Located in Tucson, Arizona, Pima Lung & Sleep offers luxurious hacienda-style sleep laboratories with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment. Pima Lung & Sleep evaluates and treats a variety of respiratory disorders as well as sleep disorders.

1. By Pima Lung & Sleep

2. A Brief Introduction to
Parasomnias
Located in Tucson, Arizona, Pima Lung & Sleep offers
luxurious hacienda-style sleep laboratories with state-
of-the-art diagnostic equipment. Pima Lung & Sleep
evaluates and treats a variety of respiratory disorders
as well as sleep disorders.

3. A Brief Introduction to
Parasomnias
The term “parasomnia” refers to any sleep-related disorder
that cannot be classified as sleep apnea. Some occur while
the patient is falling asleep, while others may partially
waken the individual or cause him or her to behave
abnormally while still deeply asleep. One such
disorder, REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), causes an
individual to act out dangerous behaviors while dreaming.
These actions are made possible by an abnormality that
shuts down the paralysis that characterizes normal REM
sleep. A casual observer may confuse this disorder with
sleepwalking, one of the best-known parasomnias.
Although sleepwalking does bear a visual resemblance to
RBD, it does not involve the dream state.

4. A Brief Introduction to
Parasomnias
Other disorders, such as sleep terrors, also known as night
terrors, come about when the individual awakens
abruptly, yet not fully. Persons experiencing a night terror
will partially emerge from sleep, terrified and unable to
interact with their surroundings, and typically will fall back
to sleep after the episode. This condition closely resembles
confusional arousal, which causes a person to wake during
deep sleep and appear disoriented and unable to respond
to questions or commands. By contrast, parasomnias such
as sleep paralysis occur while a patient is in the process of
falling asleep and causes an inability to move the
body, while the mind is aware.