Parasomnia, sleep disturbance triggers delirious to sleepiness

A person's sleep patterns can be messy due to sleep disturbances which reduce the quality of rest time. In addition to disorders that make it difficult to fall asleep such as insomnia, there are sleep disorders that cause abnormal behavior changes while a person is asleep, or what is called parasomnia.

What is parasomnia?

Parasomnia is a group of sleep disorders that cause an unwanted event or experience, which occurs when we have just fallen asleep, have fallen asleep, or when we wake up from sleep. Parasomnia can be in the form of various things experienced by a person such as movement, behavior, emotions, perceptions, to unnatural dreams. Even though the incident looks unnatural, usually people with parasomnias remain asleep throughout the incident.

In general, parasomnia occurs after the phase of sleep, or between the phases of falling asleep and waking up. At this time of transition, a strong enough stimulus is needed to wake a person, and it can be difficult for a person with parasomnias to notice the behavior. After waking, people with parasomnias often can't remember the dreams they had or what happened, and they tend to find it difficult to fall back to sleep at night.

Please note that this is common and not related to a particular mental illness. However, parasomnia can recur over a long period of time and can become a complex sleep disorder. Parasomnia can be experienced by anyone, but the age group of children has the most symptoms of parasomia.

Various forms of parasomnia are the most common

Parasomnia can take the form of various forms of abnormal symptoms when a person is asleep, namely:

1. Sleep walking - marked by the patient's body movements such as walking while sleeping, and shortly after awakening the patient will experience disorientation or confusion. Although not directly dangerous, this symptom can cause danger because the sufferer cannot see the objects around him so that it can cause falling, being hit, or being hit by something.
2. Confusional Arousals - in the form of confusion upon awakening which is characterized by experiencing a very long thought process to recognize the environment, and react slowly to commands or questions asked just after waking up from sleep.
3. Nightmare - a dream that interrupts someone's sleep and makes a person wake up from sleep. This can happen repeatedly and can cause a person to experience anxiety and difficulty falling asleep (insomnia) or fall back asleep after waking up from a nightmare.
4. Night terrors - is a disorder characterized by fear that causes a person to behave abnormally such as screaming, hitting, and even kicking. When awakened, the sufferer cannot properly remember what really happened.
5. Delirious - is a symptom that occurs when a person is semi-conscious. Even though there is no immediate bad effect, it can disturb people nearby who hear it. Delirious can also be caused by stress, fever, or other sleep disorders.
6. Sleep paralysis - or often known in Indonesia as "ketindihan", characterized by difficulty moving the body when you are just starting to fall asleep or when you wake up, and can occur several times during one sleep. These symptoms are not too dangerous but can cause fear to someone who has already experienced them. Sleep paralysis can also be caused by heredity in one family, but the exact cause is not known.
7. Pain due to erection while sleeping - This is normal for men, but in some cases, the erection is accompanied by pain. If this happens repeatedly, it is necessary to take drugs such as antidepressants before bed.
8. Arrhythmia - usually experienced by coronary heart sufferers while asleep and triggered by a decrease in oxygen levels in the blood due to sleep disturbances. Use of tools continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) can help reduce the risk of arrhythmias during sleep.
9. Bruxism - is a symptom characterized by excessive grinding of the teeth in the upper and lower jaw in an unconscious state. The result can cause fatigue and discomfort in the teeth and jaw muscles, and can even cause injury to the gums. Use of tools mouth guard can reduce the frequency and impact of bruxism.
10. REM Sleep Behavior Disorder – Rapid Eye movement (REM) or dreaming phase during sleep can cause a person to behave abnormally by moving limbs such as hands and feet. Unlike walking or experiencing terror while sleeping, sufferers of this disorder can remember details of the dreams they have experienced. This could be a sign of a nervous breakdown that must be treated.
11. Enuresis - a condition in which a person is unable to control urinary activity while sleeping, aka bed wetting. In addition to sleep disorders, enuresis can be caused by heredity in the family and can also be caused by health problems such as diabetes, urinary tract infections, sleep apnea, as well as some psychiatric disorders.
12. Exploding Head Syndrome (EHS) – is a disorder characterized by the perception of hearing loud sounds such as an explosion when you are about to fall asleep or when you wake up. Unlike the name, this symptom does not cause injury and medical treatment for people with parasomnias.

Factors that trigger someone to suffer from parasomnia

Some things that can increase a person's chances of experiencing parasomnia are:

1. Age - Some symptoms such as enuresis and sleepwalking are more common in children. This problem will decrease with age, otherwise it is necessary to consult a doctor.
2. Genetic - Some forms of parasomnia may run in one family.
3. Stress - the stress of a person's mind can trigger abnormal activities during sleep such as delirium and abnormal behavior. The symptoms of parasomnia will also disappear after a person goes through this stressful period.
4. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - a traumatic condition may cause a person to experience nightmares for some time.
5. Side effects of treatment
6. Drug and alcohol abuse - Substances in drugs and alcohol can cause and worsen parasomnia.
7. Other diseases - some diseases like sleep apnea, Parkinson's, and disorders of the heart can increase the risk of parasomnia.

How do you deal with parasomnia?

Symptoms of parasomnia that vary requires treatment in accordance with the symptoms experienced by the sufferer. A diagnosis of parasomnia will consider a history of other sleep disorders, medical conditions, previous drug use, psychiatric conditions, and drug and alcohol abuse. Some disorders that involve REM activity in a person need to be treated with testing for potential disorders of the central nervous system. Serious handling of parasomnia is needed if the activity due to parasomnia will endanger the sufferer and those around him.

Some things that need to be considered to create a safe environment if you or your family experience parasomnia are:

• Use a bed that is not too high.
• Use the lock on the bedroom door.
• Eliminating objects that have the potential to cause someone to fall or be crushed by something.

The effects of parasomnia can also be minimized by:

• Get adequate and regular sleep.
• Take the medicine recommended by the doctor accordingly.
• Adjust your sleep time if you have a shift or shift job.
• Avoid abuse of alcohol and drugs.