Review: Sleepsex: Uncovered

SLEEPSEX: UNCOVERED

Michael Mangan, PhD

Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2001
108 pages, paperback, $17.84
ISBN: 1-4010-3766-6
ISBN: 1-4010-3767-4 (eBook, xlibris.com), $8

Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg

Some people walk in their sleep. Some thrash and kick, and even attack others. And some engage in sexual acts, from fondling to masturbation to intercourse.

Although men predominate, women also may instigate sexual behavior in sleep, says psychologist Michael Mangan. Men initiate intercourse while asleep more often than women.

People who initiate sex acts may have no memory of doing so and deny it while awake. People who have been the target of such behavior may be too distressed to discuss it with others, Mangan reports. Some fear others would doubt their word. Some people feel victimized and pursue legal action, accusing the perpetuator of rape, attempted rape, or another form of assault.

Mangan set up a website on this topic, surveying about 200 visitors on their experiences with sleep sex. About half said they'd had personal experience with it. About 50 described their experiences, and for the majority, sleep sex proved disturbing, an experience that alienated partners and prompted embarrassment and fear. Some reports will raise readers' eyebrows much as they might in a courtroom: they involve adult men who made their way to young teenagers' beds. Some site visitors said they didn't mind or even liked their partner's interest in sex while asleep; one woman reported her husband was more passionate then than he was when awake.

This is not a scientific study, of course. Cases of people who engage in sexual activities in sleep have been described in scientific papers, however. Sleep lab studies have verified that such behavior can occur.

Consumption of alcohol or excessive sleep deprivation triggers the problem in some, so avoidance of those activities may help prevent episodes. The person who engages in sexual acts while asleep should consider spending the night in a sleeping bag that's fully zipped up. A partner might choose to sleep in a separate bed or bedroom. Some medications also may be helpful. Mangan has performed a service by drawing public attention to this little recognized problem.