Sleep Phenomenon

….things that happen in the night!

Sleep Phenomena, sometimes called parasomnia, can occur regularly for some people. They are usually of no real concern unless they become a precursor to a sleep disorder.

The following table indicates the frequency of some parasomnia.

Can you work out what each of them is?

S = Snoring, ST = Sleep Talking, SW = Sleep Walking, B = ?

B = Bruxism which means ‘teeth grinding’

The sleep phenomena we need to have an understanding of are:

• Nightmares

• Night terrors

• Sleep walking or somnambulism

• Sleep talking or somniloquism

Terrifying dreams are part of human nature: there are very few persons who have never had a nightmare sometime in life. As the picture above shows, the ancient Greeks even thought that during a nightmare one is dominated by an "incubus" (a small demon) who sits on the dreamer's chest, leading to a sense of suffocation, breath difficulties, a racing and heavy heart.

About nightmares ….- unpleasant dreams with frightening, upsetting content- can be recalled on awakening- occur in REM sleep- often dreamer is in a situation of helplessness from which there is no escape- one suggestion being that in REM sleep the body is basically stationary (REM paralysis)- many people will wake from nightmares and have vivid memories of them- nightmares are more common for children than adults, and for females than males- may be related to personal traumas

About night terrors….- sudden awakening from sleep in a distressed state- little or no recall from the dream- usually occur in Stage 3 or 4 NREM, early in the night rather than later- on awakening person may be screaming, sweating, looking terrified, breathing rapidly- often children who awake in such a state are difficult to comfort because they can’t recall why they are in such a state, are confused about their surroundings, and may actually perceive the person who is trying to comfort them as the cause of the discomfort.

Has this situation arisen because of a nightmare or a night terror?

About sleepwalking….

- or somnambulism, involves walking around and even performing simple tasks while asleep- most common in children- may occur in adults particularly at times of high stress- generally last 5 - 15 minutes, but can go up to 30- usually occurs in NREM Stage 4- deep sleep so often there is little coordination, can bump into things, and incoherent language- generally will not be remembered the next day- it is not dangerous to wake a sleep walking although it may be difficult to do so as they are in deep sleep, also they may experience some disorientation waking and finding they are not in bed

Will it stop sleepwalking?

About sleep talking….

- or somniloquism, involves verbalisation while asleep- most often in NREM but may occur in REM- usually the sleep talker cannot engage in a coherent conversation as they are preoccupied with their own thoughts and usually in deep sleep- quite a common occurrence

Non-coherent sleep talking.

Coherent???