Bruxism Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Bruxism, including details on grinding teeth, sleep, headaches, treatment.

Clinical identification of the simple sleep-related movement disorders.

Walters AS

JFK Medical Center, New Jersey Neuroscience Institute, 65 James St, Edison, NJ 08818, USA. ArtUMDNJ@aol.com

Simple sleep-related movement disorders must be distinguished from daytime movement disorders that persist during sleep, sleep-related epilepsy, and parasomnias, which are generally characterized by activity that appears to be simultaneously complex, goal-directed, and purposeful but is outside the conscious awareness of the patient and, therefore, inappropriate. Once it is determined that the patient has a simple sleep-related movement disorder, the part of the body affected by the movement and the age of the patient give clues as to which sleep-related movement disorder is present. In some cases, all-night polysomnography with accompanying video may be necessary to make the diagnosis. Hypnic jerks (ie, sleep starts), bruxism, rhythmic movement disorder (ie, head banging/body rocking), and nocturnal leg cramps are discussed in addition to less well-appreciated disorders such as benign sleep myoclonus of infancy, excessive fragmentary myoclonus, and hypnagogic foot tremor/alternating leg muscle activation.

Published 11 April 2007 in Chest, 131(4): 1260-6.
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