Head Banger - Sleep Disorders Message Board

Zeta · 01-04-2001, 03:57 AM

My friend has what I believe to be rhthmic-movement disorder, he bangs his head continuously in his sleep. He says that he has done it since he was three and will move in his bed until he finds a wall to bang against. He is an otherwise pretty 'normal' guy, highly intelligent (phD) and has never been able to find anyone that knows much about it - his doctors said he'd grow out of it. He is now 27!! He had an attentive (cuddling) mother and doesn't think it would be related to a lack of being held etc. Any ideas??

[This message has been edited by Zeta (edited 01-05-2001).]

joy · 01-04-2001, 06:24 PM

My sister and I both 'bang' or 'rock' while awake. My sister bangs her head against the wall [we are in our 50's]. We have done this since very young. I have just discovered that babies who are not held much or nutured, do this throughout their lives. Your friend does it in his sleep, so I don't know if this applies. Both my sister and I had a not-so-nuturing mom. However, my baby brother was her joy in life and was cuddled, etc. [he's quite a few years younger than my sister and I] and he does not 'rock' or 'bang' Remember the Romanian babies in the orphanage over om that country, televised a few years ago? Those babies rocked back and forth; they were almost never picked up and held. It may soothe anxiety for your friend; though done unconsciously.