NEW YORK, NY — Those plagued by sleepwalking, sleep talking, night terrors, and sexsmonia all have something in common: they’re suffering from various forms of parasomnias. But only the sexsomniacs need to keep condoms and lube nearby when their condition kicks in.According to Scientific American, sexsomnia – also known as “sleepsex” or abnormal sexual behavior while asleep – can range from simple sounds of pleasure to somnambulant solo sex to unconscious partner groping or even full blow intercourse. And all of it while the conscious mind is trapped somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.
Individuals dealing with parasomnias aren’t the only ones who can violate sleep time sex etiquette, according Dr. Carlos H. Schenck, the senior staff psychiatrist at the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center in Minneapolis and lead author of a report appearing in the journal Sleep concerning the matter. People with severe insomnia or restless legs syndrome have also reported aberrant nighttime sexual conduct.
Making matters even stranger is the fact that some conditions manifest the behavior during waking hours, when one is supposedly in charge of one’s faculties. Kleine-Levin syndrome, for instance, is a rare disorder that inspires cycles of lethargy and sleep that can last 16 to 24 hours. When those afflicted awake, some find themselves feeling “hypersexual” and free of inhibitions.
Even cases of obstructive sleep apnea have earned complaints of not only loud snoring and drowsiness, but also unexpected nighttime amorous overtures. Likewise, some individuals with sleep-related epileptic seizures have found themselves in sexual situations they didn’t remember getting into.
Schenck believes that circulating information about illnesses that can contribute to unconscious sexual behavior is important, since those afflicted can easily be seen as predatory, depraved, or deviant.
Instead, Schenck assured Reuters Health that most sex-sleep disorders can be treated. Sexsomnia is often a result of incomplete disconnect from the sleep state, leading to a “twilight sleep-wake state” where judgment can be poor and unconscious acts manifest without the mind filtering them for situation appropriateness.
Of course, not everyone considers a bit of mystery sex to be a problem – and Schenck concedes that some see it as an unexpected way to spice up their intimate bedtime activities.
