What is sexsomnia?

About this episode

What is sexsomnia? Thanks for asking!We all know someone who talks in their sleep, or occasionally sleepwalks around the house, perhaps even heading to the kitchen to prepare a nighttime snack. These kinds of episodes aren’t especially rare. But some forms are relatively unknown, one of which is sexsomnia.It’s a form of parasomnia, which means undesirable behaviour which occurs while falling asleep, during sleep, or while waking up. As you may have guessed from the name, sexsomnia consists of sexual activity, ranging from aroused moaning to exhibitionism, masturbation, fondling or even penetration. Just like with sleepwalking, a person with sexsomnia usually has no recollection of their acts the next day.The term was first coined in June 2003, as part of a study led by sleep researcher Dr Coling Shapiro which was published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. The article cited a case which had first been highlighted by a Singapore medical journal in the 1980s, that of a 34 year old married man who masturbated next to his wife on a nightly basis.It must be pretty rare to suffer from sexsomnia, mustn’t it? Does sexsomnia affect certain groups of people more than others? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:What is rape culture? What is Maslow's hierarchy of needs? What is the Covid vaccine pill?A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices