Talking in dreams, wandering around the house or having night terrors are sleep disorders that are familiar to us , and we may even have experienced some of them in our flesh. But there is another much less known, although equally common sleep disorder: sexsomnia or sexual sleepwalking syndrome .
What is sexsomnia?
Sexsomnia, like sleepwalking or sleep paralysis, is a rare type of parasomnia . Parasomnias occur when the brain gets caught between different phases of sleep, which can cause you to act like you’re awake while you’re still asleep .
People with sexsomnia experience sexual behaviors while they are sleeping , which can range from unconscious masturbation to having sex with the person sleeping next to them.
Most frequent symptoms
Although they can sometimes be confused, sexsomnia and erotic dreams are not the same . These types of dreams are not unusual for adolescents or adults, who often wonder about what meaning such a dream can have, but the truth is that it is not necessary that those who suffer from sexsomnia are having or have just had a “spicy dream ”For symptoms to appear. Sexsomniacs do not reproduce a sexual scene in their minds, but rather imitate or perform it in real life with real movements.
The difficulty with having this sexual sleepwalking is that the person with the disorder may not realize they have it . Couples, parents, siblings, roommates or friends who sleep in the same bed or room as the affected person are the ones who may first notice the behaviors, and it is often the case that the person with the condition does not know what is happening until someone more is told the next morning after observing (and even suffering) the behaviors. In fact, it is not strange between couples that the sexsomne wakes up the other in the middle of the night with caresses and they end up having intercourse, and the next morning they do not remember it.
The individual experiencing sexsomnia may have his eyes open and act as if he were awake, but he will not remember anything because , like sleepwalkers, he is experiencing an amnesic episode. The most common behaviors carried out by a person with sexsomnia include:
- Involuntary caresses
- Inciting bed partner to foreplay
- Pelvic rubbing
- Unconscious touching
- Movements that mimic sexual intercourse.
- Have complete sexual relations
- Spontaneous orgasms
- Empty, glassy look in the eyes during these behaviors
- Not being aware of having performed them
Also, subtle changes in sexual behavior can be an indicator that you have this sleep disorder. People with sexsomnia can be more active during sleepwalking episodes and show a greater desire for sex than they display in their daily lives. And, since the inhibitions are lower because they are asleep, the behavior may seem different to their partners – especially if they are normally shy in bed.
Possible causes of sexsomnia
According to a 2017 study published in the journal Sleep , men are more likely to have sexsomnia than women , while another study, published in Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine in 2016, states that men who suffer from it often try to have sex with their bed mates, while women with sexsomnia are more likely to touch each other.
But what triggers sexual sleepwalking? Basically anything that disrupts healthy and sleep patterns, like drinking alcohol or consuming caffeine before bed , having an irregular sleep schedule, or not getting enough sleep . Depression, anxiety, and lack of sexual activity can affect the frequency of sexsomnia episodes. And, to a lesser extent, other disorders such as sleep apnea can also cause it.
Do you have a remedy?
There is no treatment for this type of condition and, unlike infant sleepwalking, it does not necessarily go away over time. Even so, there are a series of precautions you can take to reduce the frequency of episodes , all of them focused on having a better quality sleep: reducing stress levels, reducing nighttime drug and alcohol use, and having more sex (conscious)
