There is such a thing as sleep sex or sexomnia. Similar to sleepwalking, this disorder causes a person to go to significant efforts to initiate sexual behaviour while they are asleep. The following morning, they awaken with no memory of their previous night’s activities. Imagine having unconscious night time masturbation and waking up to a huge mess.
You may have heard of sleep disorders such as sleep talking, sleep driving, and sleep walking. You could even have gone through one or more of this yourself. Sleep sex, often known as sexsomnia, is one sleep problem that you might not be as acquainted with. Parasomnia is a category that includes sexsomnia and sleepwalking. Your brain gets stuck in the transitional phase of sleep, which results in insomnia. You could appear to be awake when you’re actually still asleep during this transitional period. Sexual activity related to sleep is experienced by those with sexsomnia. These actions span from sexual contact to masturbating. Sleep sex may be treated together with underlying sleep disorders or behavioural problems.
Signs and symptoms of sexomnia
Sex dreams are distinct from sex insomnia. Teenagers and adults frequently have nightmares that are sexual in nature. Compared to sexsomnia, these experiences are very different. People who have this disease frequently engage in sexual activity with others when they are asleep. The problem with a parasomnia, such as sleep sex, is that the sufferer might not be aware of their condition. The first people to notice the habits may be partners, parents, housemates, or friends. It’s possible that until someone else points it out, the condition’s sufferer is unaware that it’s happening.
The following actions are typical with sexsomnia:
- Pelvic thrusting while fondling or provoking foreplay with your partner in sleep
- Behaviours that resemble sexual activity
- Masturbation sexual activity
- Sexual activity like spontaneous orgasm
- When engaging in these behaviours while unaware of the later behaviour,
- The eyes have a glassy, vacant appearance.
- Dirty talking
- Sleep related violence (SRV)
Causes of sexomnia
Sexsomnia’s exact causes are unknown, which may be because it’s a recently discovered and underreported disorder. Additionally, it might be an idiopathic parasomnia, which means it appears out of the blue without any known neurological conditions. Some causes are:
- Shift work
- Fatigue
- Travelling
- Poor sleeping condition
- Sleeping too little
- Heightened worry and stress,
- Exhaustion, and some drugs
- Consuming alcohol, using illicit substances, or using medications for which you weren’t prescribed results in inconsistent sleep patterns.
- Abuse of drugs
- Anxiety
- Depression
Risk factors for sexomnia
Additionally, underlying medical disorders might cause sexsomnia. These issues frequently disrupt sleep. They consist of:
- Concurrent sleep disorders, such as sleep walking, sleep talking, and obstructive sleep apnea
- Epilepsy relating to sleep
- Disease of gastroesophageal reflux (gerd)
- Head trauma
- Migraines
Diagnosis of sexomnia
The patient undergoes an overnight sleep study at a sleep facility to determine the presence of sexsomnia. In some circumstances, the doctor may ask for a multi-night sleep study to obtain a more thorough description of the patient’s sleep sexsomnia behaviours. Furthermore, the doctor may ask for additional examinations if a sexsomnia incidence doesn’t happen during a sleep study.
An extended electroencephalogram (EEG) is taken during the sleep study to rule out seizures. When a patient is having slow-wave sleep, a polysomnogram (PSG) with extended EEG can rule out epileptic diseases and track spontaneous arousals. A PSG measures heart rate, breathing patterns, leg and eye movement, as well as brain waves.
A sexsomnia diagnosis can be supported by descriptions from bed mates in addition to the sleep study. Sometimes a diagnosis can be made with just the help of a bed partner’s detailed descriptions, without the requirement for a sleep study.
Treatment of sexomnia
Addressing the fundamental causes of sleep problems
Treating the underlying condition may also cease the unintentional sexual activities if another sleep problem, such as sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome, may be the cause of sexsomnia. For example, a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is most frequently used to treat sleep apnea.
Medication alterations
Changing medications may end the illness if you started a new prescription just before the sexsomnia habits started. The use of prescription and over-the-counter sleep aids may result in parasomnia attacks.
Drugs for underlying conditions
Sexsomnia and irregular sleeping patterns can be influenced by illnesses including melancholy, anxiety, and stress. Treatment methods that can put an end to the sexual practises include medication or conversation therapy.
New pharmaceuticals
While some drugs can cause sexsomnia, others may be able to prevent it. One may be given prescriptions for antidepressants and seizure medications.
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