SEXOMNIO ¿Existe?

Actividad sexual durante el sueño: Sexomnio en la mira de los científicos



15 de October de 2008
Una cosa es caer en los 'brazos de Morfeo' justo después del sexo, pero otra muy diferente es tener un encuentro íntimo y erótico mientras se duerme sin tener la más mínima conciencia de ello y, lo más inaudito, sin la menor sensación de placer -al momento de despertar- por cuenta de una amnesia que no permite recordar lo sucedido.
Se trata del 'sexsomnio', un comportamiento que, aunque suene extraño y novedoso, es tan real y frecuente que inclusive hoy comienza a ser reconocido por neurólogos, psiquiatras y psicólogos como un trastorno de la conducta durante el sueño, tal como sucede con el sonambulismo o el terror nocturno.
Así se refleja en la revista Current Psychiatry cuyo artículo
Sexual behavior during sleep:
Convenient alibi or parasomnia' la jefe de residentes del Departamento de Psiquiatría y Psicología del Hospital de Cleveland (Estados Unidos), Mia Zaharan, hace una revisión clínica del fenómeno y pone de manifiesto que aunque esa condición tiene origen psicológico, en algunos casos sus causas pueden estar relacionadas con desórdenes fisiológicos en el cerebro.
Es por ello que los científicos que han estudiado el tema descartan de plano cualquier tipo de vínculo entre el comportamiento sexual durante el sueño -como también se le conoce- y las representaciones oníricas eróticas, los comúnmente conocidos 'sueños húmedos'.
De hecho, registros clínicos dan cuenta de que entre las manifestaciones que abarca el 'sexsomnio' se incluyen conductas propias de la seducción, las cuales van desde simples caricias hasta la consumación genital. Por supuesto, la masturbación, el desnudismo espontáneo y las palabras de grueso calibre sexual dirigidas a la pareja también están en el repertorio detectado por los investigadores.
Sin embargo, aunque no existen datos sobre prevalencias de sexomnio, ejemplos de diferente índole han empezado a ser detectados por la comunidad científica en los distintos rincones del planeta.
La revista española Neurología, de agosto pasado, describe el caso de un hombre de 31 años que mientras dormía se desnudaba y acariciaba sugestivamente a su pareja, en episodios que no duraban más de cinco minutos. La constante era una posterior amnesia total sobre el hecho, acompañada de períodos de somnolencia durante el día.
Una situación de similar naturaleza reportó la Asociación Australiana del Sueño, al describir la historia de una mujer de Sidney que empezó a levantarse de su cama durante las noches para salir de casa y mantener relaciones sexuales de manera inconsciente con transeúntes desconocidos en las inmediaciones de su residencia. Ella fue descubierta por su esposo, quien luego de despertar en varias madrugadas y no encontrarla a su lado, decidió seguirla.
Como las anteriores, las situaciones que se han presentado son de múltiple naturaleza. Un estudio realizado por el Centro de Trastornos del Sueño de Minnesota y el Centro de Narcolepsia de la Universidad de Stanford (EE.UU.) analizó a 31 afectados por sexsomnio y concluyó que el 31 por ciento de ellos presentó episodios de masturbación y el 45 por ciento de caricias sensuales.
El análisis determinó que el fenómeno se daba de igual forma en hombres y mujeres. Sin embargo, otros estudios, como el presentado por el neurólogo español Ángel Guerrero Peral en el Congreso Nacional de la Sociedad Española de Neurología, en abril pasado, estableció que el sexsomnio predomina en el género masculino.
De acuerdo con la explicación del psiquiatra y sexólogo Carlos Pol, no existe una certeza absoluta sobre cuáles son las reales causas que desencadenan la aparición del 'sexomnio' en una persona ni qué regiones del cerebro intervienen para generar la conducta.
Los investigadores que han tratado el tema en diferentes países solo tienen algunos indicios para explicar cuál es la relación y la actividad que se desarrolla en el cerebro y cómo actúan entre sí durante el sueño en la generación de comportamientos de esa naturaleza. Pero, no hay un argumento concluyente para definirlo.
Precisamente, esto ocurre por la dificultad para documentar el tema debido, en esencia, a la resistencia natural de los eventuales afectados a reportar la situación, bien sea por vergüenza o desconocimiento. "Probablemente se trate de una patología infraestimada debido al sentimiento de culpa o pena que su narración provoca en los individuos que la sufren", reconoce el neurólogo Guerreo Peral, en su artículo de la revista Neurología.


Sexual behavior in sleep (SBS)Sleepsex, "sleep sex" or "sexsomnia" or "SBS" is sexual behavior that occurs during sleep. Some people seem to enjoy it and view it with a sense of humor. However, it can be disturbing, annoying, embarrassing and is a potentially serious problem for some couples and individuals.
"This week my fiance awoke me four times during the night. He put his hands down my panties and started stroking my vagina and my rectum. He groped my breasts. Both of these activities are things he normally would do during sex - the nature of the touching didn't seem out of character. I assumed he was making overtures and pushed him away. An hour or so later, it would start again. The third time, when I pushed him away he asked, "Am I bugging you?" The fourth time it happened I got out of bed and went to the couch. I was furious. I felt violated and like a piece of property. He is an intimate sleeper always but this has never happened before. He swears he has absolutely no recall. We have had some trust issues in the past so this is particularly difficult for me to believe. I did a reality check with some friends and they think it's sheer nonsense that he does not remember anything. However, when I went to your site I started to doubt their counsel and my own instincts. My fiance does have a history of sleepwalking and bedwetting as a child. He told me once that he made love to his first wife (20 years ago) and had no recall of the experience. He has also told me in the past that sometimes he wakes up and he is sleeping with his arm straight up in the air. I feel like I am going crazy. I was married to a compulsive liar and am terrified of making that mistake again. On the other hand, if he is telling the truth I feel horrid for falsely accusing him of lying. I am ready to end this relationship, which will be devastating for all of us. If you have any insight into this episode, I would very much appreciate it."
"I noticed your site on the internet off of a link from MSN.COM. Me and my fiance are experiencing a problem with sleep sex. Most nights that she falls asleep for a few hours she starts moaning and soon is masturbating and acting out sexual acts in her sleep. She has spoke to her doctor and he doesn't seem to think anything serious about it. She was put on an antipsychotic pill that only seemed to change the pattern for a couple weeks and then she went back to her usual sleep sex. She discontinued the pill at this point. If you can offer any suggestions or help it would be greatly appreciated."
"Me and my wife have been having a very difficult time since our marriage began four years ago. At night I become a very aggressive person in bed only to awake to a horrified wife that knows all to well what I have on my mind. It is only when she awakes that I realize what is going on. I do have a very difficult time at night sleeping. I get up every night. She has been so patient with me until recently the unwanted sex has become more aggressive. Our marriage is on the brink of divorce because of this obsession. She brought in an article that explains sleep sex! I read this and to my surprise I am astonished at what I was reading. I am looking a mirror image of what is happening to me. Is this just a convenient excuse for men with a sex obsession? If there is more information about sleep sex I would really like to know. I am in desperate need of answers to the question of what is going on."
“We are in a very awful dilemma. My husband has sleep sex. He had done this for years with his previous girlfriend. Anyway, his stepdaughter from the other woman claims that when she spent the night my husband was touching her inappropriately. When the police questioned him yesterday he had to admit to that problem that he has done all his life and he said he did not know if he had done anything to the girl. He hoped to god not. My husband is the greatest man and this thing doesn’t bother me when it is between us. We will be seeing an attorney. I know my husband and he would not do this. But he is scared if he did.”
As early as 1996, (Shapiro, Fedoroff and Trajanovic, 1996) SBS was identified as a medical condition that may place one at risk of being accused of sexual assault. Thus, if a person is aware of their SBS and takes it seriously, this knowledge may carry with it some accountability for not taking actions to prevent sexual misconduct.
SBS is listed in the most current (revised) edition of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-2), which is the diagnostic manual used by sleep medicine practitioners to make diagnoses. Although it is recognized as a sub-type of parasomnia, "sexsomnia" is not included as a particular type of sleep disorder with its own diagnosis.
SBS is mentioned in the ICSD-2 and recent medical research suggests sexual behavior in sleep is a distinct form of sleep-related behavior in the class "parasomnia" (Shapiro et al, 1996; 2003; Schenck & Mahowald, 2005). Over the past five years information in the popular realm has become available (e.g., articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Details, Newsweek). A Web search will yield a number of information sources. However, the community of legal and health professionals and the lay public remain largely "in the dark" when it comes to SBS and its clinical and forensic implcations.
In fact, when one discovers their own SBS, usually after being informed about their behavior by a bed partner, they themselves are unlikely to believe that could behave in such a fashion. Often this is a source of conflict in couples as it is embarrassing to accept it as fact. Even when one reports another's (that is, a person complains he/she has been fondled, etc., by a person who clearly appeared to be asleep), to a friend or health care provider in an attempt to try to get some support and to encourage their partner to treat his/her SBS, these persons cannot expect others to believe that they have experienced unwanted sexual contact initiated by a sleeping individual.
At present most people know that people walk, talk and eat in their sleep. That sexual behavior also occurs in sleep is not, at present, common knowledge. With increasing media and academic interest in this phenomenon, this will likely change.
If you are experiencing problematic sexual behavior in sleep, find a sleep center and speak with a qualified sleep expert.
References
· Schenck, C.H., Mahowald, M.W. (2005). Rapid eye movement and non-REM sleep parasomnias. Primary Psychiatry, 12(8), 67-74.
· Shapiro, C.M., Fedoroff, J.P., & Trajanovic, N.N. (1996). Sexual behavior in sleep: A newly described parasomnia. Sleep Research, 25, 367.
· Shapiro, C.M., Trajanovic, N.N., & Fedoroff, J.P. (2003) Sexsomnia: A new parasomnia? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48(5), 311-317.