ABSTRACT
Parasomnias are defined as ‘‘undesirable physical events or experiences that
occur during entry into sleep, within sleep, or during arousals from sleep’’ (1).
The large number of parasomnias underscore that sleep is not simply a quiescent
state, but can involve complex episodes of movement, ranging from subtle to
dramatic and complex. The obvious, prolonged, dramatic events are most likely
to raise concerns of patients, relatives, and clinicians, prompting medical eval-
uation (1). As delineated by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders,
Second Edition, parasomnias are classified as (i) disorders of arousal [from non-
rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep], (ii) parasomnias usually associated with
rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and (iii) other parasomnias (1).
