Restless Legs Syndrome and Sleep-Related Movement Disorders

Normal sleep is characterized by a relative lack of body movements. In a variety of sleep disorders, abnormal movements may result from pathological arousals, whereas in sleep-related movement disorders the movement itself is the pathological event. Sleep-related movement disorders are typically characterized by simple, often repetitive and stereotyped movements that occur at sleep onset or during sleep and may disrupt sleep. These include restless legs syndrome, periodic limb movements, sleep-related bruxism, sleep-related leg cramps, and sleep starts. These are common disorders that may be barely noticed or, as in the case of severe restless legs syndrome, can be life-altering. Proper diagnosis is essential because effective treatments are usually available.

Moonstruck sleep: Synchronization of human sleep with the moon cycle under field conditions

Before the availability of artificial light, moonlight was the only source of light sufficient to stimulate nighttime activity; still, evidence for the modulation of sleep timing by lunar phases is controversial. Here, we use wrist actimetry to show a clear synchronization of nocturnal sleep timing with the lunar cycle in participants living in environments that range from a rural setting with and without access to electricity in indigenous Toba/Qom communities in Argentina to a highly urbanized postindustrial setting in the United States. Our results show that sleep starts later and is shorter on the nights before the full moon when moonlight is available during the hours following dusk. Our data suggest that moonlight likely stimulated nocturnal activity and inhibited sleep in preindustrial communities and that access to artificial light may emulate the ancestral effect of early-night moonlight.

Ungewöhnliche attackenweise Einschlafstörungen Unusual attack-like sleep onset disturbances

ZusammenfassungUnter Bezugnahme auf einen Fallbericht mit stromstoßartigen Empfindungen im Rachen beim Einschlafen sowie Zusammenzucken infolge Erschreckens dabei und unabhängig davon Zuckungen der Arme oder Beine sowie Apnoen wird auf das Vorkommen von sensiblen oder sensorischen Wahrnehmungen als ungewöhnliche Begleiterscheinungen von Einschlafmyoklonien hingewiesen. Sie können auch ohne Zuckungen als deren Äquivalente bzw. Varianten auftreten und werden sensory sleep starts genannt. Bislang hat das Gefühl des explodierenden Kopfes besondere Beachtung gefunden und ist in der internationalen Klassifikation der Schlafstörungen als exploding head syndrome neben den Halluzinationen angeführt, obgleich es zu diesen gehört.

Hypnic jerks possibly induced by escitalopram

ABSTRACTHypnic jerks or sleep starts are benign myoclonic jerks that usually occur on falling asleep. Various factors like excessive caffeine intake, physical, and emotional stress can increase their frequency. Here we report a case of a female who suffered from hypnic jerks with use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drug escitalopram and responding to treatment with clonazepam.