Falling asleep during sex isn’t that uncommon, but what about having sex while you are sleeping? Sexsomnia — sometimes called “sleep sex” — is a real condition.
You might have heard of sexsomnia recently when a Danish man was acquitted of molesting two 17-year-old girls after it was discovered that he suffered from the sleep disorder, sexsomnia. So what exactly is sexsomnia?
“Sexsomnia is a type of parasomnia such as sleepwalking, night terrors, etc.,” says Dr. Robert S. Rosenberg, DO, FCCP, Board Certified Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Medical Director at Sleep Disorders Center of Prescott Valley and Sleep Disorders Center of Flagstaff.
Yes, that’s right — a person can have intercourse during their sleep.
“The subject usually has amnesia for the event. There is basically a disconnect between higher cortical centers that are asleep and would normally exert judgment and impulse control and lower more primitive centers in the brain stem,” explains Dr. Rosenberg. “The lower centers are activated in the absence of higher cortical function. This is what happens in sleepwalking as well. However in the case of sexsomnia, it is sexual behavior rather than just walking.”
As you can imagine, it can be difficult for a person to explain to his partner about sexsomnia, as she probably hasn’t heard of it before. Dr. Rosenberg says that there’s no need for embarrassment. He suggests seeing a sleep specialist for treatment.
So, what are the treatment options for sexsomnia?
“Start by eliminating causes, if possible,” says Dr. Rosenberg, “Consider alcohol, sleep apnea, sleep deprivation and medications, all of which have been known to trigger sexsomnia episodes. If that fails, there is a medication called clonazepam which has been very effective.”