Alan Alda reveals sleep habit that led to Parkinson’s diagnosis

Alan Alda revealed he was physically “acting out [his] dreams,” which he described as a “not that well-known” symptom of Parkinson’s, before he was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease.

“I had a dream that somebody was attacking me. And I picked up a sack of potatoes and threw it at ’em,” the “M*A*S*H” actor, 90, explained in a new interview with “CBS Mornings.”

“What I was really doing was throwing a pillow at Arlene, my wife,” he added.

Alda — who received his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2015 but waited three years to reveal the news publicly — said that he initially didn’t have the more common symptoms of the disease.

“I had no twitch, no tremor, no problems with my voice,” he said.

Instead, he was showing signs of REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD), where the brain fails to paralyze skeletal muscles during REM sleep, which causes a person to act out their dreams.

RBD is often linked to Parkinson’s, though not everyone with the sleep symptom is diagnosed with the neurological disorder.

Alda explained to “CBS Mornings” that he relies a lot on his sense of humor to cope with how Parkinson’s affects his daily life.

“I’ll be at the computer keyboard writing an email, and Dr. Parkinson is moving my hand all over the screen. I have the mouse, and he’s eliminating things and he’s deleting things that I need,” he said with a laugh.

“Once in a while, I get frustrated,” the actor continued. “But I find what makes me laugh about it, and then I go tell Arlene.”

The Emmy Award winner did admit, however, that he’s hated the fact that his wife of almost 70 years has to help button his shirt every morning.

“I do hate it, but the only thing that’s helpful is, ‘What haven’t I tried?’ And pretty soon, you get the feeling, ‘If I keep looking for new ways to try this, I’ll get a solution,’” he shared.

Alda also said he tries to remain in “reality” amidst his health battle.

“I don’t want to wish it away. I can’t wish it away,” he noted. “I can’t hope for a better future. I gotta accept what is.”

Alda added, “I don’t let Parkinson’s define me. It’s not who I am. It’s just a hobby.”