Sleepwalking

A sleepwalking episode generally lasts a few minutes, but can also last longer. Most episodes finish in less than 10 minutes. The person is likely to return to bed and go back to sleep on their own. Sometimes people may also wake up confused while they are still out of bed.

A sleepwalker might:

• Have no memory of sleepwalking 
• May not respond to communication during an episode 
• Have a glassy/lost stare 
• May quietly walk around
• May try to escape or run away 
• Feel tired during the daytime due to disturbed sleep (sleep deprivation)
• Feel disoriented

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Why do people start walking while they are asleep? What is the cause behind it? Before we get to that, let's take a look at what happens in sleepwalking: sleepwalking occurs during the deepest stage of non-rapid eye movement sleep. It is a disorder of arousal. In simpler words, sleepwalking occurs when a person in deep sleep gets partially woken up in a way that triggers physical activity.

Various things contribute to this, including:

• Heredity: Sleepwalking tends to run in families
• Travelling: Changes in sleep setting or sleep environment
• Sleep disorders: Interruptions in sleep due to disorders like sleep apnea
• Medication: Taking medication, especially those prescribed for psychiatric conditions, including hypnotics (sleeping pills) and sedatives
• Alcohol: Consumption of alcohol, especially a few hours before going to sleep, could create instability in sleep stages, increasing the risk of sleepwalking
• Head injury: Conditions like a head injury that affects the brain could be a trigger
• Stress and anxiety 
• Sleep deprivation: Lack of sleep or extreme fatigue are the most common causes of sleepwalking. This is probably because after being sleep deprived, more time is spent in deep sleep
• Illness: Fever and illness make sleepwalking more likely, especially in children, probably due to the increased number of illness-driven arousals

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The condition is usually self diagnosable. If you wake up in a different part of the house and don't remember how you got there, chances are you have been sleepwalking. If you share the house with someone, they may also inform you about the same.

Treatment for sleepwalking depends on how disruptive the episodes are, how frequently they occur and the age of the patient.

In the case of young children, a technique called anticipatory awakening is preferred. In this method, the child is woken up around 10-15 minutes prior to the usual timing of an episode so that they stay awake during that period. This technique can be taken up for adults too and should be done several nights in a row.

Consulting a hypnotist or a behavioural therapist for relaxation techniques is another common technique that is applied for the treatment of sleepwalking.

Medication such as Clonazepam and Trazodone may be prescribed. Your doctor may ask you to discontinue these medicines if you have not had a sleepwalking episode for several weeks in a row. Check with your doctor before taking or stopping any medication.

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