RBD Nightmares (Rem Sleep Behavior Disorder)

I have suffered from nightmares since I was a very young child. I'm not talking about a little bad dream, I mean full-throat screaming, heart pounding nightmares. I'm usually very frightened, but not the go hide somewhere kind of frightened. No, I'm frightened, but I'm usually ready to do battle. I sometimes leap out of bed to chase some imaginary thief or confront a threatening monster. I have skinned my knees badly attempting a flying tackle of some dreamed intruder. I almost broke my big toe kicking some person or thing that appeared beside my bed one night.

As a teenager, I captured an intruder and wrestled frantically with him, yelling for help loudly. My older sister burst into my room and found me whirling in circles, clutching my own arm. That arm hurt for weeks.

It's not always like that. Not too many years ago I saw a figure sitting in a Buddha poise floating in the corner of our bedroom. More curious than scared, I sat up to get a closer look. I then realized that the floating figure was actually me. I screamed myself hoarse over that.

Just a few years ago I found out that this behavior has a name: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD). You are supposed to be paralyzed (atonia) during REM sleep so that you don't act out your dreams (parasomnia). Sleep walking is an example of parasomnia, but REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is worse and shows more aggressive behaviour: kicking, punching.. people get hurt, either the person with the disorder or people unlucky enough to be near them.

I have never hurt anyone but myself, but obviously these episodes are upsetting to my wife (and surely our neighbors when the windows are open). I'm most likely to have these when I'm overtired or stressed. Gosh, it is SO unusual for me to be overtired or stressed, right? Unfortunately, it isn't.

I have read that treatment with drugs such as Clonazepam can help, but I don't like the idea of taking things with side effects that might be much worse than a sore toe or some rug burns. In scouting about, I've read that melatonin might help this also. That has fewer side effects, so I tried it a few times when I felt a nightmare was likely. It may have kept some of these at bay, but it wasn't completely successful.

A neighbor who has had similar problems suggested wearing a sleep mask. That seemed unlikely, and I had not come across that advice in any of my research, but it was cheap enough to try. To my surprise, it is pretty effective. Not 100%, but far more so than melatonin.

The only problem with the sleep masks we've found at drugstores is that they are cheap and apt to fall apart after a few washings. You need to wash these even after one use or risk eye infections. I've also found that because they have foam inside, the soap tends not to rinse out easily and that can be an eye irritant also. Because of this, we buy new masks frequently. They aren't all that expensive and it sure beats banshee screaming.

I only wear the mask when I think a nightmare is likely. My impression is that if I wear them constantly, I get accustomed to them and am more likely to erupt. I'm not certain that's true, and of course sometimes I misjudge and explode when I did not think it likely, but this definitely has reduced frequency and severity.

If you or anyone you know suffers from RBD, please mention this to them. It's inexpensive and simple to try and it just might help.

RBD and Parkinsons Disease

If you Google "RBD Parkinsons", you will find medical studies suggesting a high risk of Parkinsons disease associated with RBD.  That's disturbing, although those studies seem to focus on men who developed their RBD problems later in life. I have had RBD for at least 50 years and possibly even longer, so these statistics may not apply.  

However, this does show that RBD shouldn't be dismissed as "just nightmares". It might indicate more serious problems.

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