Why do I wank in my sleep?

There are a number of different factors that can affect how people behave when they’re asleep.

Dreams can have an impact on a person’s actions, as can alcohol or drugs. Obviously this behaviour seems strange, especially as you have no memory of it, but it doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong. It may simply be down to you dreaming about masturbating or having sex.

There’s also a sleep disorder sometimes known as ‘sleep sex‘, which involves a disruption to the normal dreaming stage of sleep. The medical term for this problem is REM behaviour disorder (RBD) and it occurs when the body’s not immobilised during sleep and may act out dreams. Treatment often involves finding what may be triggering the behaviour, which can include alcohol or stress.

If what happened continues to bother you, you might to consider talking to your doctor (GP), if only to put your mind at rest.