If you think you've got it
bad because your bed partner snores, think again.
For centuries, high-profile cases have involved sleep violence. If you strangle your wife to death in your sleep, should you be held 100 percent accountable? This has been a tricky subject for legal scholars.
Are there any risk factors? Certainly. Most patients with R.B.D. are males over 50 years of age.
Interestingly, scientists have discovered that people with R.B.D. develop lesions on a small portion of their brain stem that ordinarily inhibits physical movement during R.E.M. sleep. So while most people are "paralyzed" during sleep, people with R.B.D. are not, and can sleepwalk and do things with their bodies that you'd normally equate with being wide awake and fully conscious.
Other risk factors include:
The good news is we have a
collection of drugs at our disposal to help people with serious R.B.D., which people in previous centuries did not (though they would lock people up and force them to sleep alone). Therapy can also work for some people.
The phenomenon has been the
subject of a television movie. After Kenneth Parks, an unemployed Canadian, murdered his mother-in-law in 1987, Hilary Swank filled the role of playing his wife in "The Sleepwalker Killing" (1997). Having no motive for the crime and a history of sleepwalking, Parks was acquitted by an Ontario jury. In another case in Scottsdale AZ, the man was found guilty.
If you or someone you know is prone to violent acts in their sleep, they should immediately see a sleep specialist to get help - this is a treatable disorder.
Sweet Dreams,
Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com
Follow Dr. Michael J. Breus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thesleepdoctor
Dr. Michael J. Breus: Link Between Sleep Apnea and Eye Disorders
On the upside, my parents were able to afford a bed for my sole use when I turned 10. Now the shoe is on the other foot. The way my dog dreams (both barking with his mouth shut and "running" (moving his legs as if he were chasing a squirrel), I'm starting to realize why family members would pick straws on who I had to sleep with each evening.
And so continues our limited understanding of subjectivity.
For the record I'm a very peaceful person, I've been in very few fisticuffs in my 48 years and I've never hurt anyone or anything, It is rather embarrassing to be told the next day of my behavior, But if you ever see me in your dreams watch out I might be coming for you LOL
In my defense , I had measles, the dream seemed like reality and I usually slept in a twin bed. She had me sleeping with her because I had been in the hospital and she wanted to keep an eye on me.
Riiiiiight, too bad the side effects are worse that the problem itself.
There is a VERY long list of drugs that are useful in treading sleep disorders such as RBD. A lot of anti-depressants can be used offlabel with spectactular results and very few side effects. If you had an understanding of how sleep actually effects your life, you'd understand why it's so important. Sleep isn't just something you do between work days.
RBD can force people to expend more energy at night than they use during the day, leaving zero room for restorative sleep. Side effects? Whats a little bit of bloating or constipation when you are adding YEARS to your life.