. adults suffer at least one of the roughly 80 cataloged chronic sleep disorders.

Insomnia, the most common sleep disorder and also a catch-all term for any sleep problems, temporary or chronic, is often a symptom of other sleep disorders and can even contribute to some of them. Because the definition varies, it’s not known how many people actually suffer insomnia, though pharmaceutical companies would like you to think we all do. In reality, it’s estimated that about 10% of the adult population suffers diagnosable insomnia disorder, and an additional 30% experience insomnia symptoms to a lesser degree.

But several of the most bizarre sleep disorders and conditions go beyond simply struggling to sleep to involve abnormal actions that, well… let’s take a look at the strangest of these so-called parasomnias.

Note: Since many people never seek care for their sleep issues, it’s not known exactly how common most of them are. So I reached out to Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, a professor of medicine and director of the University of Arizona’s Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences, for estimates on prevalence.

Somniphobia

An intense, irrational fear of sleep that strikes before people even go to bed.

Somniphobia can be spurred by fear that one will have nightmares, sleepwalk, or even die while asleep. The fear exists out of proportion to the true threat, but it’s real and palpable during the day. Symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, hyperventilation, nausea, and chills. Sleep anxiety, by the way, is a less severe condition caused by worry over falling asleep or staying asleep — it’s not formally recognized as a disorder, but it happens.

Prevalence: Rare

Exploding head syndrome

Abrupt awakening caused by the perception of a non-existent loud noise that may last a mere second or less.

Sounding like thunder or an explosion or gunshot, an episode can be accompanied by apparent flashes of light. Though typically harmless, sufferers sometimes understandably think they’re having a stroke or a brain hemorrhage — hence the term exploding head syndrome. The cause is a mystery.

Prevalence: Rare.

Sleep paralysis

A whole-body paralysis when falling asleep or just waking up.

The inability to move is sometimes accompanied by surreal sights described as nightmares coming alive: ghosts, demons, blood-sucking vampires, or even the sensation of floating outside one’s own body. The visions and out-of-body experiences are thought to be a direct outgrowth of dreams, during the phase of rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep when your body is paralyzed for your own protection. This clever safety mechanism goes haywire when paralysis, a bad dream, and wakefulness collide, explains Baland Jalal, PhD, a neuroscientist at Harvard University.

Prevalence: Not uncommon, occurring in about 5% of people at least once in a lifetime, Parthasarathy said.

Night Terrors

Intense fear that sparks screaming and flailing about while asleep.

Also called sleep terrors, night terrors differ from the normal nightmares almost everyone experiences. While it’s common to wake up from a run-of-the-mill nightmare, people sleep through night terrors, even as they sometimes sit up and shout, staring wide-eyed into the night with fear. And then they may have zero memory of it the next day.

Prevalence: Night terrors are more common in children (about 5%) than adults (2%).

Dysania

Inability to get out of bed.

Not formally recognized by the medical profession, dysania is real, but unlike other parasomnias that involve strange actions, this one is marked by inaction. It’s typically described as a chronic inability to get out of bed for an hour or more most days. “Dysania is a rarely used term for ‘I-don’t-get-out-of-bed-in-the-morning,’” Mark Salter, a psychiatry consultant representing the Royal College of Psychiatrists, told the BBC. “It is a behavior sometimes seen in those suffering from a major depressive disorder.”

Prevalence: Unknown

Sexsomnia

Engaging in sexual acts while asleep, not always in a healthy way. Also called sleep sex, sexsomnia is anything but normal. One might masturbate, fondle their bedmate, or try to have sex (which does happen). It can be harmless in some situations, but has also led to sexual assault and legal cases. Sleep sex typically occurs a few hours after going to bed, during the deepest phase of sleep when it’s hard to be woken. The causes are poorly understood, but risk factors include obstructive sleep apnea, sleepwalking and other parasomnias.

Prevalence: More common in men (about 8%) than women (4%).

If any of these sleep oddities and challenges describe your experience, take a look at the warning labels of any medications you take. Drugs are a common cause of sleep problems (ironically, sleeping pills are among the offenders.) Other medical issues like restless leg syndrome, anxiety, depression or chronic stress can induce parasomnias.

Working on good sleep hygiene and habits overall can help reduce symptoms of these conditions and other sleep disorders, according to the Cleveland Clinic. But if a parasomnia dogs you like a neverending bad dream, it’s unlikely you’ll find the solution in any hot-tips list.

“Sleep hygiene alone is not the treatment, although one can certainly try,” said Parthasarathy, the University of Arizona sleep specialist. “The patient needs medical evaluation by a sleep physician in all of these instances in order to rule out sleep disorders and co-existent medical or psychiatric conditions or offending medications.”

Related resources:

Your support makes my health and wellness writing possible. You can sign up for emails when I publish on Medium, or join Medium to directly support me and gain full access to all Medium stories, get my health news briefs on Mastodon, or check out my book: Make Sleep Your Superpower: A Guide to Greater Health, Happiness & Productivity (paperback or Kindle version). — Rob

Sleep
Health
Mental Health
Psychology
Wellness
Recommended from ReadMedium