Maria Ntafouli, Andrea Galbiati, Mary Gazead, Claudio L.A. Bassetti and Panagiotis Bargiotas

aSleep Wake Epilepsy Center and Department of Neurology, Inselspital University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; bFaculty of Psychology, “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; cDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences, Neurology – Sleep Disorders Center, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; dCentre for experimental Neurology, Dept. of Neurology, Inselspital University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; eDepartment of Biomedical Research (DBMR), Inselspital University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;fDepartment of Neurology, Medical School, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus

 

ABSTRACT

Parasomnias are abnormal behaviors that occur during sleep and can be associated, in particular during adulthood, with impaired sleep quality, daytime dysfunction, and occasionally with violent and harmful nocturnal behaviors. In these cases, therapies are often considered. Longterm pharmacological treatments are not always well tolerated and often have limited efficacy. Therefore, behavioral approaches remain an important treatment option for several types of parasomnias. However, the evidence-based approaches are limited. In the current review, we highlight results from various nonpharmacological techniques on different types of parasomnias and provide a glimpse into the future of nonpharmacological treatments in this field.

POSTGRADUATE MEDICINE https://doi.org/10.1080/00325481.2019.1697119