Behavioral Interventions for Parasomnias

Abstract

Parasomnias are phenomena which may arise from NREM sleep (confusional arousals, sleep terrors, and sleepwalking) or REM sleep (nightmares). All are more common in children. While generally benign and outgrown with age, they may come to clinical attention when sufficiently disruptive to the patient or the patient’s family and in some cases may pose significant safety concerns. In addition to proper preventative measures, behavioral techniques—such as alteration of sleep timings, implementation of scheduled awakenings, and psychotherapy—are important tools in the clinician’s armamentarium. Research into the effectiveness of these interventions primarily consists of case series. However, particularly in the treatment of nightmare disorder, several randomized controlled studies also support their use and in fact suggest they may equally if not more effective as pharmacotherapy for treatment of these common sleep disorders.