“Dream Driving” is caused by sleeping pills – drug-related sleep movement disorders On a day in May 2006, U.S. Republican Congressman Patrick Kennedy drove his car into a road safety barrier outside the Capitol, a matter that shocked the local media. What made the story so remarkable was Kennedy’s claim that he was “dream driving,” that is, a person who wakes up at night in his sleep and then drives around without realizing it or remembering it. The reason why he “dream driving” because of the previous taking a sleeping pill caused, according to which he thought he was under the effect of drugs in the car accident, so not guilty, the court ultimately only sentenced him to one year of probation and mandatory drug treatment. Shanghai Mental Health Center Psychiatry Hongwu Patrick Kennedy referred to the “dream driving” that is sleepwalking, that is, “sleepwalking”. Only, with the book “Cao Cao dream kill” is different in Kennedy’s sleepwalking due to take sleeping pills. As a result, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared that all prescription sleeping pills have the potential to cause “dream driving,” which means that a person will drive on the road in an unconscious state. There is not just one type of sleeping pill that can cause dream driving, but any type of drug that has a “sedative and hypnotic” effect. Other sleepwalking activities may also occur, including talking on the phone, eating, sexual activity, and endangering one’s own life or the lives of others. In fact, the drug-induced sleepwalking as early as the Tang Dynasty during the Kaiyuan years, Tang Zhengxin wrote the novel “Kai Tian Chuanxin Ji” of the “Dongming Guan Taoist” chapter has recorded: “Kaiyuan years, Tang Ming Huang in the Palace of a favorite consort said sleepwalking at night, was invited to a secret room, indulge in wine and seclusion, extreme joy and return, wake up but still in the palace, but the false sweating, tired, depressed. ” Allegedly, at that time, the favored concubine sleepwalking at night may be Dongming Guan Taoist priests use of sweat medicine or hypnotic techniques. However, in addition to “sleepwalking” this relatively complex behavior, drug-induced abnormal behavior or action during sleep, also includes some simple body movements and discomfort. Such as feeling inexplicable movement of the legs and feet, feeling pain in the legs, seemingly insect bites, burning and ants crawling sensation, feel that the feet are always quiet, need to stretch the legs or get up and walk in order to alleviate, and so on. Although these problems are not as alarming as “sleepwalking” and do not easily attract attention, the probability of this happening is very high and very close to us. Some people don’t realize it because the symptoms are mild. Some people think it’s some other illness and shop around for medical attention; some people refuse to take medication because they have these discomforts; and some people have trouble sleeping because the discomfort causes them to have trouble sleeping, which in turn leads to the constant use of sleep aids. Of course, there are many reasons that can cause these abnormal behaviors and actions during sleep. One of the most important and common of these is related to the medication being taken, as described in some of the chapters in this book. As the saying goes, “A coin has two sides” and so do medications. “Drugs can cure diseases, but they can also cause illness or discomfort, and in serious cases, can be life-threatening. [Case Replay] Mrs. Shen, 67 years old. Three months ago after waking up, found that the right side of the body has no strength, can not walk, speech is also slurred, look in the mirror when found that the corners of the mouth are crooked. Because the old man has always had a history of high blood fat, high blood pressure, so the old lady’s family immediately thought it might be a “stroke”. As expected, the doctor confirmed that the old lady had indeed suffered a “stroke”. Fortunately, Mrs. Shen recovered under the doctor’s treatment and was able to walk normally. However, the old lady found that her legs seemed to become still, especially at night, her feet were sore and numb, she didn’t know where to put her feet, and sometimes she had to get up and move around to feel more comfortable, and thus she could not sleep. After the doctor’s diagnosis, it turned out to be the old lady taking lipid-lowering drugs. After the doctor adjusted the medication, the above phenomenon soon disappeared. The old lady appeared this problem is caused by the drug “restless legs syndrome”. Because Mrs. Shen originally did not have sleep problems, so the leg discomfort and sleep disorders soon attracted attention. Many patients who already have sleep problems, emotional anxiety, fidgeting, etc., often find it difficult to remember that they are drug-induced. I once treated a depressed patient who, because of the unexpected death of his father a few years ago, gradually developed poor sleep, low mood, always depressed, and even thoughts of not wanting to live. After being hospitalized and given antidepressants and sleep aids, his mood gradually improved, he slept better and better, and he no longer had negative thoughts. However, after several weeks of treatment, the nurses always reported that the patient did not sleep well and often got up in the middle of the night to take a walk, and when asked about the reason, they could not tell us why. At that time, our staff was very nervous, fearing that the patient would get up in the middle of the night to see if he would have thoughts of lightening his life. After communicating with the patient, the patient reflected that he always had discomfort in his legs, as if ants were crawling, and he didn’t know where to put them. As a matter of fact, the culprit was precisely the antidepressant he was taking, and the matter was later resolved after symptomatic treatment. Reading this, you may be wondering exactly which medications may cause abnormal behavior and movement problems during sleep? There is certainly nothing more widely reported than some sedative sleep aids, antidepressants and psychotropic drugs. There are also a number of internal medicine drugs, such as antiemetics, anti-allergics, anti-hypertensives, lipid-lowering drugs, and even some Chinese herbs that may cause these problems. As to why medications cause abnormal behavior and movement problems in sleep, the reasons are very complex. It may be related to certain neurotransmitters, to certain vitamins, or the medication may be interfering with normal sleep rhythms, and so on. So, how do we distinguish between a manifestation of the disease itself, or a type of sleep movement disorder caused by a medication? Simply put, if these sleep behavior and movement problems mentioned above clearly appear after medication, and are relieved when the medication is discontinued, and worsened by increasing the dose, then it means that they should be medication-induced. The specific manifestations of several sleep movement disorders are not covered here in this article, and the reader can learn about them in other sections. The purpose of this article is mainly to tell you that if you have a certain behavior and physical discomfort related to sleep, and at this time you are taking a certain drug, you need to rule out the possibility that it is caused by the drug. When you go to the hospital, it is important to inform your doctor of the medication you are currently taking to avoid misdiagnosis and mis-treatment. “Dream driving” is really dangerous, the cause of sleep aids. Drugs can be toxic, and their manifestations are different. Consideration should be thorough, do not be suspicious, medical treatment should be timely, do not forget to tell the history of the drug.