Sexual behavior in sleep (also termed sexsomnia, sleep sex, or abnormal sexual behavior in sleep) includes a range of sexual or sexualized behaviors ranging from erotic vocalizations to genital penetration, which occur with complete amnesia for the sufferer. Subjects are often shocked and surprised when informed of their activities. Although this parasomnia has gained increasing levels of public and professional attention over the past decade, relatively little is known about the disorder. The need for a better understanding is made more pressing by the fact that sexual behavior in sleep has been the focus of several high-profile court cases involving allegations of sexual assault.
