Undesirable disorders of behaviour or experience that occur during sleep or its specific stages, or during sleep-wake transitions

Non-REM

Aetiology

• Most commonly found in children, but can recur in adults when under stress or suffering from a mood disorder

Clinical features

• Non-dreaming e.g. confusion arousals, sleep walking, sleep terrors and paralysis

Management

• Reassurance
• Children with night terrors, sleepwalking etc. usually grow out of it before adolescence

REM

Aetiology

• Mainly affects men, predominantly in the sixth and seventh decades of life, often associated with neurodegenerative disorders

Clinical features

• Enactment of the experience of dreams during REM sleep e.g. kicking, punching, talking, sitting up

Management

• Depends on the underlying cause; in patients in whom there is no underlying disorder, the symptoms are frequently amenable to medication