Sexsomnia, sex during sleep is dangerous for sufferers

Maybe you often hear people walking while sleeping or delirious. It turns out that not only walking or talking can be done while sleeping, sex can also be done when someone is not aware. This condition is known as seksomnia. For more details, let's look at the explanation below.

What is seksomnia?

According to Robert Oexman, head of the Sleep to Live Institute at Joplin, sleep sex or seksomnia is a form of parasomnia non-rapid eye movement (N-REM), very similar to sleeping while walking.

This condition can cause people to engage in sexual acts such as masturbating, making out, having sex, and even rape while they are actually sleeping.

Because most people with sexomnia experience very deep sleep, they usually don't remember what they did the night before waking up the next day. Sexsomnia can not only be experienced by men, women can also experience it.

In some cases at Stanford, people who experienced this condition would moan or make a sighing sound, such as during sexual intercourse. In fact, sometimes a person experiencing seksomnia can begin to feel and stimulate himself aggressively when he is fast asleep.

Is seksomnia dangerous?

A psychiatric specialist and lecturer from Stanford University Palo Alto, dr. Christian Guilleminault states that when experiencing seksomnia, the patient is in a different state of consciousness. This unusual behavior can stem from abnormal brain activity. People who have sex while sleeping show slower brain waves. They also breathe less oxygen and their mental state is not normal.

Michael Mangan, a psychology lecturer from the University of New Hampshire, likens that this unconscious sex condition is similar to multiple personality disorder. This condition is dangerous, even has the potential to cause sex that contains elements of violence.

There were several cases of violent masturbation that unconsciously caused physical injury to oneself and one's partner. Not to mention that people with sleep disorders sleep not only with their partners, but also with children.

Worse yet, people who experience sexomnia are not aware of what they have done when they wake up. If left untreated, this disorder will affect physical and mental health for the person and partner who experiences it.

What can be done to overcome sex during sleep?

Until now, experts have not found a specific drug to stop or treat this disorder. However, doctors have had success using several sedatives and antidepressant drugs to treat the condition. Doctors will also monitor the progress of patients who experience sexual disorders during sleep.

The most important treatment when treating this disorder is to create a safe environment for those with it and their families. For example, let the patient sleep alone first and don't forget to lock the door during the treatment period. Also provide an alarm to wake other people in the house if the person with sexomnia starts to relapse. Make their family or partner aware of the sexomnia patient when they have a relapse. It is also important to keep patients with dangerous items around the mattress while they are sleeping.

Also, make sure that during the treatment of the patient enough sleep, avoiding certain drugs, or treating other sleep disorders such as sleeping while walking, which can trigger sexual behavior during sleep to recur. That is why it is so important for people with sexomnia to see a mental health specialist.