Can Someone Have Sex While Sleeping?

Medical Video: How to have sex when your wife is sleeping

When sleeping, our body and mind should rest, but not infrequently you also experience interference when you sleep. There are various types of sleep disorders that are common, such as walking while sleeping, gnashing teeth when sleeping, and so on. But have you ever heard about having sex during sleep aka sexsomnia? Sexsomnia is a sleep disorder that allows the sufferer to unconsciously have sex while sleeping, and usually he doesn't remember it until his partner wakes up or tells him the next day. How could that happen?

Men suffer from sexsomnia more often than women

Parasomnia is a disorder that occurs during the sleep process. There are several categories, such as sleep transition disorders, and parasomnias associated with REM (rapid eye movement or dream period). Sexsomnia or sex sleep, also known as SBS (sexual behaviors during sleep), not yet categorized as parasomnias.

Various sources have made women as resource persons about the case of sexsomnia, and finally the assumption is that men experience sexsomnia more often. Women admit that they have tried to wake their partners in between sex acts, but he never realized. There are no studies that prove whether men tend to experience sexsomnia compared to women. According to MedicineNet.com, the study, which involved 832 participants who experienced sexual behavior during sleep, found 11% of men and 4% of women experienced sex sleep.

According to Christian Guilleminault, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif, quoted by webMD, sexsomnia can be described as 'rape' or 'action-like-rape'. This sometimes makes sufferers (men) embarrassed to seek help. Sexsomnia sufferers are not limited, this can also be experienced by women. Some cases in the Stanford study, women when experiencing sexsomnia will begin to issue sexual sigh when they start falling asleep. Another case was found that women made great fondling. Sleep sex can be in the form of fondling, sexual sighing, groaning, and sexual intercourse.

What causes a person to have sex while sleeping?

Researchers have not been able to ascertain what caused it sex sleep this. Although not included in parasomnias, people who experience it sex sleep usually ever have a history of other sleep disorders such as REM, apnea, sleep while walking alias sleepwalking. These things lead to neurochemical disorders in the brain. Still according to Guilleminault, what he did was an approach that was more neurological than psychiatry. This habit comes from abnormal brain activity. There are also assumptions that say that sex sleep almost the same as multiple personalities; when he fell asleep he became a different person.

Fatigue and stress, as well as drug and alcohol use can also trigger this sleep disorder. According to Michael Mangan, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire, "When you fall asleep near someone or touch, this can trigger sex drive that you will do, even when you are asleep."

is sex sleep good or bad?

Although this is a sleep disorder and disturbs others, this condition also sometimes has advantages. Based on the opinions of women and men who experience sexsomnia, their partners feel that the sexual intercourse that their partner is doing is in a different sleeping state that he usually does in a conscious state. Sexsomnia sufferers feel more confident or assertive when having sexual intercourse in a state of sleep. Barriers that limit them during sexual intercourse when they wake up become nonexistent when experiencing sexsomnia. This makes them more courageous, even though sufferers don't realize it.

Still according to Mangan, the disadvantage is sexsomnia can be a problem in a relationship. When women or men are less sexually excited when they are awake, but when they fall asleep they show a burning passion for sexual intercourse, so the couple will wonder if he is dreaming of having sex with someone else. In addition, couples can feel victims of sexual violence. Performed when sleeping when the partner is trying to get a wife, plus he is in a state of unconsciousness, sex at these times can also be considered as coercion.

is sex sleep can it be treated?

The good news is that sexsomnia can be treated. It's best to know the cause of sexsomnia first. If the cause is stress or anxiety, please consult with an expert or mental health therapist. Keeping enough sleep patterns is also important to do.

If your partner has sexsomnia, then it's a good idea to talk to your doctor about your partner's condition. Apart from not getting enough sleep and fatigue when you wake up, this disorder can be a problem in your relationship. Treatment can rely on benzodiazepine drugs.

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