Sleep sex
Encyclopedia
Sleep sex, or sexsomnia, is a condition in which a person will do sexual acts while still asleep, acts such as masturbation
, fondling themselves or others, having sex with another person
and in more extreme cases sexual assault
and rape
.
Sexsomnia is considered a type of non-rapid eye movement (NREM
) parasomnia
. Most people who suffer from sexsomnia also sleepwalk (ICSD 2). Sexsomniacs do not remember the acts they perform while they're asleep.
Sexsomnia can co-occur alongside other sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, sleep apnea, night terrors and bedwetting and can be triggered by stress, previous sleep deprivation and excessive consumption of alcohol or drugs. Sleep related epilepsy may be associated with sexual arousal
, pelvic thrusting and orgasms, though in these sorts of cases the acts are remembered. Sexsomnia episodes could be triggered by physical contact with a bed partner.
Sleep sex has been used as a criminal defense in rape cases. Several cases of sexsomnia have appeared in the news and as a theme in fiction.
(Dr. Colin Shapiro and Dr. Nik Trajanovic) and the University of Ottawa
(Dr. Paul Fedoroff). Later, several papers were published describing the problem and suggested that problematic forms of sleep sex are medically treatable "conditions" (see external links). The condition was defined in a paper called "Sexsomnia – A New Parasomnia?" published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
in June 2003. The first doctor to coin the term "sleep sex" was Dr. David Saul Rosenfeld, a neurologist and sleep doctor from Los Angeles, California. The term 'sexsomnia' was coined by Dr. Colin Shapiro in 2003.
.
In some cases, sufferers are aware of their behavior for a long time before they seek help, often because they lack information that it is a medical disorder or for fear that others will judge it as willful behaviour rather than a medical condition. However, the reality of sexsomnia has been confirmed by sleep disorder researchers who have made polygraphic and video recordings of patients with the condition while they are asleep and observed unusual brain wave activity during the episodes similar to that experienced in other NREM arousal parasomnias. There is a mind/body disconnect that occurs during sleep. The treatment has commonalities with other NREM parasomnias and also involves specific interventions. By avoiding precipitating factors and ensuring a safe environment the condition may be brought to a high level of control with minimal effort.
Sexsomnia is not always problematic or extreme for those who experience it or for their partners. There is a great variety in both the frequency and levels to which people are affected by this disorder.
Clonazepam
has been used as a first line of treatment for this condition, when other measures are not enough to solve a distressing case of sexsomnia.
court acquitted a man of sexual assault
after he was diagnosed with sleep sex disorder, although prosecutors filed an appeal of the acquittal in February 2006. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the acquittal on 7 February 2008.
In Britain, a man from York was cleared of three counts of rape on 19 December 2005.
In Australia, a woman was reported as leaving her house at night and having sex with strangers while sleepwalking.
On 8 August 2007, a British RAF mechanic was cleared of a rape charge after the jury found him not responsible for his actions when he had sex with a 15-year-old girl.
On 23 March 2009, a British woman gave an interview in which she spoke about problems in her life caused by sexsomnia.
On 12 February 2010, an Australian man was found not guilty of rape due to sexsomnia. This similarly happened to a Welsh man on 4 July 2011.
" of the television series House
(Season 1 Episode 17).
An episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (season 9, episode 2, aired on 2 October 2007) called "Avatar" featured a suspect with this disorder.
In Ralph Ellison
's novel Invisible Man, a farmer claims to have had sex with his daughter while asleep.
In the play Yakish and Popcha by Hanoch Levin
, Yakish only manages to have intercourse with his wife Popcha while both are asleep, by the end of the play.
In an episode of Desperate Housewives (aired 3 October 2010) Gaby pretends she has sexsomnia to explain why her daughter is not her husband's biological daughter.
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
, fondling themselves or others, having sex with another person
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
and in more extreme cases sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
.
Sexsomnia is considered a type of non-rapid eye movement (NREM
NREM
Non-rapid eye movement, or NREM is, collectively, sleep stages 1 – 3, previously known as stages 1 – 4. Rapid eye movement sleep is not included. There are distinct electroencephalographic and other characteristics seen in each stage. Unlike REM sleep, there is usually little or no eye movement...
) parasomnia
Parasomnia
For the 2008 horror film, see Parasomnia Parasomnias are a category of sleep disorders that involve abnormal and unnatural movements, behaviors, emotions, perceptions, and dreams that occur while falling asleep, sleeping, between sleep stages, or during arousal from sleep...
. Most people who suffer from sexsomnia also sleepwalk (ICSD 2). Sexsomniacs do not remember the acts they perform while they're asleep.
Sexsomnia can co-occur alongside other sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, sleep apnea, night terrors and bedwetting and can be triggered by stress, previous sleep deprivation and excessive consumption of alcohol or drugs. Sleep related epilepsy may be associated with sexual arousal
Sexual arousal
Sexual arousal, or sexual excitement, is the arousal of sexual desire, during or in anticipation of sexual activity. Things that precipitate human sexual arousal are called erotic stimuli, or colloquially known as turn-ons. There are many potential stimuli, both physical or mental, which can cause...
, pelvic thrusting and orgasms, though in these sorts of cases the acts are remembered. Sexsomnia episodes could be triggered by physical contact with a bed partner.
Sleep sex has been used as a criminal defense in rape cases. Several cases of sexsomnia have appeared in the news and as a theme in fiction.
History of sleep sex
The first research paper that suggested that sexual behavior during sleep may be a new type of parasomnia was published in 1996 by three researchers from the University of TorontoUniversity of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(Dr. Colin Shapiro and Dr. Nik Trajanovic) and the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
(Dr. Paul Fedoroff). Later, several papers were published describing the problem and suggested that problematic forms of sleep sex are medically treatable "conditions" (see external links). The condition was defined in a paper called "Sexsomnia – A New Parasomnia?" published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry/Revue canadienne de psychiatrie is the official journal of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. It was established in 1956 as the Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal and obtained its current title in 1979....
in June 2003. The first doctor to coin the term "sleep sex" was Dr. David Saul Rosenfeld, a neurologist and sleep doctor from Los Angeles, California. The term 'sexsomnia' was coined by Dr. Colin Shapiro in 2003.
The psychology of sexsomnia
Sleep sex may accompany relationship difficulties and feelings of embarrassment. Often the actions of the person who has sexsomnia are reported by his or her partner as the sexsomniacs are unaware of the event. To verify the diagnosis it is possible to do a polysomnographyPolysomnography
Polysomnography , also known as a sleep study, is a multi-parametric test used in the study of sleep and as a diagnostic tool in sleep medicine. The test result is called a polysomnogram, also abbreviated PSG...
.
In some cases, sufferers are aware of their behavior for a long time before they seek help, often because they lack information that it is a medical disorder or for fear that others will judge it as willful behaviour rather than a medical condition. However, the reality of sexsomnia has been confirmed by sleep disorder researchers who have made polygraphic and video recordings of patients with the condition while they are asleep and observed unusual brain wave activity during the episodes similar to that experienced in other NREM arousal parasomnias. There is a mind/body disconnect that occurs during sleep. The treatment has commonalities with other NREM parasomnias and also involves specific interventions. By avoiding precipitating factors and ensuring a safe environment the condition may be brought to a high level of control with minimal effort.
Sexsomnia is not always problematic or extreme for those who experience it or for their partners. There is a great variety in both the frequency and levels to which people are affected by this disorder.
Clonazepam
Clonazepam
Clonazepamis a benzodiazepine drug having anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, muscle relaxant, and hypnotic properties. It is marketed by Roche under the trade name Klonopin in the United States and Rivotril in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Europe...
has been used as a first line of treatment for this condition, when other measures are not enough to solve a distressing case of sexsomnia.
Cases reported in the press
Natalie Pona, the then Sun reporter, broke the first press story of sexsomnia in the fall of 2005. On 30 November 2005, a TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
court acquitted a man of sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
after he was diagnosed with sleep sex disorder, although prosecutors filed an appeal of the acquittal in February 2006. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the acquittal on 7 February 2008.
In Britain, a man from York was cleared of three counts of rape on 19 December 2005.
In Australia, a woman was reported as leaving her house at night and having sex with strangers while sleepwalking.
On 8 August 2007, a British RAF mechanic was cleared of a rape charge after the jury found him not responsible for his actions when he had sex with a 15-year-old girl.
On 23 March 2009, a British woman gave an interview in which she spoke about problems in her life caused by sexsomnia.
On 12 February 2010, an Australian man was found not guilty of rape due to sexsomnia. This similarly happened to a Welsh man on 4 July 2011.
Fictional cases
A case of this disorder is found in the episode "Role ModelRole Model (House)
"Role Model" is the seventeenth episode of the first season of House, which premiered on the Fox network on April 12, 2005. The episode follows a presidential candidate, Senator Gary H. Wright , following a stroke, while continuing the feud that has developed between Vogler and House...
" of the television series House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
(Season 1 Episode 17).
An episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (season 9, episode 2, aired on 2 October 2007) called "Avatar" featured a suspect with this disorder.
In Ralph Ellison
Ralph Ellison
Ralph Waldo Ellison was an American novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer. He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ellison is best known for his novel Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953...
's novel Invisible Man, a farmer claims to have had sex with his daughter while asleep.
In the play Yakish and Popcha by Hanoch Levin
Hanoch Levin
Hanoch Levin , was a prominent Israeli dramatist. He was also a theater director, an author and a poet, but he is best known for his plays.- Early life :...
, Yakish only manages to have intercourse with his wife Popcha while both are asleep, by the end of the play.
In an episode of Desperate Housewives (aired 3 October 2010) Gaby pretends she has sexsomnia to explain why her daughter is not her husband's biological daughter.
See also
- Somnambulism (Sleepwalking)
- SomniloquySomniloquySomniloquy or sleep-talking is a parasomnia that refers to talking aloud while sleep. It can be quite loud, ranging from simple sounds to long speeches, and can occur many times during sleep...
(sleep-talking) - Sleep paralysisSleep paralysisSleep paralysis is paralysis associated with sleep that may occur in healthy persons or may be associated with narcolepsy, cataplexy, and hypnagogic hallucinations. The pathophysiology of this condition is closely related to the normal hypotonia that occurs during REM sleep. When considered to be a...
- Rapid eye movement behavior disorderRapid eye movement behavior disorderRapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder is a sleep disorder that involves abnormal behaviour during the sleep phase with rapid eye movement . It was first described in 1986....
External links
- How Common is Sexsomnia
- Stanford Sleep Experts Treat Medical Condition Behind Violent "Sleep Sex"
- Sleepwalkers who have "sex sleep" – BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
- "Sleepsex.org: A Resource of Information for those Affected, Directly and Indirectly by SBS"
- Sleep.com overview of Sexsomnia