Thermo-parasomnia. Prediction of a possible sleep disorder or entity

• Main Author: Rodolfo Soca
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazilian Association of Sleep and Latin American Federation of Sleep Societies 2019-03-01
• Series: Sleep Science
• Subjects: Parasomnias; Sleep, REM; Sleep Wake Disorders; Body Temperature Regulation
• Online Access: http://sleepscience.org.br/export-pdf/575/v12n1a12.pdf

Parasomnias are a group of sleep disorders that are characterized by the presence of undesirable behavioral, experiential, or autonomic nervous system events during sleep initiation, within sleep, or during arousals from any stage of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. During wakefulness and NREM sleep, the hypothalamus plays a central role in thermoregulation. REM sleep has a very distinct thermoregulatory response that is characterized by an inhibition of hypothalamic control over body temperature, with resulting poikilothermia. The role of the thermoregulatory features of REM sleep is currently unknown. Drawing conclusions from other parasomnias one can assume that a disorder could exist in which the thermoregulatory features of REM sleep are impaired. The existence of this condition may have eluded current research because most of the research on thermoregulation has been completed using animal models or healthy volunteers. If this disorder were to exist, it could be associated with metabolic disorders, or with neurodegenerative conditions, and perhaps it could be an early biomarker for alpha-synucleinopathies in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder. New and evolving wearable technologies offer the promise of facilitating the monitoring of core body temperature and the testing of this hypothesized thermoregulatory autonomic disorder and its clinical correlates.