Sleep Sex

Sleep sex, also called as sexsomnia is a form of non-REM parasomnia that causes people to commit sexual acts while they are asleep.

People perform sexual acts subconsciously but won’t do when they are awake.

Sexual behavior in sleep is different from sleep walking and confusional arousals.

People suffering from sexsomnia are often aware of their behavior for a long time before they seek help because they are not aware that it is a medical disorder or think that others will judge it as wanted behavior rather than medical problem.

Sex while sleep:

The symptoms of sleep sex during sleep include masturbation, intercourse, sexual vocalizations, fondling another person, and assaultive sexual behaviors.

Sleep sex can affect people with a wide range of sleep related disorders.

You will not know unless your bed partner brought it up. Some people severely harm their genital parts during sleep. People are embarrassed by sleep sex and feel shameful and humiliating.

Sleep sex causes:

• Parasomnias such as confusional arousals, sleep walking, and REM behavior disorder can cause abnormal sleep related sexual behavior.
• Sleep-related sexual seizures
• Kleine-levin syndrome, which is characterized by recurrent and unusually long periods of hypersomnia can lead to broad range of hypersexual and deviant sexual arousals and behaviors.
• Narcolepsy can lead to compelling sexual hypnogogic hallucinations and REM onset dream attacks and cataplectic orgasm.
• Severe chronic insomnia can result in increased libido, genital arousal, and compulsive sexual behaviors.
• Restless leg syndrome can lead to masturbation, rhythmic pelvic movement.
• Nocturnal psychotic disorders can lead to sexual delusions or hallucinations after awakenings.
• Sleep related painful erections and increased sexual activity with increased sexual behaviors such as masturbation and intercourse.

Sleep sex treatment:

Sleep sex is treatable. Your physician knows the history of the patient. Sleep sex can be treated with the same medicines that treats sleep walking.

Emotional factors seem to change the way sleep disturbances are acted up on. Whether sleep disturbance shows itself as sleep sex or sleep walking depends on the emotional state of the sleeper when the disturbance begins.

The reported cases involve violent acts committed on partners during sleep and these are important to give the treatment as soon as possible. By removing the stigma associated, more sleep sex victims will be treated.