How Do You Identify Parasomnia Disorder?
There are many different types of sleep disorders and they each can appear very similar. The most commonly known would be insomnia. However, there is a category of sleep disorders, not so commonly known, which is called parasomnia. Within this category lies three separate sleep disorders: nightmare disorder (formerly called dream anxiety disorder), sleep terror disorder, and sleepwalking disorder. The following article describes and explains the signs and symptoms of these parasomnia disorders. Evaluate for nightmare disorder that is characterized by repeated awakenings from the major sleep period or naps with detailed recall of extended and extremely frightening dreams, usually involving threats to survival, security or self esteem. The awakenings generally occur during the second half of the sleep period. On wakening from the frightening dreams, the person rapidly becomes oriented and alert (in contrast to the confusion and disorientation seen in sleep terror disorder). The dream exp
