Parasomnias Symptoms, causes, types and treatment

Parasomnias are alterations of sleep behavior, which are characterized by short periods of awakening, which arise in childhood and/or adolescents and that can last until adulthood. These alterations produce night terrors and are more common than we imagine.

Specifically, they have a maximum incidence in childhood, with an approximately 15% prevalence. Despite this, the concept of parasomnia is scarcely known by people outside the specialty of sleep disorders. Therefore, in this online psychology article, we bring you What are parasomnias: symptoms, causes, types and treatment.

1. Parasomnias symptoms
2. Causes of parasomnias
3. Types of parasomnias
4. Treatment for parasomnias

Parasomnias symptoms

The symptoms of parasomnias depend on the type of parasomnia that each person suffers. The main symptoms are of this sleep disease are:

• Nightmares.
• Sudden awakening.
• Night terrors in adults or children, in the case of children's parasomnias.
• Somnambulism.
• Wake up disoriented.
• Discomfort during eating time.
• Sleep disorders.
• Sleep paralysis.
• Confusional awakening.
• Somniloquia in adults or infants.

Causes of parasomnias

¿You want to know what causes parasomnia? They can arise for the following reasons:

• Drink alcohol in excess.
• Eat just before going to sleep.
• To have a fever.
• Abstinence to some substance.
• Absence of medication that facilitates sleep, subsequently consumed.
• Intake of a new drug.
• Consumption of drugs.
• Stress and/or anxiety.
• Difficulty breathing or sleep apnea.
• Frequent alterations of sleep schedules.

Types of parasomnias

You already know what causes the parasomnia and the symptoms that occur typical of this sleep disorder. Now, we will reveal what are the types of parasomnia. To do this, you should know that parasomnias can be classified into two large groups: Parasomnias of Awakening and Parasomnias associated with Rem Dream.

The parasomnias of awakening

• Somnambulism. It is a common sleep disorder in childhood, which lacks treatment. It is characterized by carrying out some movement or activity being sleepy, for example, walking. Sound people do not usually remember what they did while they slept.
• Night terrors. This disorder is manifested in periods of deep sleep. The person suffering from this disorder usually screams, crying and showing facial expressions of horror. It is also characterized by an increase in heart rate, appearance of sweating and an increase in breathing. Night terror in children is normal, it is part of childhood.
• Confusional awakening. This type of awakening arises when people wake up disoriented and with a decrease in brain speed and the attention response to stimuli.

The parasomnias associated with Dream Rem

• REM sleep behavior disorder. ¿You don't know what nrem is parasomnia? It consists of performing abnormal movements, such as punching and violent kicks, which can cause autolesions or damage to third parties.
• Isolated sleep paralysis. This paralysis usually lasts seconds or minutes. It manifests itself through the inability to perform voluntary movements with the head, trunk or limbs due to the loss of muscle tone.
• Nightmares. The well -known nightmares refer to unpleasant dreams that generate fear in the people who suffer from them, which usually remember the content of the nightmares when they wake up. In childhood, it is recurring that children with nightlife and nightmares have a bad time during the night.

Treatment for parasomnias

As indicated in the previous section, parasomnias can be of various types. The treatment of this sleep disorder It will depend on the type of parasomnia that each person manifests, since some have no treatment or do not require the same.

People suffering from parasomnias that do not require treatments can follow a series of indications that reduce the possibility of their appearance:

• Do Light dinners and prior to sleep.
• Limit the use of screens before sleeping.
• Avoid consuming drugs or alcohol.
• Do not self-medical.
• Accompany if necessary.

However, the parasomnias that need a treatment, as is the case with ReM sleep behavior disorder, have a specific pharmacological treatment. So, ¿What is the best treatment of parasomnia in this case? Benzodiazepines is usually used, specifically clonazepam. Therefore, it is fundamental go to the doctor and perform a sleep assessment.

In the same way, parasomnias and night terrors give rise to psychological consequences. Mainly, anxiety symptoms linked to the fact of not having a completely repairing dream arise. We tell you more about it in ¿What happens if you don't sleep?

Therefore, the modification of sleep habits and environmental factors can also be carried out, as well as the application of relaxation techniques as you can consult in our article breathing exercises to calm anxiety.

If despite putting everything mentioned above, parasomnias continue to create significant discomfort or limit your daily life, do not hesitate to go to a psychologist Specialist in Sleep Disorders. Since, maybe you need individual therapy, that is, a more precise accompaniment that takes into account your particular needs.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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