M*A*S*H star Alan Alda reveals the unusual sleep habit that led to his Parkinson's diagnosis

Alan Alda reveals the first symptoms of Parkinson’s disease he experienced, and it wasn’t any of the most commonly seen ones that first come to mind.

The M*A*S*H star recently revealed his earliest indicator of the neurodegenerative disease that impacts 90,000 new people every year, per the American Parkinson’s Disease Association.

Alda has been on our screens for decades, way back when in 1963, when he appeared in the medical drama, The Nurses.

After that, he was cast in notable roles until 2022, when he reprised his role as Dr Arthur Armoit in Ray Donovan: The Movie, starring Liev Schrieber.

But in 2015, the West Wing alum was first diagnosed and shared last year that he was also experiencing prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness.

Alan Alda was diagnosed with Parkinson's (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

Despite people usually associating with Parkinson’s tremors, that’s not the first thing Alda noticed.

“I had a symptom, which at the time was not that well-known: acting out your dreams,” the 90-year-old told CBS Sunday Morning.

Known as REM Sleep Behavior Disorder, or RBD, the Mayo Clinic describes it as physically acting out your dreams.

It notes that ‘the onset can be gradual or sudden, and episodes may occur occasionally or several times a night. The disorder often worsens with time’ and may display itself as movements such as 'kicking, punching, arm flailing or jumping from bed, in response to action-filled or violent dreams, such as being chased or defending yourself from an attack’.

A person might also make ‘noises, such as talking, laughing, shouting, emotional outcries or even cursing’ as well as ‘being able to recall the dream if you awaken during the episode.’

REM is the state of sleep which occurs during rapid eye movement, where you experience your most vivid dreams, and usually, the body is paralyzed.

However, with certain conditions - like Parkinson’s - result in involuntary movements.

“I had a dream that somebody was attacking me,” the Emmy winner explained. “And I picked up a sack of potatoes and threw it at ’em. What I was really doing was throwing a pillow at Arlene, my wife.”

Caused by a buildup of a protein in the brain known as alpha-synuclein, the part of the brain which controls muscles becomes damaged, leading to this type of symptom manifesting.

Per Parkinson.org, ‘sudden movements during sleep may be a sign of Parkinson's disease’ and that includes movements included above.

He says he threw a pillow at his wife (Getty Stock Images)

There are two types of RBD, known as symptomatic (secondary), and isolated (idiopathic).

Symptomatic is typical when the movements are caused by another ailment, but idiopathic happens when the condition happens without a cause.

However, may lead to a neurodegenerative condition, like Lewy body dementia, or Parkinson’s.

According to a study, if you have an RBD diagnosis, you are 33 per cent more likely to develop a neurodegenerative condition after five years.

It also found that the risk increases to 76 per cent after 10 years and 91 per cent at 14 years.

After his diagnosis, the actor told People that managing his Parkinson’s had ‘gone from a part-time job to almost a full-time job keeping track of all these little solutions.’

“But it keeps me always looking for the funny side,” the actor shared.

“Almost every day I’m finding a new way to do something,” the father of three revealed. “It’s a little like a game. I’ve found whatever the little problem is, if I keep at it, I can eventually solve it, and then I feel like a million bucks. It’s a way to have a good time under poor circumstances.”