Parasomnias in childhood

BACKGROUND Parasomnias are unpleasant or undesirable behavioral, experiential, or motor phenomena that occur predominantly or exclusively during the sleep period (1). They may be classified as dysfunctions associated with transitions into sleep, partial arousals during sleep, or following arousals from sleep (2,3). Parasomnias can be categorized either as primary or secondary. Transitional parasomnias typically occur during wake-to-sleep transitions and can persist into N1 (Stage 1) sleep. Primary parasomnias can be subdivided by the sleep from which they appear, e.g., rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, non-REM (NREM) sleep, or both. Secondary parasomnias are more commonly associated with other organ system dysfunction and manifest symptoms during the sleep period.