ArticleSleep2015
Pain in Sleepwalking: A Clinical Enigma.
Article in Sleep, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brain localization and morphological changes in NREM parasomnias. A systematic review study.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2025Pooled it
- Migraine and sleep disorders: a systematic review.The journal of headache and pain · 2020Pooled it
- Mechanistic Overlaps Between Sleep and Headache Disorders: From Dopaminergic Dysfunction to Neuroinflammation-A Narrative Review.Clocks & sleep · 2026Review
- Self-Reported Precipitating and Priming Factors for Somnambulism in Adult Sleepwalkers.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- Forensic Evaluation of a Single Episode of a Disorder of Arousal in a Sleepwalking Defense: Cognitive Function Versus Prior Clinical History.Sleep science (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2023Review
- Diagnosis and Management of NREM Sleep Parasomnias in Children and Adults.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Parasomnias in Pregnancy.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Violent and Complex Behaviors and Non-Restorative Sleep Are the Main Features of Disorders of Arousal in Adulthood: Real Picture or a More Severe Phenotype?Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Disorders of Arousal: A Chronobiological Perspective.Clocks & sleep · 2021Review
- Sleep disorder-related headaches.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2019Review
- Sleep Disorders and Migraine: Review of Literature and Potential Pathophysiology Mechanisms.Headache · 2018Review
- Article
- Scalp and Source Power Topography in Sleepwalking and Sleep Terrors: A High-Density EEG Study.Sleep · 2016Article
- Cryptic Restlessness and Sleepwalking.Sleep · 2016Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
objectivesSleepwalking is a disorder characterized by arousal specifically from slow wave sleep with dissociated brain activity that may be related to lower nociceptive state. Our objectives were to assess the frequency of chronic pain, headache, and migraine in sleepwalkers compared to controls, examine the impact and determinants of pain in sleepwalkers, and report analgesia frequency during injurious parasomnia episodes.
designCross-sectional case-control study.
settingData were collected at the Sleep Disorders Center, Montpellier, France.
participantsOne hundred patients with sleepwalking were assessed for disease characteristics, sleep (polysomnography, sleepiness, and insomnia), pain (chronic pain, multidimensional pain inventory, headache, and migraine), depressive symptoms, and quality of life compared to 100 adult controls. Pain perception was retrospectively assessed during injurious parasomnia episodes. MEASUREMENTS AND
resultsRaw association data showed that lifetime headache, migraine, and chronic pain at time of study were significantly associated with sleepwalking (also called somnambulism). Compared to controls, sleepwalkers reported more frequent daytime sleepiness, and depressive and insomnia symptoms. After adjustments, sleepwalking was associated with increased risk for headache and migraine only. Compared to pain-free sleepwalkers, sleepwalkers with chronic pain were more likely to be older and to have greater daytime sleepiness, insomnia, and depressive symptoms, with no difference in polysomnography assessment. Of the 47 sleepwalkers with at least one previous violent parasomnia episode, 78.7% perceived no pain during episodes, allowing them to remain asleep despite injury.
conclusionOur results highlight the clinical enigma of pain in sleepwalking patients with complaints of frequent chronic pain, migraine, and headache during wakefulness but who report retrospectively experience of analgesia during severe parasomnia episodes, suggesting a relationship between dissociated brain activity and nociceptive dysregulation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.