Do people who sleep walk act out their dreams? Is it safe to wake them up? Do they sleep walk because of their guilty conscience? Are they crazy? When they sleepwalk, do they do that with their arms open wide and their eyes closed?
Sleepwalking is a puzzling phenomenon. People who are in deep sleep can be walking around, putting on their clothes, sitting up, or just talking gibberish; when they wake up the following morning, they normally do not remember that they did anything while they were sleeping.
People who sleepwalk do not have a guilty conscience, are not acting out their dream, and are definitely not crazy; it is just a sleep disorder. Sleepwalking occurs during a stage of sleep that is called Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep; it is a stage where the brain is not active and the body is. REM sleep, on the other hand, is the stage during which people dream and where the brain is active and the body is not.
Why sleepwalking happens is still a mystery; however, there are some possibilities. Sleepwalking is sometimes described as “errors in timing and balance”; it is also described as a disorder of arousal where something triggers the brain to arouse from deep sleep. The person is left in a stage that is between sleeping and waking; in simple words, sleep walking happens when the body is awake and the brain is sleeping.
Sometimes, sleepwalking is related to the genes. Sleepwalking is more frequent in children than in adults; that has a number of possibilities. Children are in the process of growing and during NREM sleep, growth hormones are released; there is a chance that these hormones trigger the arousal that is responsible for sleepwalking. Some explain that children’s brains are “too immature to understand cycles of sleeping and waking”.
Sleepwalking in children is not really a matter of concern and they normally grow out of it. However, for adults, it is a different story, especially if sleepwalking started in adulthood; in that case, it could be a matter of concern. It could either be related to sleep disorders or organic brain disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Most people who sleep walk do that with their eyes wide open; they have a fixed look and an expressionless face. Normally, sleepwalkers do not harm themselves and do not harm others; but in some cases, they can be dangerous to themselves and to others.
There is nothing wrong with waking a sleepwalker up but some advice taking them gently to bed so that they do not do any harm. It is advisable for people who sleepwalk to sleep in a place where they can be safe. For example, if a child sleepwalks, it is considered safer if he/she does not sleep in a bunk bed. Moreover, a parent should make sure to lock doors and windows.
Sleepwalking as a condition that could be dangerous to the sleepwalker has some treatments. One such treatment is hypnosis; medications are also used to end sleepwalking. Sometimes sleepwalking happens because of sleep deprivation, increasing the amount of sleep could help end the problem.
Some people think sleepwalking is funny; however, a number of crimes have been reported where the person who committed the crime was a sleepwalker. Sleepwalking is a problem that should not be left untreated. It is minor in itself and does not cause concern; however, what the sleepwalker is capable of doing unconsciously is something that should not be taken lightly.
References
sleepfoundation.org/
science.howstuffworks.com
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