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Researchers Explore Roots Of 'Sleep Sex'

Condition May Be Medical, Not Psychological

Many people have some type of sleep disorder -- but not many admit they are afflicted with "sleep sex."

In a new study, Stanford researchers analyzed the treatable medical condition that causes people to commit violent sexual acts in their sleep. Referred to as "sleep sex," the activities range from disruptive moaning to rape-like behavior toward bed partners.

The researchers believe this condition is caused by glitches in brain waves during sleep. They think the disorder is medical in origin, rather than psychological.

"Now doctors might know to ask patients about how they're sleeping," said Dr. Christian Guilleminault, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford School of Medicine.

Guilleminault's study, published in the March/April issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, outlined 11 patients with symptoms that included loud, disruptive moaning on one end of the scale and sexual assault on the other. Regardless of how unusual or violent the behavior, patients had no memory of the events the next morning.

Over the past 10 years, researchers have suspected that violent behavior during sleep is a sleep-related disorder, but they didn't have the facts to prove it. Although these cases sound psychological in origin, Guilleminault believes the underlying problem relates to sleep.

Rather than quietly passing through the five phases of sleep -- each of which has a classic brain-wave pattern -- the patients in the study had unusual patterns during one of the sleep phases or short interruptions in their sleep. Sound and video recordings of the patients showed that the sleep-sex behavior took place during these hiccups in the sleep cycle. In addition, seven of the patients had a history of walking in their sleep.

In all cases except one, the sleep disturbances went away with sleep disorder treatments -- the same ones that would prevent sleepwalkers from raiding the fridge at night. Therapy includes drugs in the same family as Valium and treatments used for breathing disturbances.

Guilleminault said each of the patients had additional emotional problems that may have altered the form their sleep disturbance took.

"What your state of mind is will color the presentation," he said. But even if the patients had no emotional problems, he added, the underlying sleep disorder still would exist, though it may take the form of sleepwalking or talking in sleep.

Guilleminault added that because the sleep disorders were embarrassing, sufferers were less likely to complain and also didn't know where to turn for help with the problem.

Two of the women in the group experienced harmless -- but embarrassing -- sexual moaning sounds. Another man and woman experienced periods of violent masturbation that left bruising or soreness. The man also reported breaking two fingers trying to escape from restraints he had used to prevent the behavior.

Six men and one woman made unwanted -- and sometimes violent -- sexual advances on their bed partners while asleep. In one case, the patient tried to strangle his wife. A teenage child in the home heard the disturbance and called the police, eventually leading to a referral to the Stanford Sleep Clinic.

"What was surprising was the duration of the abnormal behavior and the fact that people weren't reporting it," Guilleminault said. One patient in the study had been aware of the unusual behavior for 15 years before talking about it with his doctor.

"People have to realize that it's a medical problem and there is a treatment," he said.

-- Anonymous, March 28, 2002

Answers

[Another man and woman experienced periods of violent masturbation that left bruising or soreness. The man also reported breaking two fingers...]

I got this far and almost fell out of my chair laughing so hard. then I read the rest of the sentence.

too weird!

Not me, the study. Well, me too, maybe.

-- Anonymous, March 28, 2002