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Somnambulistic eating: A report of three cases
Author(s) -
Whyte Jamie,
Kavey Neil B.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/1098-108x(199009)9:5<577::aid-eat2260090514>3.0.co;2-c
Subject(s) - psychology , psychogenic disease , etiology , arousal , sleep (system call) , sleepwalking , consciousness , non rapid eye movement sleep , developmental psychology , psychiatry , sleep disorder , cognition , neuroscience , electroencephalography , computer science , operating system
Abstract Somnambulism is a disorder of arousal that often includes complex, wake‐like behavior with an unclear connection to conscious wishes. During episodes of somnambulism, appetitive behaviors are unusual and, when they do, occur, raise questions as to the true state of consciousness of the patient. This is the first report of somnambulistic sleepeating in which polysomnographic studies were performed to document the sleep‐related nature of the nocturnal eating. During all‐night sleep studies, three patients complaining of eating during sleep had episodic behavior in non‐REM sleep, consistent with a somnambulistic etiology. In all three patients, a conscious preoccupation with food was present and two patients showed a high percentage of slow‐wave sleep. These findings suggest a concurrence of organogenic and psychogenic factors, that has been postulated previously to underlie somnambulism in adults.