What are parasomnias and how do they affect sleep quality?
Maya Ramagopal: Parasomnias are disruptive behaviors that occur during sleep and decrease sleep quality. They can occur at any time during sleep and can be seen during both rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep.
Non-REM parasomnias include sleepwalking, sleep talking, and confusional arousals. REM parasomnias include nightmare disorders, isolated sleep paralysis, and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). There are other types of parasomnias as well and they can occur at any age.
Parasomnias are triggered by stress, sleep deprivation, medications like benzodiazepine, anti-seizure medications, antidepressants, blood pressure, and asthma medications. Conditions like obstructive sleep apnea, which cause sleep disruption, are predisposed to parasomnia.
Melissa Lipford: Parasomnias are abnormal movements or behaviors that occur during sleep. One of the most common parasomnias is sleepwalking, where a person may walk around or perform other activities during sleep and have no memory of the event afterward. Other parasomnias include acting out of dreams (REM sleep behavior disorder) or sleep related eating disorders. Parasomnia behaviors may result in a fragmented sleep pattern. These behaviors can have safety-related ramifications as well as leading to social and emotional consequences. Parasomnia behaviors are treatable. If you experience these, discuss them with your medical provider.
Are some people more prone to parasomnias?
Maya Ramagopal: Parasomnias can run in families, suggesting a genetic component. People on the medications mentioned above also are more likely to have parasomnia. Conditions that cause sleep fragmentation like obstructive sleep apnea, are predisposed to parasomnia.
Melissa Lipford: Children tend to be more prone to parasomnias like sleepwalking and may outgrow these as they get older. Those with family history are at an increased likelihood of developing parasomnia behaviors. Sleep deprivation, anxiety, certain medications, or sleeping in a new environment can also make a person more susceptible to parasomnia behaviors.
Are there ways to monitor parasomnias at night?
Matteo Cesari: Capturing parasomnia events in sleep laboratories can be challenging because these behaviors do not occur consistently. To address this, researchers worldwide are developing technologies to detect parasomnias in home environments, potentially serving as screening tools. Recent studies suggest that automated analysis of both 2D and 3D video recordings may help identify patients with REM sleep behavior disorder and disorders of arousal. Additionally, combining questionnaires with actigraphy has shown high specificity for detecting RBD. However, these methods are not yet integrated into clinical practice. Future research is needed to explore the role of other wearable devices in parasomnia screening.