# Parasomnias in Post-Secondary Students: Prevalence, Distress, and Coping Strategies

## TL;DR

A study found that most post-secondary students experience parasomnias, which are sleep disorders that cause distress, and often lack effective coping strategies.

## Contribution

This study is the first to examine the prevalence and coping strategies for parasomnias in post-secondary students.

## Key findings

- 92% of students reported at least one parasomnia, with many experiencing multiple.
- Grounding strategies and physical manipulation were common coping methods, though many students did not actively cope.
- High prevalence of parasomnias was found, but distress levels did not always align with prevalence.

## Abstract

Parasomnias are a group of sleep disorders characterized by abnormal and unpleasant motor, verbal, or behavioral events that occur during sleep or during transitions between wake and sleep states. They disrupt sleep and can have a detrimental impact on the individual experiencing them. Our goal was to identify types of parasomnias and their prevalence in the current and recent post-secondary student population and to explore their coping strategies for parasomnias they found distressing. Seventy-seven post-secondary students completed the 21-item Munich Parasomnia Screening (MUPS) frequency scale. They also rated, on a 10-point scale, how disturbing each parasomnia experienced was. Not only did 92% percent of students report at least one parasomnia, but our results also indicate that the vast majority of students experienced several parasomnias. This led us to investigate the likelihood of the co-occurrence of different parasomnias. With respect to the level of subjectively experienced distress, the most prevalent parasomnias were not always the more disturbing. Coded open-ended responses about what students do about the disturbing parasomnias indicate that grounding strategies (i.e., coping strategies that help manage distressing feelings) and physical manipulation of one’s body were the most common, although most participants indicated that in spite of distress, they do nothing to cope. In conclusion, our study found a strikingly high prevalence of parasomnias in this sample of young adults and a lack of knowledge about effective means of dealing with these. Therefore, we provide some accepted ways of dealing with these.