Sleepwalking is classified as a sleep disorder and it consists in the fact that a person performs various activities during sleep - e.g. walking around the apartment, cooking or being aggressive towards others. Until now, it has not been possible to clearly state what the causes of sleepwalking are, but there are some hypotheses about the cause of this anomaly. How to deal with the problem of somnambulism?

Sleepwalking(akasomnambulismlubsleepwalking or somnambulism ) is a disorder sleep belongs to the group of parasomnia. It can actually occur at any age, but most often they sleepwalk young people - according to statistics, just as the prevalence of sleepwalking in the adult population reaches about 1.5%, even 5% of them can sleepwalk among children.

Sleepwalking has aroused human interest for a long time, but in practice it ceased to be so enigmatic only in the 19th century, when a German scientist, Karl Ludwig von Reichenbach, conducted a series of complex studies on the phenomenon of somnambulism. After his descriptions of many different scholars - incl. Sigmund Freud - he de alt with sleepwalking, but despite the enormous amount of research carried out on it, sleepwalking remains one of the most mysterious medical issues to this day.

sleepwalking: reasons

So far no one specific cause of sleepwalking has been identified. Due to the fact that this problem is most common in children, many researchers have already theorized that this type of sleep disturbance can be caused by the immaturity of various structures of the nervous system. Such a basis for sleepwalking is possible, but on the other hand, it does not fully explain the occurrence of this phenomenon - after all, sleepwalking also happens to adults whose nervous system is fully developed.

Nowadays, we know more and more about the role of genes in the occurrence of various he alth problems - probably it is not surprising that many researchers looked for the causes of sleepwalking in the human genetic code. It turned out thatgenes have a certain influence on the emergence of somnambulism in people- according to one study, when one parent sleeps, the child has a 40% risk that they will sleepwalk themselves, and then when both of themparents sometimes perform various activities in their sleep, the risk that similar disorders will appear in their child may be up to 60%.

There are certain he alth problems that may increase the risk of sleepwalking. Among them, the following are mainly mentioned:

  • bedwetting
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Tourette's team
  • sleep apnea

It is also mentioned that sleepwalking may appear after taking certain medications - among the measures that may result in inappropriate behavior during sleep, the following are mentioned :

  • some antipsychotics
  • beta blockers
  • some antidepressants

It is also pointed out that problems such as chronic, severe stress, sleep deprivation, fever or improper sleep hygiene can promote sleepwalking.

Looking at the above, it is clear that there are many potential causes of sleepwalking, which, however, makes some people walk, eat or perform other activities while sleeping - we don't really know that.

sleepwalking: symptoms

Typically, sleepwalking takes place during slow wave sleep, or more specifically during the NREM sleep phasewithin the first one or two hours after falling asleep . During an episode of sleepwalking the patient may haveeyes open , he or she even has a conversation with someone, but it should definitely be emphasized here that lunatyk is not aware of what he is doing- when you manage to wake him up during sleepwalking, but also in the morning, after night, he doesn't remember what he did during the night. Waking up episodes vary in length, typically from a few to about thirty minutes. It is characteristic that it is very difficult to wake a sleepwalker walking around a room.

But what exactly do people who experience sleepiness do? Well, they do very different things. Some sleepwalkers just walk around the apartment, then go back to bed and sleep peacefully the rest of the night. Others sometimes talk to their relatives (however, it is difficult to call it a conversation, because the sleepwalker does not logically answer the questions asked), while others happen to prepare meals at night or … cleaning the apartment.

Sleepwalking: extreme cases of sleepwalking

Theoretically, it would seem that sleepwalking is completely harmless - after all, what harm would a few minutes of walking around your own apartment at night cause? In practice, however, the problem is completely differentit really gets serious. A sleepwalking person is not aware of what he is doing - it happens that he or she experiences an injury (e.g. because he will hit a piece of furniture or fall while wandering around the apartment). Sometimes it happens thatsleepwalker tries to leave the apartmente.g. through the window - the threat of such behavior, you probably do not need to explain.

Although it is a rarity, in the literature you can find descriptions of very drastic sleepwalking behavior. There have been reports ofsuicidescommitted during sleepwalking, and evenmurderscommitted by people struggling with sleepwalking. Criminal cases that take place in such cases usually drag on for years - it is difficult to finally confirm or exclude that the killer was unaware of his deeds because of sleepwalking, it has already happened that the perpetrator of the murder used the possibility of sleepwalking as his alibi.

Sleepwalking: diagnostics

Looking at how dangerous sleepwalking can be, people who hear from their relatives that they often perform various activities while sleeping should definitely see a specialist.

The most important in the diagnosis of this sleep disorder are the accounts of sleepwalking relatives who are able to confirm or even record recordings of sleepwalking episodes. The polysomnographic examination is also valuable, during which in sleepwalkers certain abnormalities in the course of sleep may be detected, such as, for example, an increased number of nocturnal awakenings (especially during slow-wave sleep).

Sleepwalking: treatment

Due to the fact that the direct cause of sleepwalking has not been identified so far, there are no single, proven methods of treating this parasomnia. But really different kinds of interactions can be helpful. The frequency of somnambulism episodes can be reduced bytaking care of proper sleep hygiene . For this purpose, you should try to maintain regularity in the time of going to bed and waking up.

You should definitely avoid more engaging activities in the evening hours (such as using a computer or smartphone, watching TV or exercising), and refrain from eating large meals shortly before falling asleep. It is also important that the conditions in the bedroom are as favorable as possible to embrace Morpheus - it should not receive intense noise or light, and the room should also have an appropriate temperature.

Patients whosleepwalking, various methods are recommended, thanks to which they will finally just sleep peacefully, without fear. Psychotherapy can reduce the incidence of sleepwalking in some people, while hypnosis is beneficial in others. Sometimesattempts to pharmacologically treat sleepwalking- this option is used mainly when a person sleepwalks very often and in such a situation they can be recommended, among others agents such as benzodiazepines or drugs from the group of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (e.g. paroxetine).

Sleepwalking: how to deal with a loved one who sleepwalks?

In sleepwalkers, it is undoubtedly extremely important to support them by their immediate family. It is recommended that their relatives try to limit the risks associated with sleepwalking - remember to carefully close the windows or doors to the apartment at night, it is also worth thinking about removing from the apartment or securing those items for which a sleepwalking man can hit himself.

What to do at night, when our child or partner is sleepwalking ? First of all, you should try to calmly lead him to bed - getting into discussions with him or trying to conduct a dialogue with a sleepwalker will most likely fail, after all, he is not aware of what he is doing or what he is saying. What's more, sudden movements or strong attempts to wake up a sleepwalker may end in that our loved one starts showing aggressive behavior towards us. Therefore, most of all calmness, patience and composure are helpful in dealing with a sleepwalker.

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