How sleepwalkers behave. Sleepwalkers, who are they? How to understand that a person is a sleepwalker

The scientific name for sleepwalking is somnambulism. This term means sleepwalking and sleep-talking. It was called sleepwalking because of the strong opinion about the connection of this phenomenon with the activity of the moon. This opinion is erroneous, although the moon can still have some influence on the psyche of people.

Somnambulism is a fairly widespread phenomenon. Worldwide, it affects about 2.5% of the population.

If attacks of sleepwalking occur regularly, you should consult a doctor. It is important to remember that sleepwalking can be a manifestation of quite serious diseases, such as epilepsy. If a person’s sleepwalking is random, then he does not require medical assistance.

Symptoms

Sleepwalkers usually get out of bed during sleep and begin to walk. They can take some purposeful actions and say something. From the outside it may seem that a person is in a state of wakefulness, however, this is not so. If you look closely, you will notice some features inherent in a somnambulist. The person's movements will be slow and smooth. Although the eyes of sleepwalkers are open, they do not perceive or hear anything. Often it seems to them that they are not at home, but in some other place. It is almost impossible to wake up a sleepwalker. On average, such phenomena can be observed a couple of times a week.

Not all sleepwalkers walk around the apartment. Some may simply sit or stand in bed. Others, on the contrary, tend to go outside, can open the door lock and even start the car.

Usually, attacks of sleepwalking are short-lived, lasting no more than half an hour per night. Most often, the sleepwalker himself returns to bed and continues to sleep. In the morning, these people remember absolutely nothing about their nightly adventures.

What are the main causes of sleepwalking?

Many people believe that sleepwalking is a rare mental illness. In fact, this is not true. Sleepwalking is a type of nervous disorder. It should be noted that children and adolescents are most susceptible to this disorder. Among adults, sleepwalkers are much less common - 1 person per 1000 population.

This problem affects only impressionable people who have certain brain characteristics. They have a tendency to form foci of excitation.

It is best for such a person to consult a doctor and undergo a special examination. It will certainly include an encephalogram. Most likely, the diagnosis will be the presence of a focus of epileptic readiness in the temporal lobe. In this case, sleepwalking may be a sign of epilepsy. These people outwardly give the impression of being calm and reserved. But, in fact, they are very emotional.

A person can sleepwalk even when he has a high fever or simply chronically does not get enough sleep. Sleepwalking in adults can also be caused by severe stress.

Sleepwalking is quite common in children and adolescents. According to scientific research, about 15% of children suffer from it. At the same time, the child is mentally healthy. Most often this goes away with age.

Attacks of sleepwalking usually occur at those moments when the child is worried about something. Constant anxiety leads to sleep disturbances and sleepwalking. It is very difficult for a child’s brain to withstand the rapid influx of all kinds of information and impressions. At night, the brain does not rest, but continues to process information. However, the child’s consciousness is switched off.

In addition, it has been proven that sleepwalking can also be hereditary. If both parents are susceptible to somnambulism, then with a very high probability it can be assumed in the child. It is not at all necessary that the child will get up and walk. Sleepwalking also manifests itself through isolated movements of the arms and legs. Or the child may try to explain something to his parents, or persistently ask for something.

What should you be wary of?

Sleepwalking in itself does not pose a danger to humans. However, sleepwalkers can cause harm to themselves or even others during their nightly adventures. About 25% of sleepwalkers cause various injuries to themselves. It happens that people in this state can even fall out of the window. Some sleepwalkers walk on the roof or go outside, which is also unsafe.

As for harm to others, science knows of cases when a person in such a state even committed murder. It is clear that after waking up he remembered absolutely nothing and could not explain his actions.

You need to know that it is impossible to wake a person during sleepwalking. This can greatly frighten him and even cause serious psychological trauma.

How to help a sleepwalker?

First of all, the relatives of such a person must take care to protect him from various possible injuries. It is recommended to install strong bars on bedroom windows. Electrical wires and glass objects must not be left on the floor. Otherwise, the sleepwalker may be seriously injured by tripping over them.

In the case of severe forms of sleepwalking, the person suffering from it can even be tied to a bed. Care must also be taken to ensure that the sleepwalker cannot open the front door and leave the house. Some people place a basin of water in front of the sleepwalker’s bed, and once he gets into it, he immediately wakes up. You can put a wet rag.

All these measures will help protect him from negative consequences.

It is very useful to relax before bed by listening to pleasant, calm music. It is necessary to follow a strict sleep schedule and try not to disturb it. You need to fall asleep in complete silence. Before going to bed, be sure to empty your bladder.

You can’t wake up a sleepwalker, but you need to help him get to bed. This should be done slowly and calmly so as not to scare him.

The nature of the human body and mental state is still not fully understood. There are still many different secrets hidden in it that you should work on for more than one or two days.

(People are sleepwalkers). - The problem of the impact of changing lunar phases on our well-being and on the general condition of the human body during certain periods has not been fully studied. Some representatives of the human race in this period of time are characterized by an exacerbation of sleepwalking, or in other words, active behavior of a person in a dream, when he can lead a truly active lifestyle, moving around the area and talking with others. The human brain is usually switched off and is in a deep sleep phase. This passive-active behavior is called somnambulism in scientific circles. In principle, this problem is quite common; it affects at least 3% of the entire population of our planet. Of these, about half suffer from such outbursts quite rarely, so it is quite early to raise a panic about their mental health. Now, if night walks have become the norm for you, then it is extremely necessary to consult a specialist. After all, such manifestations of not entirely appropriate aggression may be the first signs of weight gain of some disease, for example, epilepsy or the onset of a severe depressive state.

How do sleepwalkers behave?

In fact, you can determine whether a person is sleeping or awake at such a late hour simply by looking closely at him. The gait is very slow and a little awkward, excessive smoothness of movements, a blurred gaze, directed somewhere. A person is sometimes able to adequately answer questions put to him. Typically, such people do not need to be accompanied home. It sounds a little funny, but in fact it is as if they have an auto-radar in their heads, which almost unerringly leads them to their starting position. Whatever happens that night, the sleepwalker will not remember it.

You shouldn't treat such people as crazy. This is rather a temporary phenomenon of a nervous system disorder. This is even more likely to occur with children than with adults, among whom there is one case per thousand people. If this happens, it happens with very impressionable people who are prone to nervousness and frequent worries, as well as with those who have a genetic predisposition to a disease such as epilepsy. Such people should be especially careful. Such a tendency can be easily identified during an encephalogram.

The thing is that often our brain is unable to disconnect from pressing problems and rest in a timely manner, as a result we have a chronic lack of sleep, which, against the backdrop of constant daily stress, results in “sleep vigil” or wakefulness in a dream.

Why is sleepwalking dangerous?

Is a sleepwalker a dangerous person?

This process in itself does not cause harm to the average person, but a collision with the surrounding reality can easily hit hard. What is meant here is not only that during such walks a person can hit objects around him, but can also simply jump out of the window or hit and injure himself on the glass. Although it can cause a lot of unpleasant moments to those around you. History has even recorded cases of crimes committed in a similar state. Therefore, if one of your loved ones suffers from a similar illness, then you should pay attention to this.

Remember one important point

Measures against sleepwalking

That in no case should such a person be deliberately brought out of this somnambulistic state, since this can cause irreparable psychological trauma, lead to severe fear, even stuttering, as a consequence of such a shock. Therefore, it is important for people living next to a person suffering from sleepwalking to be prudent and especially attentive to surrounding things and details; they need to be able to calculate all sorts of risks and try to protect their loved one from possible danger. Therefore, prepare yourself every day for a whole ritual of getting ready for bed. That is, before going to bed, you should clear the space from possible obstacles to movement, that is, remove possible wires, chairs, rugs, in general, everything that you can get caught on and fall.

If you do not live on the ground floor, it is best to put bars or strong shutters on the windows for added security. It is important to clear the space from possible breakable objects. Lock the doors at night, as there are often cases when, in a somnambulistic state, people walked far on foot, and some even managed to get lost. And no wonder, because when they woke up they didn’t remember anything at all. Some people practice tying them to the bed for the safety of loved ones, but this can cause severe shock in their sleep. In principle, it is better to get competent advice from a psychologist.

In general, it is important to provide a person suffering from night walking with a preparatory period of time before going to bed, during which he can calm down and relax, and put his thoughts in order. To do this, you can listen to quiet, pleasant, preferably classical music, take a bath with lavender, drink tea with lemon balm or mint and a little honey. You can read something light before bed. In general, the most important thing is to calm the nervous system of that person as much as possible. There should be, if possible, complete silence during the first phase of sleep, when it is most sensitive. It is important to have more patience, since sleepwalkers are not to blame for their behavior. The “attacks” themselves last absolutely not long, about half an hour.

Of course, it is absolutely not easy to constantly be on alert and keep an eye on others. We can only advise you to be patient and, in addition, be sure to examine your loved one for the presence of a possible parallel development of some other ailment. You can also purchase some anti-anxiety medications with a doctor's prescription. In children, moonwalking stops quite quickly, within a few months. In adults, relapses are periodically possible.

The most important- is to understand the reason that worries a person and get rid of it.

Continuation:

Sleep disturbance. - Insomnia. Treatment.

The human body is sometimes capable of presenting real surprises to its owners. For example, a person feels absolutely healthy, no different from those around him, but this is during the day, and at night he suddenly gets up, begins to walk like a somnambulist, perform some actions, and all this without waking up.

And then it turns out that he suffers from a mysterious ailment - sleepwalking. The article will talk about who sleepwalkers are, what are the causes of sleepwalking, and whether there are methods of treating it.

Sleepwalking - what is it?

Somnambulism is the medical name for a painful psychological sleep disorder, which is popularly called sleepwalking. This term refers to the unconscious and purposeful movement of a person during sleep. When he wakes up, he has absolutely no memory of what he did. And he is very surprised when he hears from others about his nightly “walks.”

It used to be a common belief that sleepwalking was closely related to the full moon. But modern medicine refutes this opinion. According to statistics, approximately one adult in a thousand exhibits varying degrees of symptoms of somnambulism. And in children and adolescents, this disorder is even more common.

Causes of sleepwalking in adults

Doctors have been studying this problem for a long time, but have not yet come to clear conclusions about what exactly causes some people to walk in an unconscious state. The following hypotheses are put forward:

Disturbed phase of slow-wave sleep. True, it is not clear what leads to these violations.
Immaturity of the nervous system. This partly explains sleepwalking in children.
Sleep deprivation (the body's lack of need for it). This assumption is considered to be the closest to the truth. With this type of disorder, the sleep phases seem to be layered on top of each other and thus may seem to be absent. In fact, sleep phases cannot disappear, one phase simply exists against the background of another (slow phase on the REM phase and vice versa). As a result, the lines between sleep and awakening are blurred. That is, all the time a person walks in his sleep, he continues to wake up, but cannot do this.
Emotional fatigue, too much nervous excitement, psychological disorders. These factors can cause sleep deprivation with all the ensuing consequences.
Various mental disorders. It is known, for example, that the development of paranoid schizophrenia is often preceded by a severe sleep disorder. Such a person cannot fall asleep for days, from time to time falling from fatigue into a kind of semi-comatose state.

Symptoms of somnambulism

Who are sleepwalkers? What are the signs by which a person can be classified into this category? This parasomnia (sleep disorder) is manifested by the following symptoms:

periodically walking in a dream with open or closed eyes, performing simple actions familiar to a person;
movements during sleep walking are inhibited, robot-like;
noticeably constricted pupils;
a frozen gaze, as if immersed within itself.

A sleepwalker may not show much physical activity. He sometimes just gets out of bed or sits without moving in space. An individual can remain in this state for several minutes, or even an entire hour. Sometimes, in a state of somnambulistic activity, a sleepwalker is even able to conduct a simple verbal dialogue. The attack of activity ends with the person returning to his bed and sleeping normally, peacefully until the morning awakening.

Manifestations of sleepwalking usually occur in the first third of the night, but sometimes (very rarely) cases of sleepwalking activity are still observed during daytime sleep. A sleepwalker must not be awakened during his “travels.” Suddenly waking up, a person can be very frightened. It is recommended to simply take him to bed and sit next to him until he falls asleep normally. However, it is very difficult to awaken a person in a state of somnambulistic activity. He may not even feel strong pinches or hear loud sounds.

Is sleepwalking dangerous?

Somnambulism itself is not a dangerous disease and does not negatively affect the body. Who are sleepwalkers? Mentally ill people? Not at all! Often, their physical and mental health can be the envy of those who sleep at night with great sound sleep. And yet, sleepwalking poses some danger both for the person suffering from such a sleep disorder and for those around him.

Without being aware of his actions, a sleepwalker can cause serious injury to himself. There are known cases when such people fell out of a window or fell from a roof. A number of scientific works describe facts when sleepwalkers even committed murders; fortunately, this happened extremely rarely.

Security measures

If there is a person in the family who suffers from sleepwalking, you need to take safety measures for him. To do this, the following is recommended:

close all windows tightly at night;
turn off electrical appliances;
remove all dangerous sharp objects;
make sure that the sleepwalker is not disturbed by any light source (night light or moonlight), this can provoke an attack of somnambulism.

Sleepwalking in children

Causes and treatment of sleepwalking - these topics are very important for parents. As mentioned above, children more often “sick” with sleepwalking. Therefore, parents are very worried when they notice that their child is walking in his sleep. But this usually goes away with age. Most often, somnambulism is observed in children aged 4 to 10 years.

Doctors attribute this to heavy loads, which negatively affect the fragile nervous system. Teenagers are also prone to sleepwalking, because puberty is replete with strong emotional outbursts. As a rule, by the age of 20, when both the reproductive and nervous systems are fully formed, the emotional background returns to normal, and “night adventures” remain a thing of the past.

What to do if your child sleepwalks

First you need to analyze what can provoke this condition. If the child is overly emotional, and there is a turbulent nervous environment in the family, then this in itself can be a trigger for a sleep disorder. Drug treatment is unlikely to help here.

Another provoking factor is outdoor games before bedtime. If a child runs around on the street until late and then immediately goes to bed, his nervous system simply does not have time to turn on the brakes. Computer games and late viewing of movies or TV programs also contribute to sleep disorders.

Having made conclusions, you need to take action. It is necessary to improve the emotional climate in the family, replace evening active games with quiet book reading, etc. And, of course, you need to discuss the problem with a pediatrician and child psychologist.

How to treat

Treatment of sleep disorders in adults suffering from somnambulism can be lengthy and does not always lead to success. This problem is poorly solved with the help of sedatives and antidepressants. Scientists believe that the best treatment is to level out the general. A general dry recommendation: you need to avoid stress. Moreover, not only negative emotions, but also overflowing joy can lead the nervous system into excessive excitement.

In adults, treatment of sleep disorders should consist of a whole range of measures:

exclusion of alcohol;
refusal of noisy parties with dancing until you drop;
taking a relaxing bath before bed, etc.

Final word

Now we know who sleepwalkers are. As you can see, it is quite possible to live with sleepwalking and feel good. You just need to follow a number of certain rules.

Health

There is a legend that says that if you wake up a sleepwalker, he can suffer a serious shock and even a heart attack. In reality, waking up from such a dream in itself is not at all dangerous, but if you suddenly see someone walking in a dream, then it’s better not to wake him up, as you will do better for both yourself and him.

While the awakening of a sleepwalker does not pose anything dangerous to his health or the health of those around him, there is still some possibility that, due to the surprise factor, the person may injure himself or injure the one who woke him up.

Typically, a sleepwalker begins to walk when the third stage of slow-wave sleep, called slow-wave sleep, begins. Sleep during this period is very deep; waking up at this stage is the most difficult, although possible. But if you wake up a sleepwalker who is just walking during this stage of sleep, he may experience cognitive impairment, lasting up to half an hour. Scientists also call this condition sleep inertia.

Sleepwalking

Experts in sleep disorders say that if a sleepwalker suddenly wakes up in deep sleep, he will be very scared and will not be able to understand where he is for some time, or will remain in a very agitated state. He can easily push you, not recognize you, or hit you.

However, even if the sleepwalker does not react aggressively, he can still easily harm himself or someone nearby. For example, sleepwalkers often go behind the wheel of their car or go into the kitchen to cook something. With all the ensuing consequences.

Experts advise not to wake up the sleepwalker, but to help him, slowly and gently return to his bed.

Causes of sleepwalking

Why do people become sleepwalkers?

Scientists explain somnambulism by the fact that the brain has a so-called sleep center, which directly controls the sleep itself and the wakefulness of the body, blocks specific nerves and a certain part of the brain during sleep. Typically, the sleep center is closely related to the body, but sometimes it happens that during brain sleep the body decides to stay awake.

But when it comes to a specific case, science throws up its hands. Our body works in cycles called circadian rhythms, which are cyclical fluctuations in the activity of various biological processes that are associated with changes in day and night. Experts say that certain variations in these cycles are associated with the development of sleepwalking.

On the World Wide Web you will find many cases where people suffering from sleepwalking committed very complex actions and actions. For example, they got behind the wheel of a car, flew airplanes, had intimacy with a partner, even robbed and killed people.

However, in fact, all such stories are nothing more than fiction, because in reality, a sleepwalker will be able to get into a car, start it, but he will not be able to drive even a few meters due to the inhibition of absolutely all reflexes.

There is another myth that says that sleepwalkers are very flexible, like cats. It’s as if they can walk on a tightrope, and if they fall from a height, they can land on their feet without even getting scratched. Of course, a very beautiful myth that will also have to be debunked. About a quarter of sleepwalkers cause harm of varying degrees to themselves during their night walks. Often, a person suffering from sleepwalking confuses a window with a door and falls out of the window.

But what to believe? What do we know about this disease - disorder? It is more correct to call sleepwalking somnambulism, which comes from the Latin ambulo - I walk and somnus - sleep. The word "lunatic" comes from the Latin lunaticus - crazy.

Sleepwalking in adults

However, quite often somnambulism is associated with the influence of the Moon on humans, but there is no scientifically proven evidence for this. Experts believe that we, without knowing it, are highly dependent on the Moon, especially at the moments of the full Moon and perigee (this is the point of the Moon’s closest proximity to the Earth).

In fact, sleepwalking is not a rare mental illness, as many people tend to believe. Sleepwalking is a type of nervous disorder that mostly affects teenagers and young children. Among the adult population, sleepwalkers are quite rare - 1 in 1000. Approximately 2 percent of the adult population of the Earth sleepwalk from time to time.

Previously, experts believed that a person suffering from sleepwalking dreams and behaves according to what he dreams, but studies have not been able to prove this assumption. During the period of sleepwalking, a person remains in an unchanged state of consciousness, which is similar to hypnotic.

This condition is manifested by increased excitability of certain sense organs, in the absence or decreased sensitivity of the skin, as well as in a person’s susceptibility to suggestion. Note that approximately 40 percent of sleepwalkers inflict injuries of varying degrees of severity on themselves.

Typically, sleepwalking occurs about 2-3 times a month. A person begins to walk about one hour after falling asleep, which is when the stage of slow-wave sleep, also known as delta sleep, begins.

The gaze of people suffering from sleepwalking does not express anything; it is frozen, the eyes are open, and the pupils are constricted. After walking around the apartment a little, the sleepwalker can feed the pet, drink water, go to the toilet, “talk” with members of the household, and then return to his bed and sleep until the morning. In the morning, of course, he will not remember absolutely anything, he may even say that you are deliberately pranking him, that he did not engage in such eccentricities at all.

Sleepwalking in children

As a rule, in children this condition appears after they have been in a state of tension and anxiety for a long time. Let us add that this problem occurs mainly in impressionable children, in whose brains there is a tendency to develop foci of excitation.

When a child begins to worry about something, at these moments signs of sleepwalking appear, while the child is completely mentally healthy. This is due to the fact that it is quite difficult for a baby to digest a large influx of impressions and information, so the brain does not rest even at night, but continues to work.

Moreover, in those suffering from sleepwalking, the phases of sleep do not change smoothly, like in an ordinary person, but rather quickly and sharply. It is precisely during a sharp change in phases that our brain endures heavy loads. When everything is normal, the child sees pictures in his sleep filled with different actions, while the center of movements in the brain is blocked.

For those suffering from sleepwalking, this blocking is completely disabled. Nerve impulses begin to enter the muscles, and the child gets up, walks, sits, etc. As you grow older, the nervous system adapts to the world around you, and attacks of sleepwalking gradually disappear. Experts say that by about the age of 13, children are completely freed from this scourge.

In the case of adults, things are somewhat different, because here sleepwalking can be a harbinger of the development of serious diseases, for example, epilepsy. If you wander at night, be sure to visit a specialist and undergo an examination, including an encephalogram of the brain. You need to make sure that there is no or no focus of epileptic readiness in the temporal lobe.

But there are other options for the development of events. Occasional episodes of sleepwalking can be triggered by high fever, chronic lack of sleep, or severe stress.

Sleepwalking has an unusual variation called sexsomnia. This is a mental disorder, due to which a person begins to show sexual activity in a dream, even to the point of engaging in intimate intimacy.

In the Middle Ages, they tried to hide sleepwalking from the public, because the relatives of the sleepwalker were very afraid of persecution from the Inquisition. There was even a “Witches Hammer” instruction, which stated that lunatics are people possessed by evil spirits, and they must be executed by fire or drowning.

What do the cruel Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare and the kind boy Brett from Stephen King's Cujo have in common? Nothing, except one thing: both of them were wandering in their sleep and “doing” something very important to them. Let us remember the reaction of others: fear, the same among medieval people and the modern mother of a guy. Should you be scared?

Sleepwalking is the popular name for a common sleep disorder, synonymous with “sleepwalking.” The second name is closer to the scientific one - it is a literal translation from Latin of the compound word “somnambulism” (from the Latin “somnium” - sleep and “ambulo” - walk, move). The name “sleepwalking” also goes back to the Latin language, which has the word “lunaticus” - dependent on the phases of the moon, possessed, possessed. The Russian version of this word “lunatic” has so organically entered the Russian language that it seems “native”. And, unfortunately, it contributes to the emergence of superstitions: in fact, somnambulism is very, very indirectly related to the phases of the celestial body.

It is directly related to other phases - namely, sleep.

There are two phases of sleep in humans: slow and fast. The first is gradually falling asleep and falling into deep sleep. The second can be easily noticed in a sleeping person - his eyeballs move under the eyelids, breathing and heart rate may speed up, and involuntary movements may appear: the person is dreaming. This two-phase cycle lasts about an hour and a half and can be repeated several times during the night (depending on the duration of sleep in general). Sleepwalking occurs closer to the end of the first phase of the first or second cycle. It hardly manifests itself during the day - daytime sleep is too short and less deep than nighttime sleep.

Sleepwalking cannot be called a rare disorder - according to statistics, one in 50 people in the world suffers (or has suffered from it). Most often these are children aged 4 to 10 years (there is an earlier onset of somnambulism, and a later ending). Adults wander in their sleep much less often.

Briefly about sleepwalking in the video. Zurab Kekelidze, deputy director for science of the V. P. Serbsky Center for Psychiatry and Narcology, comments.

What does this disorder look like from the outside? The symptoms of sleepwalking are difficult to confuse with any others:

The first and main symptom is the ability to act in a dream. And it doesn’t have to be walking! Occasionally, sleepwalkers can simply sit up in bed, sit and lie down again, they can also simply wander around without any obvious purpose - but very often they perform some kind of action of varying degrees of complexity, interacting with both real and imaginary objects. In the above example, Stephen King described just such a case: a boy was “feeding his dog,” his dishes were real, but the food was imaginary.
The somnambulist’s eyes are open, but his gaze is unseeing, “glassy,” “to nowhere.”
Lack of clear consciousness. Even if a sleepwalker performs some actions (sometimes of increased complexity - acrobatic tricks, playing the piano) exactly the same as in reality - nevertheless, he does it automatically, without controlling his actions with consciousness. He does not see or hear the world around him, and if he talks, it is to himself, do not be deceived, do not try to ask him questions.
Lack of emotion. Emotions in this state also “sleep” - pay attention to the expressionless face of the sleepwalker.
Final dream. All episodes of sleepwalking have the same ending: the sleepwalker either returns to bed or falls asleep wherever necessary.
Subsequent amnesia. After waking up, the somnambulist either remembers absolutely nothing about what he did at night, or remembers something vague that does not give an overall picture.

A common superstition: you should not wake up a sleepwalker, as he may go crazy. It is a myth. A person will simply be disoriented or even frightened (especially if it is a child) - if he was woken up in a place other than where he fell asleep.

This is completely natural. The worst thing that can happen when a sleepwalker awakens is that if something wakes him up at a dangerous moment, injury or more serious consequences may occur (the most striking example is a sleepwalker standing on the edge of a roof).

Physiological “mechanism” of somnambulism development

The true mechanisms of somnambulism still do not have a comprehensive scientific explanation, but there is a very convincing hypothesis: when a healthy person falls asleep, inhibition processes begin in the brain. Consciousness “falls asleep.” But with somnambulism, individual areas responsible for motor activity and coordination of movements cannot be inhibited.

This is not a full-fledged sleep - something similar happens, for example, with very tired people who fall asleep while standing in transport on the way from work, with sentries and security guards at their post: after all, the motor function of both of them is preserved, they also stand , and do not lie down. So is a somnambulist - she sleeps, but at the same time she moves.

The causes of sleepwalking in children and adults are partly common. It can be:

severe stress or living in a state of chronic stress,
regular lack of sleep,
brain diseases,
side effects after taking medications.

In adults, alcohol or drug abuse may also be a cause.

Children are more susceptible to sleepwalking due to age-related mental weakness, extreme receptivity (a child is often bombarded with such a flow of new information and impressions during the day that the brain is unable to completely “disinhibit” even in sleep) - and sleep characteristics. The slow-wave sleep phase in children is much deeper than in adults.

Risk factors for somnambulism

There are factors, the presence of which poses a risk of sleepwalking. This:

genetic predisposition (presence of sleepwalkers in the family);
high temperature during illness;
poor diet causing magnesium deficiency;
nocturnal asthma attacks;
in women - heavy menstruation or pregnancy.

Diseases that often accompany sleepwalking

Unfortunately, often - especially in adults (but also in children!) somnambulism “can’t walk alone” - but is a predictor or consequence of many diseases:

epilepsy,
brain tumors, cerebral aneurysms, migraines,
diabetes mellitus,
Parkinson's disease and senile dementia,
neuroses and panic attacks,
severe cardiac disorders.

The dangers and consequences of sleepwalking

The main danger of sleepwalking is the risk of serious injury. Without realizing what he is doing, a sleepwalker can go out into the street, through a window, try to get behind the wheel, or cross the road right in front of moving traffic. And simply injure yourself while doing something at home - getting burned, cutting yourself, dropping something heavy on yourself, breaking something.

The second trouble associated with sleepwalking, especially if its phase is long and the episodes are frequent, is not a full-fledged sleep. While awake, the sleepwalker will be lethargic, lethargic, and feel a loss of strength.

The third is sleepwalking, especially in children; upon awakening, it can cause a feeling of fear, depression, disorientation both in space and in one’s own personality: “if I went to bed and woke up in the kitchen, am I crazy?!” Therefore, it is better not to wake up a sleepwalking child (it is difficult to explain to him what is happening), but to carefully help him get to bed.

What should relatives of an adult sleepwalker do?

If there are warning signs, convince your sleepwalker of the need for a medical examination and be sure to accompany him there: you will be able to tell the doctor more than the sleepwalker himself, and besides, your moral support is important to him - especially if he himself is worried about his deviation.

What parents need to know about sleepwalking in children

Remember - normally there are no serious reasons for concern; childhood sleepwalking most often disappears without a trace with age. Just be careful and follow the recommendations for safety and prevention of sleepwalking episodes.

The main thing is not to panic yourself. The slightest deviations from the mythical “norm” scare suspicious and narrow-minded people almost to the point of hysteria. You are not medieval cliques, are you? No “he needs to go to the madhouse!” and “she’s crazy!” If a person does not have mental or mental abnormalities while awake, they will not appear from sleepwalking!

When should you see a doctor about sleepwalking? If your adult relative or child has a one-time episode of sleepwalking - and you know for sure that this is due to some kind of stress, emotional “overload”, severe fatigue - there is no need to rush to see a doctor. You should be concerned when:

episodes occur frequently and often seem to “out of nowhere”;
if a sleepwalking child has turned into a sleepwalker teenager (sleep does not normalize with age);
atypical symptoms are observed;
The behavior of a sleepwalker is dangerous for him or others.

To help the doctor quickly assess the situation, help him:

record the time the sleepwalker goes to bed, the time the episode of sleepwalking begins, its duration, describe the behavior during the episode and upon awakening;
think about the reasons that could provoke an episode of somnambulism;
Make a note of how your sleepwalker eats and what medications they take on a regular basis.

After a conversation with the patient and examination, the doctor will prescribe the necessary, in his opinion, research methods. It can be:

Ultrasound of cerebral vessels,
polysomnography,
consultations with other specialists to diagnose possible somatic diseases that provoke the development of somnambulism.

Learn more about what a sleep EEG is, why it is carried out and how informative this study is

Principles of treatment of somnambulism

Treatment of sleepwalking in adults

In adults, sleepwalking is treated by treating the underlying disease (if any), stopping the drugs that caused sleepwalking, and prescribing drugs that affect sleep phases (in low dosage, treatment duration is 3-6 weeks). Hypnosis is sometimes used. If sleepwalking does not go away, although all possible causes have been eliminated, the patient’s lifestyle should be reviewed and changed:

categorically exclude the use of alcohol (there is nothing to say about drugs);
change your daily routine in favor of long and regular night sleep;
minimize stress both at work and at home (perhaps the patient just needs a break from literally everything!);
Avoid long periods of sitting in front of a monitor or TV, especially before bed.

Treatment of sleepwalking in children

If no underlying diseases are identified, sleepwalking most often disappears without a trace with the onset of puberty or a little later. To avoid episodes of somnambulism, you need to:

establish a daily routine and ensure that the child sleeps as much as he needs to feel normal;
eliminate stress factors - in kindergarten, school, at home;
do not allow your child to “go crazy” or “get stuck” in gadgets before bedtime (especially if he likes aggressive computer games). And in general, time in front of the computer and TV should be limited - the child will sleep much better after sports activities or playing in the fresh air.

How to avoid injury and repeated episodes? All prevention of sleepwalking comes down to one phrase: create a safe environment for sleepwalkers in your home!

You can't stay awake all night controlling it: it won't take long for you to become a sleepwalker yourself. Of course, it is not advisable to leave him alone in the room, but this is not always possible. Therefore let him:

will not be able to climb anywhere and fall down (remove bunk beds and a sports corner, block the stairs to the second floor);
will not pick up anything sharp, fragile, or heavy;
will not be able to open windows and the front door, turn on gas and electrical appliances, or find matches or a lighter;
trip over something under your feet;
hit hard on some overly protruding corner of the furniture (move, block, neutralize with a soft cloth).

Be sure to make sure that the sleepwalker sleeps in the dark - no floor lamps or night lamps, even close the curtains - suddenly there is a full moon (an episode can be triggered not by the moon as such, but by any flash of light). Naturally, do not turn on the electric light without making sure that the sleepwalker is awake.

In especially severe cases (the sleepwalker is physically strong and there is a possibility of not being able to cope with him during the period of activity, and the episodes are frequent and dangerous), you can tie him to the bed at night. Of course, without causing pain or causing circulatory problems!

A little trick sometimes works: you can lay a rag soaked in cold water in front of the sleepwalker’s bed. Instead of a rug. Once the episode begins, touching something wet and cold will wake the person up.

Don't be afraid of manifestations of sleepwalking! We are not the ancient Greeks, who did not distinguish it from madness, and we are not the medieval obscurantists who burned unfortunates “possessed by the devil” at the stake. Manifestations of sleepwalking can be completely cured or significantly smoothed out - it all depends on you!