Sleep-Related Parasomnias

Abstract

Ever since there have been written historical narratives, sleep anomalies have been noted, from medieval paintings of demons terrorizing an individual in their sleep, to biblical revelations in dreams and nightmares, to tales of somnambulism from Shakespeare to Disney. Mysterious parasomnias have been recognized well before they could be classified into the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. With the invention in the 1950s of the electroencephalogram, generations of sleep researchers have been able to classify once mysterious sleep anomalies as either rapid eye movement (REM) or NREM parasomnias. Some parasomnias may be benign and self-limited, such as sleepwalking in a child. Others may lead to injury or can be a sign of other neurological disorders, such as REM sleep behavior disorder. Some can terrify patients and are commonly underreported, such as sleep paralysis, which has been confused by some as modern-day alien abductions. The treatment of parasomnias depends on proper identification based on well-established criteria. Subsequently, integrative approaches to the treatment of these disorders may be applied.