Students Speak on Sleep: Parasomnias Prevalence and Implications

Parasomnias are sleep disorders involving abnormal events occurring during sleep. We investigated the prevalence of parasomnias in the post-secondary student population. Ninety-three percent of students reported at least one parasomnia. The most prevalent one was nightmares followed by hypnic jerks, sleep-talking, and bruxism. We found that there was a significant relationship between nightmares frequency and psychological distress and neuroticism. Additionally, the overall frequency of parasomnias had a strong relationship with psychological distress and neuroticism.