The basics. Much like sleepwalking, sexsomnia is classified as a non-rapid eye movement sleep parasomnia, and causes people to masturbate or have sexual intercourse while they are asleep.
No memories. Sexsomnia happens when the brain is caught in transition between sleeping and waking states, according to webMD.com. Typically, these people have no recollection of any sexual acts from the previous night.
Eyes wide shut. Despite being asleep, people with sexsomnia can perform as if they were wide awake, and a lot of the times, their partners have no idea that they are actually asleep.
I did what?! There have been a lot of reported cases of sexsomnia, and people whose partners have sexsomnia stated that upon waking up, their partners were in denial that anything had happened.
Not that uncommon. A study was done in the UK that found that one in 10 people experienced sexsomnia during their sleep, according to express.co.uk.
What are the causes? Sexsomnia can be triggered by restlessness and diet. “Eating and drinking certain foods and drinks, such as alcohol, before going to sleep can act as a stimulant and prevent you from achieving a deep sleep,” said Dr. Guy Meadows of The Sleep School.
Treatment. Some doctors also believe that much like other parasomnia disorders, sexsomnia can be induced by sleep medications like Ambien.
What happens. Women with sexsomnia are known to exhibit sexual vocalizations and masturbation, while men were more likely to engage in fondling and sexual intercourse, according to Psychology Today.
Related issues. It is also believed that people with sexsomnia usually suffer from other sleep related issues that attribute to the disorder, for example sleep apnea, sleep epilepsy, and sleep deprivation.
Court cases. There have been countless reports of sexsomnia, and people not being aware that they have a sleep disorder. There have even been cases where lawyers attempted to blame sexsomnia when their clients were convicted of rape.
Viable defense. A man’s rape conviction was overturned in Sweden after he successfully convinced a judge that he hadn’t actually raped a woman he had been sharing a bed with, but that he suffered from sexsomnia instead.
The incident. The victim reported that she and Halvarsson were sleeping on opposite ends of a couch, when she woke up to him on top of her, and she immediately called police.
The defense. The defendant, Mikael Halvarsson, managed to find a doctor to testify for him. The court ruled that he “was in a state of sleepiness, unconscious of what was happening,” according to nydailynews.com.
What raises your risk. Sexsomnia can be treated with medication and through therapy. It is also highly recommend by doctors that people with sexsomnia avoid using drugs and drinking alcohol.
Be on the lookout. Doctors recommend that patients be highly aware of the side effects of the medications that are being prescribed because some are known to induce sexsomnia rather than prevent it.
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