Could acting out your dreams be a sign of Parkinson’s disease?

Acting out your dreams could be a warning sign of Parkinson’s disease. According to an eight-year study presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, how the body behaves during certain sleep phases is highly linked to development and progression of neurodegenerative disease like Parkinson’s.

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The sleep phase experts say is most indicative of diseases like Parkinson’s is that known as the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) phase, the sleep interval where dreaming occurs and when the body enters a state of self-induced paralysis. Degenerative brain conditions seem to affect the regions of the brain associated with REM before they spread to those linked to Parkinson’s, therefore, a REM disorder could be a precursor to more serious brain conditions down the road.

This pre-Parkinson’s phase is called rapid-eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD).

““Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD or REMSD) is not just a precursor but also a critical warning sign of neurodegeneration that can lead to brain disease,” researcher John Peever, MD, told Forbes. “It’s important for clinicians to recognize RBD as a potential indication of brain disease in order to diagnose patients at an earlier stage. This is important because drugs that reduce neurodegeneration could be used in RBD patients to prevent (or protect) them from developing more severe degenerative disorders.”

Approximately 80 to 90 percent of people with RBD will develop Parkinson’s or another degenerative brain disease, say researchers, and one of the first symptoms is acting out dreams. Acting out dreams indicates there is an issue with the body’s self-paralysis system.

“REM sleep disorder is a condition described as active, vivid and sometimes violent dreaming. Bed-partners  describe restless dreaming that can include talking, screaming, punching and even getting out of bed to physically’ act out a dream,’” explains the Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation. “This condition occurs during REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep when dreaming happens.  During REM sleep our bodies lose muscle tone preventing movement while dreaming. During REM sleep disorder, body muscle tone or ability to move is maintained. This, coupled with active dreaming, can lead to sleepless nights and harm to the person or their bed partner.”

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If you have recently experienced the acting-out of dreams, don’t panic. Not all restless nights mean degenerative brain disease is on the horizon. To evaluate yourself and your REM sleep experiences, the Foundation recommends:

• “First, inform your healthcare provider about this problem.
• Review your use of bedtime medicines such as Benadryl and antidepressants that can influence REM sleep.
• Review timing and type of Parkinson’s medicines as medicines that increase confusion and hallucinations may also increase your risk of this problem.
• Avoid alcohol before bedtime.
• Make your time before bed a relaxing time. Avoid watching violent movies, stressful tasks or the evening news. Relax and unwind instead with gentle stretching and music.
• Remove furniture and clutter from the room that would be a trip hazard in the event you ‘act out your dreams.’
• Use you sleep mask or oxygen as prescribed if you have sleep apnea.
• When needed medical treatment can help. Melatonin is sometimes helpful as is a prescription medicine called clonazepam. Clonazepam is similar to Valium so does have additional risks of sedation, confused imbalance.
• Talk to your doctor is you are experiencing thinking or cognitive problems as these problems can be associated with REMSD.”