Case report, 1995
Can sleep terrors and sleepwalking happen only before your period?
Yes. Two cases showed sleep terrors and dangerous sleepwalking that happened exclusively before menstruation. Self-hypnosis helped both, and one also took a low dose of clonazepam.
What they did
Described two cases of women with sleep terrors and injurious sleepwalking linked to their menstrual cycle. One was 17 years old and one was 46. Doctors did sleep studies to confirm the sleepwalking.
What they found
Case 1: A 17-year-old with a 6-year history of sleep terrors and sleepwalking occurred only in the 4 nights before her period, starting 1 year after her first period. Medications did not help, but self-hypnosis at bedtime worked well with benefits lasting 2.5 years. Case 2: A 46-year-old with a 5-year history of sleep terrors and sleepwalking initially not tied to her cycle, but 8 months before she sought care became exclusively premenstrual. Self-hypnosis and clonazepam 0.25 mg at bedtime partially controlled symptoms.
What it means for you
Sleep terrors and sleepwalking can occur exclusively before menstruation. In one case, it resolved with self-hypnosis alone and stayed gone for years. In another, a low dose of clonazepam plus self-hypnosis helped partially. These are two cases, so we cannot know how common this is or which treatment works best.
6
year history of sleep terrors (case 1)
2.5
year follow-up showing benefit (case 1)
0.25 mg
clonazepam dose
About the study
- Original title
- Two cases of premenstrual sleep terrors and injurious sleep-walking
- Authors
- Schenck CH, Mahowald MW
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic obstetrics and gynaecology
- Year
- 1995
- Study design
- Case report
- What was tested
- Self-hypnosis at bedtime; clonazepam 0.25 mg (case 2)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.3109/01674829509042782
Topics
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