Sleep Walking Woman Was 'Sex Predator'

Link : http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13234981,00.html



A woman in Australia had sex with several strangers while she sleep walked, a doctor has revealed.

The middle-aged woman had no idea she was sneaking from house to house in the middle of the night looking for love with random strangers.


Her condition was only discovered when the woman's husband woke up to find her not in bed - and condoms strewn around the house.

The sleep disorder is a legitimate and embarrassing condition, said Dr Peter Buchanan of Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Dr Buchanan will discuss the case when he lectures on sleep sex - the disorder has yet to be given a formal title - at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australasian Sleep Association in Sydney.

"It is very complex, elaborated motor behaviour during sleep," Dr Buchanan told ABC news.

"People are often stunned and overwhelmed when they're told what they've been doing."

The partners and doctors of people suffering from the disorder often do not believe the acts were committed while they slept, he said.

"It's very stressful both for them, for their partner or for their relationship," Dr Buchanan said.

"It also promotes an intense sense of embarrassment on their part, their partner's behalf and this inhibits people coming forward to seek potentially helpful professional intervention."