Husband catches his wife having sex while sleepwalking
Freud 'would have been very excited'
Siri Agrell
National Post with files from Agence France-Presse
Friday, October 15, 2004
An Australian doctor claims to have treated a woman who sometimes left her house and had sex with strangers while fast asleep -- until her husband caught her in the act, that is.
Dr. Peter Buchanan, a sleep physician at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, will present his findings on a disorder he has labeled "sleep sex" to the Australian Sleep Association this weekend, but a Canadian psychiatrist cautions there may be more influencing the woman's behaviour than just an active dream life.
Dr. Buchanan claims the woman was unaware of her activities, which came to light after her partner caught her in the act.
"He was aware of some sleepwalking and there was circumstantial evidence, including the unexplained presence of condoms around the house," Dr. Buchanan said. "On one occasion, he awoke to find her absent from the bedroom and searched until he found her -- engaged in such activity."
But Dr. Harvey Moldofsky of the Centre of Sleep and Chronobiology at the University of Toronto, cautions the woman may not have been sleeping, but in a dissociative state.
"You really have to be sure that a proper psychiatric assessment was carried out," Dr. Moldofsky said. "They may have no conscious awareness of what they're doing, but unconsciously they're acting out some hidden agenda."
Dr. Buchanan admitted some initial skepticism about the case, but said brain tests while the woman was sleeping indicated she was unusually likely to rouse from deep sleep without passing first through lighter sleep patterns.
The woman was treated successfully with psychotherapy, he said.
Sleepwalking is not uncommon, and Dr. Moldofsky said it is even possible to engage in sexual activity while asleep. But in a ''hysterical dissociative state,'' which he said would explain such extreme behaviour, the person is actually awake. Sleep is not part of it," he said. "They're in an altered state where they are acting out unconscious wishes."
The most famous Canadian case of a dissociative act occurred in 1992, when Torontonian Kenneth James Parks drove more than 20 kilometres to his in-laws' house, killed his mother-in-law with a tire iron and severely injured his father-in-law. He then drove to the nearest police station, where he claimed he was asleep throughout the incident.
Dr. Moldofsky said the Australian woman's sleep-capades would have delighted Sigmund Freud.
Freud 'would have been very excited'
Siri Agrell
National Post with files from Agence France-Presse
Friday, October 15, 2004
An Australian doctor claims to have treated a woman who sometimes left her house and had sex with strangers while fast asleep -- until her husband caught her in the act, that is.
Dr. Peter Buchanan, a sleep physician at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, will present his findings on a disorder he has labeled "sleep sex" to the Australian Sleep Association this weekend, but a Canadian psychiatrist cautions there may be more influencing the woman's behaviour than just an active dream life.
Dr. Buchanan claims the woman was unaware of her activities, which came to light after her partner caught her in the act.
"He was aware of some sleepwalking and there was circumstantial evidence, including the unexplained presence of condoms around the house," Dr. Buchanan said. "On one occasion, he awoke to find her absent from the bedroom and searched until he found her -- engaged in such activity."
But Dr. Harvey Moldofsky of the Centre of Sleep and Chronobiology at the University of Toronto, cautions the woman may not have been sleeping, but in a dissociative state.
"You really have to be sure that a proper psychiatric assessment was carried out," Dr. Moldofsky said. "They may have no conscious awareness of what they're doing, but unconsciously they're acting out some hidden agenda."
Dr. Buchanan admitted some initial skepticism about the case, but said brain tests while the woman was sleeping indicated she was unusually likely to rouse from deep sleep without passing first through lighter sleep patterns.
The woman was treated successfully with psychotherapy, he said.
Sleepwalking is not uncommon, and Dr. Moldofsky said it is even possible to engage in sexual activity while asleep. But in a ''hysterical dissociative state,'' which he said would explain such extreme behaviour, the person is actually awake. Sleep is not part of it," he said. "They're in an altered state where they are acting out unconscious wishes."
The most famous Canadian case of a dissociative act occurred in 1992, when Torontonian Kenneth James Parks drove more than 20 kilometres to his in-laws' house, killed his mother-in-law with a tire iron and severely injured his father-in-law. He then drove to the nearest police station, where he claimed he was asleep throughout the incident.
Dr. Moldofsky said the Australian woman's sleep-capades would have delighted Sigmund Freud.
