The Co-Occurrence of Sexsomnia, Sleep Bruxism and Other Sleep Disorders

Abstract

Background: Sleep sex also known as sexsomnia or somnambulistic sexual behavior is proposed to be classified as NREM (non-rapid eye movement) parasomnia (as a clinical subtype of disorders of arousal from NREM sleep—primarily confusional arousals or less commonly sleepwalking), but it has also been described in relation to REM (rapid eye movement) parasomnias. Methods: The authors searched the PubMed database to identify relevant publications and present the co-occurrence of sexsomnia and other sleep disorders as a non-systematic review with case series. Results: In the available literature the comorbidity of sexsomnia and other sleep disorders were reported mainly in case reports and less in case series. Sexsomnia was reported both with one and with multiple sleep-related disorders, with NREM parasomnias and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) being the most commonly reported. Furthermore, the authors enrich the article with new findings concerning two novel cases of sleep bruxism triggering recurrent sexsomnia episodes. Conclusions: Sexsomnia has still not been reported in the literature as often as other parasomnias. The coexistence of sexsomnia and other sleep-related disorders should be more thoroughly examined. This could help both in sexsomnia as well as other sleep-related disorders management.

Research routes on improved sleep bruxism metrics: Toward a standardised approach

“…Although SB is not a life‐threatening condition, it can be concomitant to other conditions and sleep disorders, such as, in alphabetic order and not ranked by importance: GERD, insomnia, OSA/snoring, periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS) up to sexsomnia, RBD and sleep epilepsy; the last three being less frequent (Martynowicz et al., 2018; Mayer et al., 2016). Each condition needs to be evaluated independently, because comorbidities may coexist (be coincidental) without interacting or may be a risk factor and/or contribute to explaining the onset or exacerbation of MMA‐SB (Ahlberg et al., 2020).…”

“…Opinion differs on whether SB should be considered as a behavioural and/or a motor condition, but in some cases it may be associated with detrimental consequences such as tooth damage, premature wear and tear of tooth restorations, headache, orofacial pain, and temporomandibular disorders (Mayer et al., 2016; Raphael, Santiago, & Lobbezoo, 2016a, 2016b). SB can occur alone or with comorbidities such as OSA and snoring, gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), insomnia, headache, orofacial pain, periodic limb movement (PLM), rapid eye movement (REM) behaviour disorder (RBD), sleep epilepsy, and sexsomnia (Martynowicz et al., 2018; Mayer et al., 2016; Michalek‐Zrabkowska, Wieckiewicz, Macek, et al., 2020).…”

Sleep Related Abnormal Sexual Behaviors: Uncommon yet Grave!

“…3 Patients with SRASB arising out of disorders of arousal also have historical evidence of confusional arousals, sleep-related eating disorder, sleep-walking, REM sleep behavior disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, and sleep-related bruxism. 1,3,4 Semiology of the behavior can also be used to differentiate between the two. Complex sexual behaviors like fondling other person or sexual intercourse have not been reported among subjects with sleep-related epilepsy.…”

Behavioral and clinical aspects associated with probable sleep bruxism in early childhood

“…Defined as the repetitive movement of the mandibular muscles, the bruxism is characterized by the grinding and/or clenching of the teeth, which can occur while the individual is awake, known as awake bruxism, or during sleep, known as sleep bruxism 1 . The etiology is complex and multifactorial 2,3 , including biological factors (neurotransmitters, sleep alarms), psychological (stress, anxiety, personality) and exogenous (nicotine, alcohol, drugs, medications) 4,5 .…”