Sexsomnia appears in the scientific literature quite recently and belongs to the group of parasomnias – inorganic sleep disorders. Somnambulism also belongs to this group. Certainly in some respects there are similarities between the two conditions, but the difference is that in sexsomnia people do not sleepwalk, but try to have sex with the person closest to them. The bad thing is that if they don’t have one next to them, they go looking for one… Statistics so far show that one third of those affected by sexsomnia are women. Sleep sex is a condition in which sufferers are apparently awake and perform sexual acts such as masturbating, touching and having sex with the person next to them. Sexsomnia is a form of parasomnia in which there is slow eye movement and people who fall into this state have no memory of what happened during the night. 1. What could the symptoms be? It turns out that there are characteristic patterns of behavior in those affected by sexsomnia. Sometimes they tell the partner next to them erotic stories, masturbate and at some point more or less force their partner to have sex. Individuals with narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, or painful nocturnal erections are more likely to experience this sleep disorder. NEWS_MORE_BOX 2. What unlocks this status? It is currently accepted that a possible cause of sex during sleep is the increased level of activity of the Gyrus postcentralis in the brain, which is responsible for mechanical perceptions. In the non-REM phase of sleep, low-level mechanisms could be activated, i.e. actions that are common to us such as going to the toilet, eating, as well as sex. The likelihood of this sleep disorder occurring increases after taking narcotic substances, alcohol, fatigue, exhaustion, and also psychological and/or physical stress. The risk group for developing sexsomnia includes people who suffer from another type of sleep disorder – sleepwalking, nightmares, sleep apnea, or have close relatives who have them. 3. Sexsomnia – a curse for those who have it About one percent of the world’s population suffers from this sleep disorder. Some people would describe the condition as a blessing, but it turns out that for those affected by this type of parasomnia, it is more of a curse. The majority of society considers sex during sleep to be fun, but the truth is that these sexual acts are not dictated by true intimacy between partners, which leads to awkward situations, guilt and shame for those affected. This is because nocturnal sexual assaults occur when the chokwek is not awake and therefore cannot control their actions or remember them the next day. In such a state, we would not be able to judge whether the other party is ready and willing to have sex, and there is a possibility of harming the partner and even rape. If in doubt,that we suffer from sexsomnia, it is important to seek professional advice in time, as this is the only way we can help ourselves and our partner.