Beware! Yelling, punching and kicking in your sleep may be a signal from your brain for help

Uncle Zhao, 50, has recently made his family worried. Every night after falling asleep, he seems to be a different person. He often waves his arms as if he is struggling, and mumbles incoherent words; sometimes he even sits up suddenly from the bed, shouting and screaming, scaring his family. But when his family hurriedly wakes him up, Uncle Zhao looks confused and has no memory of what just happened.

This situation happened repeatedly, seriously affecting the rest of his family. Uncle Zhao himself was always listless during the day due to poor sleep quality. In fact, Uncle Zhao was very likely suffering from rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) .

What is rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD)?

Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder sounds complicated, but it actually means that when a person is dreaming, the body is out of control and the content of the dream is expressed.

Normally, when a person is dreaming, the muscles of the body are relaxed, as if the pause button has been pressed, and they will not move. But for people with this disease, the pause button fails, and the muscles move when they should and when they shouldn't.

Just like Uncle Zhao, maybe he was experiencing a fierce battle in his dream, and in reality he could not help but punch and kick. Some patients dreamed that they were avoiding danger, and they would roll and struggle in fear on the bed. These seemingly absurd scenes hide health risks!

What exactly causes RBD?

RBD is closely related to lesions of the nervous system. Especially in people aged 50 and above, as they age, their neurological functions gradually decline, and the risk of RBD increases. Some neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy, are often accompanied by RBD. A large proportion of idiopathic RBD patients are also prone to develop neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia after a few years. In addition, brain trauma and side effects of certain drugs may also be factors that induce RBD.

RBD causes more than just a decline in sleep quality. Violent movements in sleep can cause injuries, such as bumping into furniture, falling off the bed, or even injuring a partner. Long-term sleep in this state can also cause psychological problems such as anxiety and depression, seriously affecting the quality of life.

What should you do if you suspect you or someone you know has RBD?

First of all, don't panic. Timely medical treatment is the key. The doctor will make a clear diagnosis through detailed interviews, sleep monitoring and other means. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, there are many treatment methods. For patients with mild symptoms, adjusting their lifestyle may help, such as regular work and rest, avoiding drinking before bedtime and using stimulant drugs. For patients with more severe symptoms, drug treatment + psychological intervention often has a good effect.

If any of the following situations occur, you should seek medical attention at the sleep clinic :

1. Frequent nightmares and abnormal language and movements during sleep;

2. The action is highly consistent with the dream content;

3. Able to recall dreams clearly after waking up.

Neurologists at the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University will use polysomnography to capture the "hard evidence" of abnormal muscle activity during the REM phase, helping patients to diagnose and intervene as early as possible. In addition, RBD patients have a higher risk of neurodegenerative diseases and require regular follow-up monitoring.

Sleep should be a peaceful and beautiful journey, but abnormal REM sleep behavior breaks this tranquility. I hope everyone can pay attention to sleep health and pay more attention to their own sleep conditions. If abnormalities are found, take timely measures to make every night full of peace and comfort and return to sweet dreams.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Wu Jinze, Department of Neurology, Xiangya Third Hospital, Central South University

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(Edited by ZS)