Spotlight: Parasomnias

While all sleep disorders have elements of risk if left untreated, some of the more terrifying problems with sleep fall into the category of parasomnias. 

Parasomnias are sleep disorders in which abnormal things happen to people while they sleep that cannot be explained by more common disruptions caused by sleep apnea or restless legs. 

Usually the behaviors of someone with a parasomnia are bizarre or compelling and can impact both the person undergoing an episode or their bed partners or nearby loved ones. 

Unusual movements or strange emotional behavior associated with parasomnias can be anywhere from humorous and endearing to annoying and disruptive to violent, making these sleep disorders potentially dangerous and necessary to treat.

We've found a wide variety of links to information about parasomnias, including sleepwalking, sleep talking, sleep paralysis, sexsomnia, REM sleep behavior disorder, nocturnal enuresis, night terrors, night eating syndrome, sleep eating disorder, and confusional arousals.

This week's links were published or updated between 3.6.16 and 10.30.16.

Confusional Arousals (also known as sleep drunkenness)

APR 15 || ELITE DAILY

Lack Of Sleep Has The Same Effects As Being Drunk, According To Study

MAY 13 || BUSTLE

How Being Woken Up Mid-Sleep Cycle Affects You

Night Eating Syndrome & Sleep Eating Disorder

MAR 29 || BUSTLE

What Is Night Eating Syndrome? 6 Things To Know About NES

APR 17 || HUFFINGTON POST SLEEP + WELLNESS

Night Eating: It’s More Common Than You Think

APR 29 || JACARANDA FM

Robbie Williams: I've been sleep-eating

JUN 26  || TELLYMIX

Natalie Rowe's bizarre sleep EATING is a Big Brother highlight

Night Terrors (also known as Sleep Terrors)

MAY 27 || TEEN VOGUE

Did You Just Have a Nightmare or a Night Terror? How to Tell the Difference

AUG 22 || EVENING STANDARD

Make My Body Better, Channel 4: Davina McCall helps night terror sufferer turn her life around

AUG 30 || ROMPER

What Are Night Terrors? They're Actually As Scary As They Sound

SEPT 21 || GULF NEWS

Sleep walking, terrors: what you should know

SEPT 27 || ECHO

Wirral teenager fell to death from balcony after suffering night terrors, inquest told

OCT 3 || FRASER COAST CHRONICLE

Tips for parents in battling their children's night terrors

OCT 26 || TEEN VOGUE

How Millie Bobby Brown Taught Maddie Ziegler About Night Terrors

Nightmare Disorder: Please see last week's curation on dreams and nightmares

Nocturnal Enuresis (also known as Bedwetting)

MAR 6 || PLOS ONE

Enuresis and Hyperactivity-Inattention in Early Adolescence: Findings from a Population-Based Survey in Tokyo (Tokyo Early Adolescence Survey)

MAY 29 || THE HEALTH SITE

Children are 50-70% more likely to wet their bed if their parents did too

JUN 29 || U INTERVIEW

Ian Ziering On Bedwetting And Helping Children Overcome It

JUN 30 || GOOD MEN PROJECT

A Dad’s Adventures with His Bedwetting Son

JULY 28 || AMERICAN SLEEP ASSOCIATION

Try Not To Cry When Your Child’s Not Dry — Finding Solutions To Bedwetting

JULY 29 || MARSHFIELD NEWS HERALD

When is bedwetting a health problem?

AUG 18 || RILEY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

Bedwetting in Kids: Tips, Triggers and Treatments

AUG 26 || YAHOO!

Adult Bedwetting Struggles

SEPT 17 || GISTMASTER
Tackling bed-wetting in children

OCT 5 || GOOD MEN PROJECT

What Comes Next After ‘Daddy, I Wet the Bed’?

OCT 18 || WDAC

Doctors seeing bedwetting and depression in school-age kids

OCT 23 || THE SUN

Killer Peter Sutcliffe bullied in new jail because he is a BED WETTER

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (also known as RBD)

MAR 26 || INVERSE

Parkinson's Disease is a Nightmare Full of Nightmares and One Women is Waking Up

JULY 23 || CBS NEWS

Mike Birbiglia: How sleepwalking paved path to success

AUG 1 || SLEEP

Mortality and Its Risk Factors in Patients with Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder (abstract)

SEPT 6 || SLEEP REVIEW

New Role of Adenosine in REM Sleep Regulation Discovered

OCT 18 || MY ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION

Sleep disorder makes husband a danger to wife (first advice column answer)

Sexsomnia (also known as Sleep Sex)

JUN 19 || DAILY MAIL

Rapist soldier who claimed he had attacked women in his sleep is finally jailed after avoiding justice for five years

JULY 12  || MID-DAY

Sexsomnia or having sex during sleep is a real thing, say experts

JULY 12  || SLEEP REVIEW

Sexual Behavior in Sleep Linked to Psychological Disorders

JULY 13  || DECCAN JOURNAL

Sleep sex or sexomnia: A dangerous disorder, can ruin lives

AUG 12  || STILLWATER NEWS PRESS

Cushing man claims "sexsomnia" as defense after lewd molestation charge

OCT 12  || THE IRISH TIMES

Expert tells court rape accused diagnosed as having sexsomnia

Sleep Paralysis

MAY 26 || THE ATLANTIC

Awake in a Nightmare

MAY 31 || THUMP

Asher Levitas Depicts the Horror and Humor of Sleep Paralysis on His Debut Solo LP

JUN 11 || BUSINESS INSIDER

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and can't move — here's why

JULY || THE SCIENCE OF US

A Neuroscientist Tried to Help Me Overcome My Sleep Paralysis

AUG 4 || BRAIN BLOGGER

Hallucinations vs Delusions – What’s the Difference?

SEPT 19 || MEDICAL XPRESS

Sleep paralysis: When your peaceful slumber turns into a haunting nightmare

SEPT 20 || MEDICAL DAILY

Sleep Paralysis Movie 'Dead Awake' Reveals Real-Life Horror Of Having A Frozen Body But Awake Brain

SEPT 26 || MEDLINE PLUS

The Phenomenon of Sleep Paralysis

OCT 10 || LIVESCIENCE

The Demon on Your Chest and Other Terrifying Tales of Sleep Paralysis

OCT 12 || CBS LOCAL CHICAGO

Sleep Paralysis: ‘A Really Scary Experience’

OCT 13 || SBS

When a ghost creeps into your bed: Sleep paralysis

OCT 23 || FOX NEWS

BOO! Did you really see a ghost?

OCT 27 || CBS LOCAL PHILLY

How To Get Through Sleep Paralysis Disorder With Less Fear

OCT 29 || WTHR
Have you seen a ghost? There may be a medical reason

Sleep Talking

JUN 15 || DAILY POST

Flintshire noisy neighbour in court for shouting vile abuse...but claimed he was 'sleep talking'

AUG 1 || DAILY DOT

Meet the couple who turn their sleep-talking into surreal cartoons

AUG 10 || FEMALE FIRST

Couples are sleep talking their way into arguments

AUG 22 || THE SUN

Woman documents 13 years of her partner’s sleep talking… and he posts the entire thing on Imgur

SEPT 19 || THE DAILY MAIL

ASK THE DOCTOR: Why do some people scream in their sleep?

OCT 25 || DAILY MAIL

'If they ask about the pickles, say nothing!' People reveal the strangest things their partners have said in their sleep

Sleepwalking (also known as Somnambulism)

JUN 8 || DAILY MAIL
Girl, 16, falls 50ft to her death while SLEEPWALKING at her parents' apartment in Turkey

JUN 9 || SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
Sleepwalking Chinese woman falls out of window ... but escapes unhurt after landing on canopy

JUN 10 || MENS XP
This Is The Real Reason Why People Sleepwalk & It Can Be Really Dangerous

JUN 13 || IRISH MIRROR
Sky Sports presenter Rachel Wyse went sleepwalking in her underwear through Swedish Hotel

JUN 16 || BBC SPORTS
Injured canoeist Viktoria Schwarz misses Euros after sleepwalking off balcony

JUN 28 || GAZETTE LIVE
Do you sleepwalk? Police had to help naked man, woman in pyjamas and more last year

JUL 26 || MEDSCAPE
Sleepwalking: The Science, Cures, and Consequences

OCT 3 || THE SUN
Chronic sleepwalker spends her nights making cups of tea and getting ready for work in her SLEEP

OCT 13 || WZZM 13
Ambien users react to 13 Watchdog investigation of sleep driving defense (video)

OCT 15 || THE SATURDAY PAPER

The science of sleepwalking

OCT 27 || SOUTH WALES ARGUS
Postman who drowned may have been sleepwalking, inquest hears

Sleep News Bi-Monthly: April 22 - May 5

 TOP TEN  || Sleep news picks this week — newest to oldest — Curator's Choice

1. MAY 6 || HUFFINGTON POST SLEEP + WELLNESS
Help Donald Trump Get the Sleep He So Desperately Needs
From the curator: We need leaders who think clearly.
Sleep deprivation

2. MAY 2 || AUTOCAR
One in four drivers would sleep in self-driving car
From the curator: I'm still split on this technology.
Lifestyle

3.MAY 2 || BUSINESS WIRE
Middle School Students Named Winners in the Bright Schools Competition
From the curator: Congratulations to these smart young adults!
Teens

4. MAY 2 || THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Can You Sleep Train Your Baby at 2 Months?
From the curator: This is a perennial debate, circling back with every new generation.
Parenting

5. APR 29 || BBC
Kim Cattrall On Insomnia
From the curator: It's good to hear the stories of public figures; it may inspire us to do something about our own sleep problems.
Celebrities

6. APR 29 || ENTREPRENEUR
How CEOs Optimize Their Sleep Schedule
From the curator: We should follow this advice for ourselves, as we are the CEOs of our own lives.
Business

7. APR 29 || NPR
The Art Of MacGyvering For Sleep-Deprived Moms And Dads
From the curator: Sounds like a good read.
Books

8. APR 28 || DAILY MAIL
Morning lark or night owl? How to cope when you and your partner have different sleep patterns
From the curator: This isn't a new thing, we're just more open to talk about it.
Couples

9. APR 28 || LEX18
Woman Charged With Abusing Child For Bed Wetting Found Guilty
From the curator: Dear parents, children do not wet the bed because they are misbehaving. Please stop punishing them for this unfortunate sleep-related problem.
Parenting

10. APR 26 || METRO
2am showers, three alarms and Prozac: This is what it means to live with parasomnia
From the curator: I'm always fascinated by the insights from the people living with sleep disorders.
Sleepwalking

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 SLEEP DISORDERS  || Mainstream information

APR 25 || BREATHE BETTER, SLEEP BETTER, LIVE LONGER
Podcast #21: How Mouth Breathing Can Ruin Your Sleep
Sleep apnea

APR 25 || SLEEP RESOLUTIONS
Sleep deprived in Kansas? Reasons and consequences for insufficient sleep
Sleep deprivation

APR 26 || SOUND SLEEP HEALTH
What is Insomnia? (Types and Causes)
Insomnia

APR 27 || SOUND SLEEP HEALTH
Insomnia vs Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome
Insomnia and sleep-wake disorders

APR 29 || THE SCIENCE OF US 
People Who Have More Nightmares Might Also Be More Creative
Nightmares

APR 29 || UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO 
Saying Goodnight to Insomnia
Insomnia 

APR 30 || BUSTLE
What's It Like To Have Sleep Paralysis? These 8 Stories From Reddit Show How Scary It Can Be
Sleep paralysis

MAY 2 || MEDICINE.NET
Desperate for Shut-Eye?
Insomnia

MAY 2 || SLEEP RESOLUTIONS
Nocturnal Asthma and Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea

MAY 3 || PARENT HERALD
Australian Siblings Never Sleep Again; Rare Insomnia Disease Bound To Kill Them
Fatal Familial Insomnia

MAY 3 || SOUND SLEEP HEALTH
Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS) and Teenagers
Delayed sleep phase syndrome

MAY 4 || JULIE FLYGARE
Watch Now: New Video on Narcolepsy, Sleepiness & Invisible Illnesses
Narcolepsy

MAY 4 || MINN POST
New Center for College Sleep says a good night’s rest is key to better mental health
Sleep deprivation

MAY 4 || WOMAN'S DAY
This Is the #1 Way to Fix Insomnia, According to Scientists
Insomnia

MAY 5 || HUFFINGTON POST SLEEP + WELLNESS
Insomnia Isn’t Just a Nighttime Problem
Insomnia

MAY 5 || SOUND SLEEP HEALTH
Burning the midnight oil and creativity
Delayed sleep phase syndrome

MAY 5 || UPI
Sleep apnea may raise heart risks in people with pacemakers
Sleep apnea

MAY 5 || US NEWS & WORLD REPORT
How to Beat Jet Lag
Jet lag

MAY 6 || 891 ABC ADELAIDE
Why do some of us sleepwalk?
Sleepwalking

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 TECHNOLOGY  || Devices (including PAP, dental sleep medicine) and tools for diagnosing and treating sleep health issues

APR 25 || SLEEP RESOLUTIONS
CPAP Con Spotlight: Sinus infections, rainout, gassiness, facial marks
CPAP

APR 28 || SOMNOSURE
What is the best CPAP machine for me? (Tips and Considerations)
CPAP

MAY 3 || SOMNOSURE
What is a Mini CPAP Machine? (Benefits and Limitations)
CPAP

**********
 PROCEDURES  || Outpatient, surgical, implantation

MAY 5 || BREATHE BETTER, SLEEP BETTER, LIVE LONGER
Can Your Tonsils or Adenoids Grow Back After Surgery?
Tonsillectomy

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 DRUGS  || Over the counter drugs, prescription medications, illicit substances

APR 29 || MEDICINE.NET
Benzodiazepines (Oral)
Benzodiazepines

MAY 4 || STAT
Why is a company that makes a drug for blind people spending millions on TV ads?
Hetlioz

MAY 5 || INQUISITR
Melatonin: The 2016 Cure For Muscle Growth, Eczema, GERD, Weight Loss, And Lack Of Sleep?
Melatonin

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 THERAPIES  || Cognitive behavior therapy, chronotherapy, phototherapy, alternative therapy, complementary medicine, functional medicine, nutriceuticals 

APR 28 || SOUND SLEEP HEALTH
Blue light therapy for sleep disorders: Insomnia, DSPS, and ASPS
Phototherapy

MAY 3 || SCIENCE.MIC
Fixing Sleeplessness Means Breaking the Bad Habits You Didn't Know You Had
Cognitive behavior therapy

MAY 5 || SOUND SLEEP HEALTH
Phototherapy and Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS)
Phototherapy

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 CULTURE  || Cultural, social, athletic, legal, business, artistic and religious discussions of sleep

MAY 3 || ESPN
Don Shula hospitalized for fluid retention, sleep apnea
Sports

MAY 4 || SELECT/ALL
An Intern Caught Napping Became the Subject of a Photoshop War
Workplace

MAY 5 || RUNNER'S WORLD
Banking Sleep Might Make You Faster
Sports

MAY 6 || HUFFINGTON POST SLEEP + WELLNESS
Christina Applegate Opens Up About Her Struggle With Insomnia
Celebrities

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 LIFESTYLE & HYGIENE  || Tips and clues for sleep self-improvement

APR 22 || LOS ANGELES TIMES
Sleep: Why it matters and how to make it count

APR 28 || BUSTLE
9 Ways To Stop Hitting The Snooze Button, So You Wake Up Feeling Refreshed

APR 28 || PARENT HERALD
Dangers Of Eating Fatty Food: High-Fat Diet May Cause Sleep Disorders And Drowsiness

APR 30 || THE DEBRIEF
Why do we sleep badly on a Sunday night?

MAY 1 || THE GUARDIAN
Can music help us fall asleep?

MAY 1 || THE GUARDIAN
Sleep-wake cycle: why it’s vital to watch your biological clock

MAY 2 || TIME
The Fasting Diet Improves Your Mood, Sex and Sleep

MAY 4 || BUSTLE
5 Reasons You Always Sleep Through Your Alarm, According To Science

MAY 4 || HUFFINGTON POST HEALTHY LIVING
Sleep Tips From A Police Psychologist

MAY 4 || METRO
7 reasons why you’re feeling sleepy during the day

MAY 5 || HEALTH CENTRAL
Sleepy At Work? Five Things You Can Do Starting Now!

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 FAMILY  || Sleep health through the lifespan: pediatrics, women's health, family health, men's health, parenting, eldercare

MAY 1 || THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
Letter of Recommendation: ‘The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep’
Children

MAY 2 || DAILY MAIL
Researchers call for nap pods in offices as it is revealed mums get five hours less sleep a week than child-free women
Women

MAY 6 || HUFFINGTON POST SLEEP + WELLNESS
Moms Lose Up To 9 Hours Of Sleep Every Week
Parenthood

MAY 6 || SLEEP RESOLUTIONS
Are you a Sleep Deprived Mom? Symptoms, Effects and Tips for Sleep Deprivation
Parenting

The next news curation will post on Friday, May 20