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Parasomnia is a term used to cover a variety of sleep disturbances. Some of the common symptoms include:
- Bedwetting
- Disoriented arousals
- Hypnagogic hallucinations
- Night terrors or sleep terrors
- Nightmares
- Nocturnal seizures
- REM behavior disorder
- Rhythmic-movement disorder
- Sleep eating
- Sleep paralysis
- Sleep sex
- Sleepwalking
It is believed that these disturbances occur when a person is in a mixed state of wakefulness and sleep. Often, people experiencing parasomnias are not aware of their activities and simply experience excessive daytime sleepiness. Some triggers for parasomnias include stress, certain medications and sleep deprivation.
UT Southwestern Medical Center’s sleep specialists carefully evaluate the patient’s medical history and current condition, to offer the patient the most appropriate and effective therapies available. Our physicians can check for underlying conditions of parasomnias such as sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease and neurological disorders.
To help accurately diagnose a patient’s condition, a sleep disorder specialist may prescribe a sleep study, which measures the patient’s neurological, cardiovascular, breathing and muscle functions while sleeping.
Please visit the Health Library to learn more about parasomnia.
