Rhythmic Movement Disorder or Walking in Your Sleep

Comments on article "Rhythmic Movement Disorder or Walking in Your Sleep"
Name Views and CommentsDate
Gail I rhythmically "rolled" my head back and forth from age 9 to 59...I wonder what if any damage was done 7/11/2011
jade My dad is 53 and has rocked in his sleep his hole life ,one time hard enough to put a hole in the wall with his head? 6/14/2011
Cindy my daughter is 24 years old and still rolls head from side to side in her sleep. Is there anything I can do to help her or is she okay? 5/29/2011
helena I do this and I'm 15 5/24/2011
lynn My son is five years old and still rocks back and forth in his bed; sometimes enough to move his entire bed to the middle of the room. It is so sad, as a parent, to see this and feel helpless to stop it. He is very much aware of it and tells me it helps him to sleep quicker but I have noticed that he is extremely hyperactive during the day and demands attention at every turn. I did spend countless hours cradling him as an infant...he was a demanding baby and still is to this day. So, I don't understand how this came about in his life. He started when I had to let him fall asleep on his own instead of depending on me to rock him or singing him to sleep. At first I thought is was harmless and it helped him sleep. The doctor said "not to worry about it" so I figured it was no big deal, but now it just seems like he'll never get over it. Especially 'cause I know he's actually NOT sleeping when he rocks...his body NEVER rests...he's in constant movement 24/7. Any advice? 3/10/2011
Winnie I am 35 and I wake myself up doing this every night. It has caused neck injury and chronic insomnia! If anyone knows of a way to stop it, please post! 12/13/2010
Henry I rock my head and body at night, not every night but most. I am 34 years old and have been married for 15 years now. My rocking has sometimes kept my wife awake because as she describes it, as being alot more violent than regular, and I don't know why. I lost my father at two years of age and my mother at nine, and another article made reference to trauma at a young age, but I don't know to what extent I suffered. I hope I will someday stop, but I don't know. Does anyone have any ideas that may help? It has never really bothered her, but it's not fair. 11/23/2010
Theresa my sister and I are now almost 40. we had "normal" childhoods. we both body rock and head bang. Never heard of RMD until today. Finally have a name to what we do. I have a 4 year old and she has never seen me do this, but she started a few years ago. This article has been very helpful 7/29/2010
Melissa Gardell I am 26 and bang my head or as I call it bouncing. And I wish I could stop but it is so comforting and it makes even my headaches away. ( even as wierd asthat sounds 6/24/2010
Guest i am a female and i'm only 13 but it's been happening ever since i was born and i cant get rid of it. I have to rock until i am tired then i can fall asleep but i just have to rock. please please please help me to get rid of it because i am scared i will never get a husband when i am older because of this. 6/1/2010
joy arnett I am 57 years old. I have rocked the bed rolling back and forth in it while I asleep for years. When I was pregnant with my children this behavior stopped and has returned gradually over the next several decades. Recently it has gotten much worse, to the point where my husband wakes me up and I go into the living room to sleep. Neither of us like this situation but have no idea what to do with it. Social history fits: I was taken away by the state and placed in an orphanage when I was 2 months old. I was adopted at the age of six months. My adoptive parents were very frustrated with this behavior when I was little and I am frustrated with it now. I also have restless leg syndrome and am on medication for that. ANyone help? 3/1/2010
kev i have had rmd since i was born i never rock while i am awake only when i sleep.at the age of 26 i seen a doctor for shaky hands high blood pressure and back ache i told him about my rocking. i got sent to a neurophysiologist and then on to a sleep study for a week. they found i rocked only in a rem sleep and told this was rare. i am on a drug called melatonin that helps a little. think i will never find a cure?oh and i have both my parents and had no child hood problems. i am however a twin? 12/3/2009
tj i am 19 years old, and i have been rocking myself to sleep for as long as i can remember. i always wondered why, but never knew. i rock myself to sleep every night, unless i am really tired i fall asleep, but my wife says i still wake her up rocking and i dont even know it. i thought about having a sleep study done, but it seems like they cant help me at all anyways, plus im not hurting myself. if anyone know anything let me know. 10/12/2009
Tim Daniels Jr Hello, I am a 30yr old male. I first noticed rocking when i was about 5 or 6, i would sit on the couch and bang my head, it felt good to me. When i would lay down and rock my whole body from side to side ( starts on my right side) I would get hit, yelled at, torchured, and much more worse from my family, so in my teens i tried to stop it, come to find out that i would still move in my sleep (not knowing it), when i got married i told my partner that this was a problem for me and has been since i can remember. I am going monday to start the intake process to have a study done on my rocking. Even now i am sitting here rocking (just caught myself again) generally i dont recognise when i am rocking while sitting awake, or when i sleep on my side. I always thought i was alone in this. Thanks a million for posting on here... i done feel so much alone in this. 10/3/2009
Wayne The Doctor prescribed me clonipin. It works, but is a very addictive narcotic. I had to stop. Seroquel seems to work good. That is non narcotic 6/11/2009
Wayne I bang my head, I rock, I roll My leg, I shake my leg, and I'm 42 years old. My fiance laughs at me 6/11/2009
Angel "ISTHERE ANY DRUGS TO TREAT RMD"

em.. nope. My drug was exhaustion. :-p

"Oh, My god, I have this Problem since childhood, Now I'm 36. Its very embarrasing situation, I like to know if there anything can be done"

work till you drop, and then some more		 5/25/2009
Angel Just in-case you are the person, here is the best possible advise you can get regarding the disorder.

I have the disorder. I have had it since the age of 3 and lived through it till 18. I stopped for a short while and start only when extremely stressed.

Stopping myself from rocking was quite possibly the hardest things I did in my life. My trick was to work till I drop. I use to work 15 hours per day in a fast-food restaurant, just to be able to sleep without the energy of doing it. I made sure I was exhausted.

Around 7 - 9 months after I was clear. I must warn you, stress can make you start again. I must mention, I tried to stop for around 6 years before, but, this none of my methods worked, this one however proved to be sucessful.

It's best to talk to your wife about it, as doing this can affect your attitude/perspective and outlook on life.

Don't worry, your not alone, and believe me, stopping it is the hardest thing in the world!

PS: when your stressed, talk to your wife before you start. You will thank me after. Unfortunately I don't have a wife, but my mum helps. :-)		 5/25/2009
Jan My husband, age 55, has been doing the body rolling/rocking back and forth his entire life. He suffers from insomnia and has been diagnosed with Restless Leg Syndrome. He has been given a prescription for Clonipine which seems to help only a little. He suffers from high blood pressure and was recently found to have a compression fracture in his back which the doctor believes to be related to the rocking. He comes from a family where there was not much, if any, nuturing , and both of his parents died when he was young - so the article rings very true. If anyone knows of any other medication or cure for the rocking/body rolling, we'd love to hear about them. 4/6/2009
R L I suffer from this condition - it describes my symptoms so flawlessly that I can't imagine it could be anything else. I've suffered from it since early childhood, practically as long as I can remember. It's difficult to face up to it for me even now I'm 27, as my parents always seemed to treat it as if it were my fault, like a kind of indulgence, even a kind of perversion, when I was a child. One of them, usually my dad, would burst into the room and shout at me, most times I would be half asleep and unaware of what I was doing, and this would be quite shocking. I don't know why they didn't try to ask me what was wrong, or take me to see a doctor about it - maybe they did ask a doctor, who presumably told them it would go away naturally. The condition disrupts my sleep every night, I'm sure it must have drastically affected my whole life. What a pity there is no real understanding of it, much less any cure. I have dealt with it as best as I can on my own all these years, after all it doesn't feel bad when you're doing it, so I assume I will continue to deal with in the same way for the rest of my life. 3/26/2009
RAY D ISTHERE ANY DRUGS TO TREAT RMD 8/3/2008
Dan Oh, My god, I have this Problem since childhood, Now I'm 36. Its very embarrasing situation, I like to know if there anything can be done 6/29/2008
Use the feedback form below to submit your comments.
Your Comments:
Your Name:
Use the form below to email this article to your friends.
Recipient Email Address:
 Separate multiple email addresses by ;
Your Name:
Your Email Address:
More Health and Fitness Articles