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Do you often wake up with unexplainable scratches on your body or experience gut-wrenching hallucinations during your sleep?
This symptoms indicate toward one of the several sleep disorders called parasomnia. Like any other sleep-related condition, parasomnias are treatable as well as preventable.
Wondering how?
You first need to understand the meaning of parasomnia for that.
Parasomnia is an umbrella term that denotes all sorts of unusual activities that individuals engage in while sleeping, just before falling asleep, or in the period between sleep and wakefulness. Such activities or behaviours may include talking, eating, walking, etc.
Generally, parasomnias occur during the period in which a brain transitions in and out of sleep. These can also occur between sleep cycles of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM).
Exhibiting such unusual behaviours during one’s sleep can often disrupt your sleep and can even prove to be dangerous since you are unaware of your surroundings. The worst part is that you appear to be awake to your bed partner or people near you while displaying such behaviours when you are actually asleep.
Now that you are acquainted with the definition of parasomnia, it is important to know about the types of this sleep disorder.
Parasomnias fall under 2 broad types.
Wondering what they are?
Here is a brief overview of these types of parasomnia, along with their subtypes
NREM or non-rapid eye movement sleep stages comprise the first 90 minutes of a sleep cycle. These constitute the first stage of a sleep cycle, when one’s sleep is shallow, and the following 3 stages when the sleep becomes deeper. The most common NREM-related parasomnias include disorders of arousal, of which the patients have little to no memory.
Here is a list of some of them.
This is because individuals are mostly unaware or unresponsive to their surroundings during sleepwalking, meaning these episodes can lead to injuries if a sufferer bumps into an object or loses balance.
Patients may display signs of autonomic arousals, such as sped-up heartbeat or tachycardia, excessive perspiration, crying, faster breathing (tachypnea), and dilated pupils or mydriasis.
These include engaging in masturbation, pelvic thrusting, initiating intercourse, fondling one’s bed partner, making carnal noises, and other behaviours mimicking intercourse, all the while displaying an empty and expressionless look in one’s eyes.
Such episodes can last 30 seconds to 3 minutes, and individuals experiencing such parasomnias mostly do not remember the cause of such behaviours upon waking up.
The stages following the NREM stages in one’s sleep cycle constitute the REM or rapid eye movement sleep stages. As one can understand from its name, an individual’s eyes exhibit rapid movement beneath the eyelids during the REM stage while experiencing a rise in blood pressure, heart rate, and faster breathing.
Some parasomnias occurring during this phase are as follows.
Such recurrent episodes constitute vivid dreams depicting threats to security and survival. Unlike night terrors, nightmares are remembered by an individual and are often a result of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Although such episodes only last for a few minutes, experiencing them can result in anxiety about falling asleep.
This type of parasomnia is more common among individuals on specific anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications.
Besides the above primary categorisations, some other examples of parasomnia include bedwetting or Sleep Enuresis, Nocturnal Paroxysmal Dystonia or NPD, teeth grinding or Sleep Bruxism, sleep talking, and nocturnal leg cramps.
Now that you are aware of the meaning of parasomnia and its various stages and types, it is important to understand the various symptoms associated with such sleep disorders to identify its onset early on.
Individuals experiencing parasomnias may exhibit one or more f the following symptoms.
If you or a loved one is acquainted with the above symptoms, it is important to under the underlying causes to get comprehensive treatment.
Some of the common reasons why individuals may be experiencing parasomnias are as follows.
Besides the above causes, individuals who are victims of specific pre-existing conditions are at an increased risk of developing this sleep disorder.
If you find yourself acquainted with any of the following conditions, you may be more likely to develop and suffer from parasomnias.
Now that you have detailed knowledge about parasomnia, it is essential that you get a professional diagnosis in case you have observed any of the discussed symptoms.
Healthcare professionals generally use the following methods to provide a proper diagnosis of parasomnia.
Once you get a proper diagnosis of parasomnia, healthcare professionals may ask you to adopt any of the following modes of treatment to help allay the discomfort associated with this sleep disorder.
Additionally, you made need to remove specific items from your bedroom and make it a safer place in case you experience the trouble of sleepwalking.
In case your sleep disorders are a result of any specific medication, doctors will prescribe you effective copulations to combat the same, without you needing to stop consuming the former.
This form of treatment includes hypnosis, psychotherapy, and relaxation therapy.
Besides getting the applicable treatment, you must also note the ways in which you can prevent this sleep disorder from setting in, in the first place.
Here are some tips which can help you minimise the chances of developing parasomnias.
Hopefully, the above discussion on the meaning of parasomnia, its types, symptoms, causes, and treatments will help you identify this sleep disorder, if prevalent, and get the necessary help to overcome the same. However, when seeking treatment, make sure to strictly abide by your physician’s advice and prescriptions to avoid unnecessarily aggravating the situation.
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Disclaimer #2: This information is added only for informative purposes and collected from different sources across the Internet. Digit Insurance is not promoting or recommending anything here. Please verify the information before making any decisions.
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