Sleep-related eating disorder in a 29 year-old man: a case report with diagnostic polysomnographic findings

This is a case of a 29-year-old man with a 6 year history of sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) that occurred with partial consciousness on a nightly basis. His family or wife witnessed up to 5 episodes every night, with each eating episode lasting 8-16 minutes. Polysomnography documented 4 episodes of sleep-related eating arising from stage 2 Non-REM sleep, when he consumed cookies that he had brought to the sleep lab that night. While eating, his EEG remained in stage 2 sleep or else was a wakeful EEG, and the eating episodes lasted for a mean 13.3 minutes. There was no epileptiform EEG activity during the polysomnogrphic study with a seizure montage and fast paper speed. Therapy with clonazepam, 0.5 mg bedtime, did not control the nocturnal eating. The patient tried to limit access to food in his home before bedtime, and this had modest benefit. This case of SRED has both typical and atypical features, which are discussed.