Medically known as somnambulism, sleepwalking is a disorder that involves performing motor activities while asleep, including walking, eating, dressing or even driving. Because sleepwalkers enact these activities during deep slumber, they're unaware of their actions and rarely remember their sleepwalking episodes after waking up. Sleepwalking can occur in individuals of any age, although this disorder is more common in children than adults.
Symptoms
Sleepwalking involves several symptoms that distinguish it from normal sleep activities. During a sleepwalking episode, sleepwalkers may have their eyes open, exhibit a blank facial expression, walk or perform other detailed activities like dressing or moving furniture, sit up and speak nonsensically, MedlinePlus explains. Upon arousal, sleepwalkers may act confused or disoriented and claim to have no memory of the sleepwalking experience. In some cases, sleepwalkers lie back down in a different location and fall back into a normal sleep cycle.
Causes
Although the exact cause of sleepwalking is unknown, it may be triggered by mental disorders, medical conditions or, in adults, drug and alcohol consumption. In children, sleepwalking is associated with fatigue, anxiety and sleep deprivation, and in the elderly it may be an indicator of organic brain syndrome. Because sleepwalking tends to occur early in the night during deep rapid-eye-movement -- REM -- sleep, if it occurs in the morning during REM sleep it may be linked to a REM behavior disorder.
Statistics
According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleepwalking occurs in up to 15 percent of the general population, and is most likely to occur in children between three and seven years old. Children who wet the bed or experience night terrors tend to have more incidences of sleepwalking than their peers, and up to 2 percent of school-aged children sleepwalk on a weekly basis. Sleepwalking may have a hereditary component, as children whose parents are sleepwalkers are more likely to have this disorder themselves.
Treatment
In children, sleepwalking episodes typically subside with age, although there is no specific treatment for halting their occurrence. The National Sleep Foundation notes that medications such as sedative-hypnotics or antidepressants can help reduce sleepwalking in adults, and some sleepwalkers benefit from hypnosis. When sleepwalking is triggered by drugs, alcohol, sleep deprivation, anxiety or other controllable factors, changes in lifestyle and sleep habits can help prevent sleepwalking.
