Sleep-Related Eating Disorder and Sexsomnia; Two Rare Parasomnias? A Mini-Review with Illustrative Case-Reports

Sleep-related eating disorder and sexsomnia are non-rapid eye movement (NREM) parasomnias, characterized by reward-seeking behaviors during NREM sleep. These conditions are likely underpinned by specific patterns of sleep-wake dissociation and appear to be more common than expected, leading to significant health risks, psychological distress and even forensic consequences.

We briefly review recent literature on sleep-related eating disorder and sexsomnia, and present three cases of each; for illustrating their clinical features and complexity.

Genetic predisposition may set the stage for sleep-related eating disorder and sexsomnia; stress, alcohol-use and sleep-disruption promoting the episodes. While sharing the common pathophysiology of sleep-wake dissociation, the dissociation-patterns underlying sleep-related eating disorder, sexsomnia, and other NREM parasomnias might be different. One of our cases (sex without consent of the partner) points to the potential forensic consequence of sexsomnia; and two cases highlight the side-effect of Quetiapine and Zolpidem (alike several additional psychoactive drugs) provoking sleep-related eating-episodes. Rarely, these drug-related side-effects may have unexpected therapeutic benefits.

Sleep-related eating disorder and sexsomnia are under-recognized NREM parasomnias. Sexsomnia often leads to legal consequences with hard questions of responsibility; given its challenging multidisciplinary aspects. Regular sleep-schedule and other lifestyle-improvements help managing these conditions treated by Melatonin, certain antidepressants and, sedatives. Understanding their mechanism may provide meaningful data on reward-seeking during sleep.