Somnambulism – The Sleep Disorder of Sleepwalking

What Is Somnambulism?

Somnambulism or sleep walking as it is more commonly referred to as is a sleep disorder that affects about 14% of children in the age group of five to twelve years. About 25% of these children will be affected by many episodes of this sleep disorder. It is more commonly seen in boys than girls. This sleep disorder will generally disappear as the child reaches the adolescent age due to the development of the nervous system.

Sleep Walking Disorder

Sleep walking is believed to occur as a result of disruption of the sleeping cycles in the brain. Usually, in a normal person the brain as a whole will be awake at one time. But, in the child suffering from sleepwalking, the brain is not awake altogether. While the child is in a state of deep sleep, the portion of the brain in charge for mobility is awake while the part of the brain helping in awareness and cognition remains asleep.

Owing to this imbalance in the brain, the child is able to move although the brain is half asleep. It is quite common to see sleepwalkers leave the bed and move around. There are some who even dress up and go out. If you observe a sleepwalker, their eyes will remain open although they have a blank expression on their face. If you call out to them or ask them anything, you will not get any response.

The movements of a sleep walker are not very precise and it is quite common to see them tripping over or knocking things as they walk. It is quite common to see sleep walkers taking a walk about an hour or two after retiring to bed. Although an episode usually lasts about fifteen minutes sometimes it can go on for even an hour or longer.

The episodes of sleep walking usually reduce once the child grows up and no treatment is needed. All that one needs to do is to slowly guide the person back to sleep without even trying to wake up the child.

But, a small 1% of these children continue to sleepwalk even when they grow up. Also, there are instances where adults develop sleepwalking while they did not suffer from the condition as children. Sleepwalking in adults could occur as a result of anxiety, sleep deprivation, stress, sleep fragmentation or due to problems like epilepsy.

The treatment for adults who sleepwalk is generally dependent on the type of danger they get into while they have an episode. For example, people who go out during a sleepwalking episode are in more danger in comparison to one that remains indoors and moves around within the house. Some treatment modalities can include hypnosis, behavioral therapy and medications.

It is important to take care if you have someone who sleepwalks to see to it that they are not in any danger during sleepwalking. Some precaution can be exercised to avoid dangers. It is important to avoid leaving any objects on the floor that can hurt the person. The doors should have adequate number of locks to prevent the sleepwalker from leaving the house and going out. Some people even employ the use of bells on the door to make them aware if their child is trying to open the door while sleepwalking. If there is a glass door or window, it is necessary to cover it up with suitable drapes to prevent the person from trying to walk through it while sleepwalking.

Although sleepwalking by itself is harmless, the environment in which they do it can pose dangers during an episode. So, it is essential to try and avoid any such dangers one can face by taking adequate precautions.