Table 2 Sample dialogues of men with rbd and their wives^a

57 Year Old Man with RBD and Wife:

 “It seems like I am extra strong when I sleep.”-man

  “It almost seems like a force picks him up.”-wife

  “He is sleeping and his body is in motion.”-wife.

  “I don’t think he ever could hit as hard while awake as he hits during sleep. A year ago he punched right through a wall board in our bedroom at our lake cabin.”—wife.

  “Oh yes, there were always bloody sheets.” wife

67 Year Old Man with RBD and Wife:

  “It’s amazing. You should see the energy behind that activity. Oh, it’s so unreal.”—wife.

 “He pounded my head one night and my head still hurt for another 2 weeks.”—wife.

  “His legs go fast, just like he’s running.”—wife.

  “We’ve put as much distance between us in bed as we can.”—wife.

  “I didn’t really sleep soundly until he got up in the morning.”—wife.

65 Year Old Man with RBD and Wife:

 “I was wrestling someone and I had her by the head. What scares me is what a catastrophe that would be to wake up and find that I had broken her by the neck.”--man

 “This went on for 3 years, and then I retired—but nothing changed afterwards whatsoever.”--man

  “What happens to people like my husband who don’t get diagnosed? Do they kill their wives in these experiences? Do we know?”—wife.

70 Year Old Man with RBD and Wife:

 “I didn’t remember the dream because I knocked myself out.”--man

 “The next morning I asked her what I had done, and she told me I had beat her.”--man

 “It was hard for me to sleep, because I never knew when I was going to get hit.”—wife.

“When all this started, I figured it was part of getting old, part of being normal, I guess.”--wife

75 Year Old Man with RBD and Wife:

 “I just started kicking—the big, faceless, shapeless figures were still there. And my wife was afraid for herself, the dog, and for me.”--man

 “I told him I’d have a Devil of a time explaining how I got a broken arm in bed with both of us asleep.”—wife

 “When a man his size comes down on that floor, honestly, it’s a miracle he has not broken a hip or a shoulder.”—wife.