Parasomnia is a disorder that disturbs sleep, with primary parasomnias resulting from the sleep state and secondary parasomnias caused by other body actions. Night terrors, vivid dreams, and sleepwalking are examples of primary parasomnias, while arousal disorders can cause people to do complex things while appearing awake but unaware. Treatment varies depending on the type of parasomnia.
A disorder that disturbs sleep can be called parasomnia. These are usually classified as primary or secondary depending on their type. A primary parasomnia is one that results from the sleep state and could be said to be caused by sleep. These include things like night terrors, nightmares, vivid dreams, and sleepwalking. Secondary parasomnias occur when other body actions interrupt sleep. A person who has indigestion may be kept awake by it, or someone with frequent urination problems may need to use the bathroom so frequently that they are unable to get adequate sleep. In both types, sleep is affected, and parasomnias can cause poor sleep, insomnia, or just plain tiredness the next day.
Most people will occasionally have vivid dreams or a nightmare so scary that it wakes them up in the middle of the night. They shouldn’t technically wake up to full consciousness at this time, but a nightmare could be so frightening that it creates a physical response, such as an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. This can disturb the sleep cycle a person is in and bring them wide awake. Some people have vivid dreams from which they don’t wake up, but they may disturb others by talking, moving, or kicking or punching. These actions can change the sleep cycle and result in less restful sleep for the person.
Night terrors are a very different parasomnia from vivid dreams or nightmares. During these, people appear to be awake, but usually cannot be comforted and appear to be extremely terrified. They usually don’t remember anything about moving, yelling, or talking during the night, although they can do all of these. Many young children go through a night terror episode, and some adults continue to suffer from this parasomnia. It means that the person is technically awake, but cannot be awakened from their state of terror.
Sometimes a parasomnia can be classified as an arousal disorder. These can mean that people appear capable of doing complex things such as walking around or “sleeping”, or they may eat, talk, or get up and pull the sheets off the bed. This state is strange, because the person seems awake, but she is also completely unaware of what she is doing. There have been some reports, although these are very rare, of people driving in this state, associated with taking certain medications designed to help sleep, or of people overeating in the middle of the night. Most of the time, arousal disturbances aren’t that drastic, but they can be dangerous to the sleeper or make it impossible for other people in the house to rest.
Given the variety of types of parasomnia, it would be difficult to discuss treatment specifically. Things like night terrors in young children usually go untreated because they tend to resolve on their own. In adults, people might have sleep studies and might be on medications or have a combination of counseling and medication to help treat persistent night terrors. Even nightmares, unless they occur frequently, may not require treatment. Parasomnia involving significant movement when a person is in a semi-conscious state requires mediation in many cases, due to the possibility of a person being injured when performing actions while asleep.
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