Sexsomnia

Creative Problem Solving for Sleep Disorders

1. PROBLEM Sexual Behaviour in Sleep (SBS), or sexsomnia , is a condition in which a person will engage in sexual acts while still asleep. This condition falls within the broad classes of sleep disorders known as parasomnia . Sexsomnia is considered a type of non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) parasomnia .   Sexsomnia may accompany relationship difficulties and feelings of embarrassment. Clonazepam has been used as a first line of treatment for this condition, when other measures are not enough to solve a case of sexsomnia.

2. Solutions Physical Have sex before going to sleep. Masturbate before going to sleep. Get your partner or friend to give you a massage before bedtime. Go for a run or brisk walk before bedtime. Take up a salsa dance class. Have a bout of boxing before going to sleep. Change the time you eat dinner at. Eat oysters before bedtime. Eat figs in bed. Drink hot milk at bedtime .

3. Solutions Psychological Attend psychotherapy counseling sessions to treat the relationship difficulties. De-stress by writing about your problems in a diary or in a poem or song. Attend a stress management course. Check with a health professional for anxiety disorders. Get hypnotized. Do a course in self-hypnosis. Get a companion to babysit you. Take up art therapy. Get acupuncture. Attend a mindfulness course.

4. Solutions Emotional Attend a course on building self-esteem. Share your relationship concerns with a friend. Join a support group. Find a new love. Check with a doctor for personality disorders. Make yourself very sad before bed. Make yourself very happy before bed. Make your self very angry before bed. Make your self very sleepy before bed. Make your self very randy before bed.  

5. Solutions Spiritual Beseech to Aphrodite, goddess of love. Go on a retreat to reflect and resolve some of your issues. Take up Yoga classes. Do meditation. Go to mass. Join a church choir. Ask a priest to exercise your demons. Take a vow of chastity. Make a donation to charity. Volunteer in a hospice for the ill and dying.

6. Solutions Medical Take diazepam or clonazepam tablets. Have your sexual organs removed. Have a lobotomy. Have your legs amputated. Inject an anesthetic at bedtime. Take diuretics before bed. Get a neurological examination. Do physiotherapy. Under go a CAT scan to assess any brain damage. Get treatment for depression. Get EEG Biofeedback or neurofeedback . Get Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. Get eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Get sleep therapy to help your body’s own circadian clock bring on deeper sleep. Study to become a psychiatrist.

7. Solutions Alternative Sleep alone. Sleep during the day. Don’t sleep. Sleep standing up. Sleep in a hammock. Roll yourself up in a carpet. Drink less. Drink more. Quit drugs. Take up drugs . Sleep in a coffin. Learn a new language. Take cookery classes. Sleep in the bath. Drive a taxi by night. Chew cocoa leaves. Get your partner to tie your hands and feet. Wear a straight jacket in bed. Make up the bed as two singles Ignore it and it might go away (this is a very Irish solution). Leave the relationship you are currently in. Change jobs.

8. Solutions Weird Play relaxing music throughout the night. Use video cameras to record your behaviour and review the pattern. Place motion sensors in your bed to set off an alarm when you move. Prerecord alert messages that play when you move to reassure you. Realign your bedroom using Feng Shui. Fit your partner with a chastity belt. Ask your partner to wake you up when your sexsomnia kicks in. Watch pornography . Take enough drink and drugs to induce d coma at bedtime Sleep with someone you don’t like. Sleep with a scary dog. Move to a different country. Take a vacation. Buy a car to cheer yourself up. Sell your house. Give up eating meat. Take up smoking.

9. Solutions Weird Review your job to check if you are being bullied by a co-worker. Change religion. Take up a new hobby. Have an affair. Buy a water bed. Loose weight. Bake bread in the evening. Burn incense. Drink green tea. Take a lavender back before bed. Talk to your partner about how they think you can resolve this issue. Play chess in bed. Read to each other at bedtime.