New Delhi:Delhi-based businessman Shiv Shankar (name changed), met a city-based psychiatrist, along with his homemaker wife, to solve his sleeping problems. He was shocked to discover that he had an uncommon problem.

During interaction, the specialist asked the middle-aged man's partner about his behaviour and was told that her husband sometimes turned violent and forced himself on her.And at times, he started fondling her and then left her alone. The businessman, however, had no recollection of his abnormality the next day.

According to M S Bhatia, professor and head of department of psychiatry at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, the man would not have been treated for sleeping disorders had his wife not revealed his abnormality.

Sexsomnia is a strange disorder that compels the individual to make sexual advances in his sleep. If this problem sounds rather out of the blue, its because of not being reported in India mostly due to embarrassment in admitting the problem.

Globally , its a well-known as a counterpart of sleepwalking and a lot of research has gone into finding the root cause of the problem.

Its a rare medical condition, it's a disorder in which a person doesn't realise or remains amnaesic about his or her behaviour. 

Bhatia, who has written about the subject in the October issue of Delhi Psychiatry Journal, read by 300 psychiatrists across the country, said doctors should always talk to patients' spouses or partners to get the real picture as the person has no clue about it themselves.

"Most people in India are not aware of it. They don't know they have a problem. And even those who know about it hide it or feel embarrassed. Even in the West, people are ignorant about this problem," Bhatia said.