People hear more and more about sleep disorders and how the lack of quality sleep causes problems from headaches to poor job performance.

I can attest to the fact that a sleep disorder can give one a headache as I live and sleep with a man who has a sleep disorder. Of course, as is usual in my life, nothing is simple. My husband, who I love dearly, does not have a simple sleep disorder like sleep apnea or snoring, he has REM sleep disorder. Basically this means he sleeps fine but I don't.

Normal people enter a phase of sleep called REM, which is the deepest sleep in the cycle. During this period of sleep a person's body becomes mostly paralyzed. This means you can't physically act out your dreams--unless you have REM sleep disorder.

When you have REM sleep disorder you do things that include talking, yelling, punching, kicking, sitting, jumping from bed, arm flailing, grabbing, shouting and grunting.

My darling husband has ridden horses, fought duels, punched out invaders, flown dragons, caught flying pigs and ridden bikes--all in his sleep. But the worst thing he does is putting his hands underneath my pillow and scratching back and forth over and over and over. Even after I move his hands (I admit, sometimes, not too gently), he will sneak back under my pillow and start scratching.

He has no recollection of most of his dreams, even after I have awakened him and asked about his dreams. He might tell me a little snippet in a disgusted voice (like I should know what he is dreaming). He'll say things like, "I'm riding that horse" or "I'm shooting those people who are breaking in." My favorite is "I have to catch those flying pigs."

He takes medicine, which helps us both sleep, but it doesn't always stop the wild dreams.

Now, when I married him years ago, he didn't do this. It's only been in the last few years that the disorder has developed. In the beginning, he didn't believe me when I told him what he was doing but over time he has come to accept that he is, on occasion a danger to sleep with.

A couple of my brothers like to say I am the cause since he didn't have this problem when I married him. But, being a wise man, my husband insists this is not true.

Afterall a big part of marriage is accepting the good with not so great.

I don't tell him but his problem even works to my advantage. I sometimes get to sleep in on Saturday morning based on not getting enough sleep. Sometimes, he'll even make breakfast before I get up.

But, mostly sleeping with the enemy has taught me to be alert for any intruders, wild horses, flying pigs or dragon attacks, any of which, could appear any night in our bedroom. And, it's even given us a few laughs. Occasionally, we have some very interesting conversations where he agrees to things he has no memory of and is forced to believe whatever I tell him.

So, some morning if you see me looking bleary eyed and tired, give me a cup of coffee and remind me what a good man I am married to. I might even tell you a funny story about how to catch flying pigs.