What is parasomnia?
Parasomnia is an associated sleep disorder characterized by brief or partial episodes of awakening, in which there is no significant disruption of sleep or alteration of daytime wakefulness.
The most common paransomnias are:
Sleepwalking: a disorder that occurs when the person walks or performs other activities while asleep.
Nocturnal terror: recurrent and very common nightmares that provoke a strong sense of terror, fear, anxiety and anguish in the affected person.
Nocturnal bruxism
Nocturnal enuresis.
What are the symptoms of parasomnias?
The symptoms of parasomnias vary depending on the type of parasomnia involved, but in general they can cause discomfort or problems to the affected person during his or her rest time.
Causes of parasomnias or why they occur
Nightmares can be caused by one or more of these factors:
- Eating just before going to sleep
- Taking too much alkogol
- Drug use
- Taking a new drug
- Fever
- Sudden alcohol withdrawal
- Sudden abstinence from sleep medications