One of the more serious conditions that a person can have is a parasomnia sleep disorder. This condition is called sexsomnia or sleep sex. The truth about the condition is that sexsomnia is a type of parasomnia. What happens is that a person performs sexual acts while still asleep. The person normally has no idea of what they are doing and cannot really control it. This is very similar to sleepwalking, in which the sexual act is not controllable by the person who has the disorder. This sort of unconscious event can be very dangerous and can put the person into many bad situation. A sexsomniac is generally not aware of their actions and behaviors. Therefore it common for people to deny partaking or initiating sexual activities.

The parasomnia disorder is rather rare overall, but there are range of rem parasomnias that can occur to people. A REM parasomnia is a rapid eye movement disorder that occurs in one of the lighter types of sleep. In this stage of sleep the brain is rather active and the eyes move quickly from side to side. The parasomnia disorder is recognized by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and was first described in 1996. But there have been descriptions in the literature for many years before then. There are a ton of terms for the condition including somnambulistic sexual behavior or sleep sex. The condition has also been discussed in the media as there have been some large legal cases that relate to the disorder and certain cases of rape.

The causes of this disorder are not completely known. Some people have identified specific triggers. Some of them are medication and drugs. A person can have an increased rate of sleep sex if they have been drinking alcohol or taking drugs. The medications change the chemistry of the brain and allow for people to change their behavior into a set of different patterns. Some of these patterns, such as sleep deprivation or sleep during odd times. These issues can also increase the possibility of a sleep sex disorder while making each episode get worse and worse.

Parasomnia treatment can include the reduction of the triggers that increase the probability of having a sleep sex episode. If a person get the problem when they are sleep deprived, they should get more sleep. If the issue develops when they take a new drug, then they should try to switch the drug to a different medication or stop it altogether. The key is to communicate with your medical professional and try to develop a plan to deal with the problem. The worst thing to do would be to ignore a sleep disorder and not get parasomnia treatment. This usually causes the problem to get worse. The next time that it occurs it may be dangerous and some one could get hurt. Treatment for many rem parasomnias can be simple, with either a medication or behavioral change. If a person is having a problem, they should get help for the parasomnia sleep disorder right away.