This post originally appeared on the blog Persephone Magazine.
By Teri Floyd
I tilt my head back gracefully, swan-like, and lift my arms high in the air. I bring one hand down and gently graze my arm with my fingers, then repeat the same movement with the other hand; over and over, in a languid, ballet-like dance.
Then my husband elbows me in the ribs. “You’re doing it AGAIN," he hisses groggily. “Roll over and go to sleep.”
It turns out that I’m not performing "Swan Lake" for the masses; I’m performing these odd dance moves for a party of one -- my irritated husband who is lying in the bed beside me.
It’s true. I dance in my sleep.
Every night, ever since I was a small child, I’ve done it. I sometimes wake myself up with my arms high in the air, bringing one hand down to graze my inner arm; then, I repeat the same movement with the other side. Apparently, it is quite irritating to wake up night after night to your spouse performing a ballet dance from her pillow. I wouldn’t know. I rarely remember these episodes.
I’ve often wondered what exactly is going on in my brain to make me bust out with the dance moves in my bed at night. After all, I’m not exactly a big dancer during the light of day. Let’s just say that I could have a dance off with Carlton and Elaine and I’d still lose. And yet I’m jigging it up in my sleep.
In my attempts to figure out this night-time recital, I’ve come across two front runners I suspect may be the culprit.
Sleep related rhythmic movement disorder is a disorder typically seen in infants and small children, and it involves repeated body movements such as body rolling, banging of the legs, and even humming. This is what you’re witnessing if you’ve ever seen a toddler repeatedly bang his/her head on the wall or headboard as they drift off to sleep. Generally speaking, most children who have RMD outgrow it by the time they are in adolescence.
Periodic limb movement disorder is a sleep disorder in which a person’s limbs are randomly moving during sleep with no apparent cause. Typically it involves the arms or legs. It only occurs in 4 percent of people, the majority of them women. It is linked to restless leg syndrome and occurs often in people with anemia or an iron deficiency (I have both due to a blood disorder I had in teenage years.) There are also a host of other factors that can cause it, including stress, exercise, diet, and more. I suspect that this is what I have, but it's never bothered me enough to necessitate a visit to a specialist or consultant to confirm it. So for now, at least, my husband will have to put up with my sleepy dance moves.
Do you dance in your sleep? Punch or elbow your partner? Talk? Giggle? Drool? Tell us about your sleepy-time mischief.
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