WASHINGTON (Army News Service) — During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, scattered reports surfaced regarding an unusual sleep disorder among some combat veterans.
Col. Vincent Mysliwiec, MD, a sleep researcher, said that upon returning home from combat duty, some veterans were having nightmares with “dream-enactment behaviors.”
These behaviors were troubling, he said. “They’d strike out, scream, yell at their spouse and even run around their bed and at times hurt themselves or others.”
In 2013, Mysliwiec was working at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis, McChord, Washington. It was then, he said when he came across such an instance at the center’s sleep laboratory.