Sleep behavior that may be a sign of dementia – occurs in 90% of patients

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For every 100 people with dementia, 10 to 15 have dementia with Lewy bodies.

Dementia describes a group of symptoms associated with cognitive decline. There are many different types of this mind-depriving condition, with dementia with Lewy bodies being the second most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer's disease. It's caused by the development of protein deposits called Lewy bodies in nerve cells in areas of the brain involved in thinking, memory and movement.

Do you just not feel like falling asleep or do you wake up from a nightmare in the middle of the night from time to time? Everyone suffers from a bad night's sleep sometimes.

However, if your partner or roommates often complain that you scream or kick when you're deep in your sleep, this could be a warning sign of dementia.

People with dementia may have difficulty processing complex emotions or experiences related to past events due to memory loss or cognitive decline associated with the progression of the disease. As a result, these people may try to express themselves through physical actions rather than verbal communication, as these memories become more vivid during sleep states, such as REM sleep, when dreaming most often occurs.

LBG sleep, one of the five stages of sleep, typically begins about 90 minutes after you fall asleep. Dreams during this stage are usually more vivid, fantastical, or even bizarre.

Lewy body dementia can cause rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder, which means you start to physically act out vivid, often unpleasant dreams with vocal sounds and sudden movements.

“These people may exhibit similar actions during sleep, such as talking loudly in bed or making movements that indicate they are performing a task related to what they are currently dreaming about.”

Patients with this disorder may start to punch, kick, scream, and shout in their sleep.