Signs of sleepwalking in adults: how does somnambulism manifest itself, is it true that a person walks with his eyes open, is it possible to recognize the symptoms in oneself?

Greetings, friends!

Despite the fact that sleepwalking is a fairly well-studied sleep disorder, many people still perceive it as a mystical and extremely rare phenomenon. In fact, somnambulism (this is what doctors call this disorder) is present in approximately 2% of the population of our planet. And isolated cases are even more common, and it can be assumed that almost every person has had similar episodes in their life. Today we will talk about why sleepwalking occurs, how it manifests itself, why it is dangerous and how to get rid of it.

Types and forms of the syndrome

There are several types of somnambulism: from the most harmless to aggressive and even dangerous.

Alcoholic

This form of somnambulism occurs with excessive alcohol consumption. A person, having drunk a fairly large amount of alcohol, goes to bed, but begins to walk in his sleep.

Most often, this phenomenon occurs once and does not bother the person anymore. If such episodes are repeated repeatedly, then you should reconsider your lifestyle and consult a specialist.

Sexual

A sleepwalker may exhibit unconscious sexual activity in a dream.
This phenomenon is called sexsomnia.

This form affects people who are sexually promiscuous and consume alcohol and/or drugs excessively.

The manifestation of this form is sexual intercourse in a dream, or other sexual activity. Usually, after this, a person does not remember what happened, and if he does, it is as an ordinary erotic dream.

Sexsomnia is caused by the same reasons as during sleepwalking, but the determining factor is physical contact with the partner. Both men and women are equally susceptible to this form of sleepwalking.

Talking in your sleep

This is rather “mini sleepwalking”, expressed in speaking during sleep. It can occur in any phase of sleep, in contrast to true sleepwalking. And depending on the phase, conversations can be either vague or quite clear.

Speaking in a dream can occur in absolutely anyone. Most often, this type occurs in children and goes away in the future.

But there are also cases when adults talk in their sleep. This may be due to a genetic predisposition. In any case, this phenomenon is harmless.

Bouts of night eating and drinking

Night eating and drinking syndrome is a dangerous phenomenon, although it seems that there is nothing wrong with it.
But in addition to consuming regular food, a person can also eat inedible items: washing powder, paints, various creams...

And if a person wants to cook something in a dream using a gas stove, then this will be dangerous not only for the somnambulist himself, but also for the people around him.

Rapid eye movement behavior disorder

This disorder occurs during REM sleep. The average person has a defensive reaction to movements from dreams.

That is, when a person sees a dream in which he makes any movements, in reality he does not move. But if the defense fails, then this syndrome occurs.

With this form, actions from a dream are embodied in reality. This is already more serious than simple sleepwalking with primitive movements.

In this state, a person can perform complex movements, such as pinching, kicking, jumping and many others. And it is very difficult to wake a person at such moments.

Why does this happen?

For some time, scientists believed that the actions of sleepwalkers are associated with dreams, that is, in reality they do what they dream about at that moment. However, the assumption was refuted by the results of one study. Using electroencephalography—recording the bioelectrical activity of the brain—scientists were able to record the time of the “attack.” It turned out that somnambulism occurs only when the brain is in a state of half-sleep and half-awake. This phase occurs immediately after falling asleep and lasts approximately 90 minutes. All this time, muscle tone is maintained, the person often turns over from side to side, but most importantly, he does not dream.

What advice can we give to parents?

A person suffering from somnambulism should consult a neurologist for examination and treatment.

There are many legends associated with the phenomenon of sleepwalking: it was considered a sign of madness, they argued that it was dangerous to wake up a sleepwalker and that he was acutely aware of danger and could not harm himself. It's all wrong

Somnambulism is by no means a sign of madness; It is very difficult to wake up a sleepwalker - it is better to carefully guide him back to bed; about 25% of sleepwalkers cause various injuries to themselves during night wanderings. It happens that somnambulists fall out of windows, mistaking them for doors.

Sometimes you hear stories about how people drove cars, flew airplanes and performed other complex activities while in a state of somnambulism. In fact, this is unlikely. Although, being in a state of confusion, a somnambulist is able to get into a car and start the engine, he will not be able to drive it normally due to the lack of fast reflexes at such moments - an accident will immediately occur.

In no case should you frighten a sleepwalker; you should try to carefully put him to bed or very calmly and quietly wake him up. Sleepwalking is treatable

Sleepwalking should be interrupted in the same manner as sleep - calmly, in a quiet voice.

How does sleepwalking manifest?

The range of manifestations of somnambulism is quite wide. Sometimes a person simply gets out of bed for a short time, after which he goes back to bed and continues to sleep. But it also happens that he gets up, gets dressed and tries to leave the apartment. If he succeeds, he can go quite far from home. Usually somnambulists return safely, but quite often such a “walk” can end in injury or mutilation.

The most common manifestations of sleepwalking are:

1. The person gets up, sometimes turns around and puts his feet on the floor, after which he sits on the bed for some time as if he had woken up and was about to get up. But then he just lies down and sleeps on.
2. The sleepwalker gets up and leaves the room. Sometimes he can leave the house, get into the car and even start it. In this case, he can pre-dress or go out in pajamas.
3. The person talks, but usually says incoherent and completely absurd things. His eyes are open, but his gaze is “absent.” If you ask him a question, he responds with some kind of nonsense or does not answer at all.
4. If the episode of sleepwalking does not end with injury, the person returns to bed or falls asleep in a new place. When he wakes up in the morning, he cannot remember what happened. At the same time, he feels overwhelmed and poorly rested, even if his sleep time should have been enough for him to get a full night's sleep.

Episodes of somnambulism can occur at different intervals. For some people - about once a month, for others - 3-5 times a month. More frequent manifestations are rare, although medicine knows cases of daily episodes of sleepwalking.

Why might such a condition occur?

When a person sleeps with his eyes open, the causes of this condition can vary significantly depending on his age. If a newborn or older baby sleeps in this way, this may be due to the following conditions:

• Increased fatigue during the day and lack of sleep the previous night. Such situations cause increased excitation of the central nervous system and sleepers experience various small muscle contractions and tone of individual muscles. In this case, the eye muscles may become tense, causing them to become half-open or open.
• Lagophthalmos is a condition that occurs in most infants and is not regarded as a disease. In this case, the baby sleeps and opens his eyes in his sleep, which is due to the predominance of the fast phase in his night rest, characterized by chaotic movements. As a rule, lightly touching the eyes allows you to close them without any harm to health. Lagophthalmos may persist until the age of two, after which the eyes should be closed during sleep. If a similar symptom is observed in older children, you should consult a pediatrician.
• In the presence of neurological disorders of the innervation of the eyelids, they may not completely lower at night, which leads to a similar manifestation in children.

The girl sleeps with her eyes slightly open

A number of neurological diseases characterized by brain damage can manifest themselves as such symptoms. In this regard, consultation with a specialist (neurologist) is indicated for all children whose eyes do not close completely during sleep.

The reasons for the appearance of this condition in adulthood differ significantly:

• The main reason that a person falls asleep with his eyes open is intoxication with drugs or alcohol. In these cases, the functioning of individual parts of the brain is disrupted, which leads to a characteristic external symptom.
• What else can cause people to open their eyes slightly during sleep? In addition to intoxication syndrome, a similar phenomenon can be caused by any neurological disease that affects the central nervous system - demyelinating disorders, tumor processes, etc.

As can be seen from these reasons, in most cases, the condition when a person’s eyes are open during sleep is associated with quite serious conditions that require contacting a medical institution for diagnostic measures and treatment.

Prevention of sleepwalking

Parents who have sleepwalking children learn to sleep sensitively and respond to their offspring's sleepwalking. The house is full of dangers and a child wandering around without adult supervision can cut himself or even break his neck by falling from the stairs or window.

Therefore, preventive measures are primarily related to reducing the number of dangerous objects and limiting the free movement of the moon child around the house:

• Lock your apartment or nursery doors. Block the passage to the stairs. Close the windows with a latch that a child cannot remove, or put bars on them. It is worth removing things from the floor that could cause you to trip and fall at night: wires, scattered toys, chairs;
• Many parents place a basin of water next to the bed, tie the sleepwalker to the bed, or put up a fence, although such measures do not always help. When standing in the water, the child may become frightened, or he may walk around the basin;
• Remove dangerous objects: knives or firearms (if you have them at home) where the sleepwalker cannot take them;
• If a child sleeps on a bunk bed, he may fall from there and hurt himself while sleepwalking.

Typically, somnambulism is an age-related phenomenon that goes away in children who have reached puberty, although sometimes adults also suffer from sleepwalking. Somnambulism, if it is not a sign of illness, is a normal phenomenon caused by the child’s lack of confidence in his parents’ need for him, stress, a day full of intense emotions, fatigue, or an inherited trait.

Screams and punishments for somnambulism will not help, but will only worsen the situation, because no one can control their actions in a dream.

Treat the little sleepwalker kindly and delicately, make sure that he does not become depressed or too active before bedtime. Establish a daily schedule for your child so that he goes to bed at the same time every day and rests during the day.

Love and care are the best prevention of sleepwalking.

Prevention measures

Sleepwalking is not a serious condition and in most cases goes away on its own. And when the cause is eliminated, this problem will disappear.

For prevention, you should ventilate the bedroom and do relaxation exercises before bed. You should not go to bed in a “broken state.” A leisurely walk or a cool shower will help relieve fatigue.

Thus, somnambulism is not a death sentence. It can be treated successfully and is not considered a serious problem.

But at the same time, it can appear as a result of any illness, so if an attack of sleepwalking has not occurred for the first time, then there is no need to waste time, it is better to consult a specialist.

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.

Principles of treatment of somnambulism

Getting enough sleep and avoiding active games before falling asleep will help in the treatment of sleepwalking.
In most children, this disorder goes away on its own as the child grows older. If sleepwalking occurs infrequently and no pathological changes in the body have been identified, treatment consists of lifestyle modification, namely minimizing the impact of risk factors:

• regular, long (7-8 hours) night sleep;
• before bed – a relaxing ritual (for example, you can take a warm bath with relaxing oils, listen to calm music, have a soothing massage, drink mint tea, etc.);
• Avoid watching TV and working on the computer at least 2 hours before bedtime;
• eliminate alcohol consumption;
• avoid stress at work and at home, and if it happens, then try not to bring it into the house, but, so to speak, leave it at the door;
• if a child suffers from sleepwalking, then it is necessary to ensure that he adheres to the daily routine; make sure he sleeps enough to get enough sleep; limit watching TV and playing on the computer, before going to bed do not play active games, but play calm ones (for example, board games), draw, read a book or listen to pleasant music.

If the cause of sleepwalking is any medications taken by the patient, they should be discontinued or at least the dosage reduced.

If sleepwalking occurs against the background of epilepsy, the patient will be prescribed antiepileptic drugs, and when the cause is neurosis, tranquilizers and antidepressants.

If the disease is not of a neurological nature, the disease that caused it is treated (for arrhythmia, antiarrhythmics are prescribed, for diabetes mellitus, adequate hypoglycemic therapy, and so on).

If, even during treatment of underlying diseases, episodes of sleepwalking do not stop, disrupting the patient’s daily activity, and there is a risk of injury during this time, the patient may be prescribed medications that affect sleep phases. They are prescribed in low doses, the duration of treatment is from 3 to 6 weeks.

You should not wake up a somnambulist during the period of sleepwalking - this can frighten him, provoking the development of other mental disorders. You should calmly take him by the hand or shoulders and, speaking in a quiet voice, lead him into the room and put him to bed.

Sometimes psychiatrists and psychotherapists use hypnosis as a method of treating sleepwalking.

Description and mechanism of development of sleepwalking

Everyone has heard chilling stories about sleepwalkers. Allegedly, on bright moonlit nights they walk on the roofs and do not fall, but if you scream loudly, they will certainly wake up, fall and break. Some can even drive a car without getting into an accident.

Quite piquant stories are also known. For example, that after a party, a sleepy man raped a sleeping girl. A sleepwalking woman would leave the house and have sexual intercourse with unknown men. Such people do not remember their actions, their illness is considered a type of sleepwalking and is called sexsomnia - sex in a dream. In Western countries they are exempt from criminal liability.

There are many myths about sleepwalking. In the old days, it was believed that witches danced during the full moon. And then suddenly a creature with wide open eyes appears on the street and walks somewhere detached. Such people were considered crazy and burned, poor fellows, at the stake.

Currently, medicine denies the relationship between the moon and sleepwalking. Although there is still a certain connection. The night star can be an irritant - a “trigger” that starts the mechanism of midnight “walks”.

Sleepwalking or somnambulism, sometimes the term “selenism” is used (from the ancient Greek “selena” - “moon”), is not such a rare phenomenon, although it is not considered a serious mental disorder. Up to 10% of adults sleepwalk: both men and women. This is due to a hysterical type of character, nervous diseases, for example, stress, or chronic mental disorders, such as epilepsy.

Children suffer from sleepwalking more often, since their nervous system is still fragile. The child is mentally completely healthy, but experiences great anxiety, for example, when taking exams at school. Sleep becomes weak and restless. He may suddenly get up and, for example, go to the kitchen to drink water. And in the morning he won’t remember this. For many children, this condition goes away with age. If it remains, then we need to talk about pathological manifestations of mental development.

Sleepwalking depends on the work of a special part of the brain responsible for the transition from REM to deep sleep. During the fast phase, the necessary information is put in order and remembered. In slow mode, the body recovers and grows. If this organ malfunctions, deep sleep is disrupted. This may manifest itself in factors such as sleepwalking. A sleepwalker's speech is inhibited, he is not aware of fear and can do things that he would never do in a normal state. For example, walking along the edge of a roof without falling.

However, more recently, American scientists stated that “walking under the moon” is genetically predetermined. This is due to changes occurring in certain genes. It is their “wrong” work that causes a state when it is not possible to completely “step away” from sleep. This is the whole essence of sleepwalking. But which specific genes are responsible for sleepwalking is still unclear.

It is important to know! Somnambulism can be induced artificially. When a hypnologist induces a hypnotic sleep through suggestion

What to do if your child experiences somnambulism

Pediatricians do not consider sleepwalking a serious illness. According to the authoritative opinion of the famous doctor, author of popular programs about children's health, E. Komarovsky, there is no need to worry if such behavior in a child occurs sporadically in a dream, while it is clearly preceded by some specific provoking events. You just need to think about safety measures for the children themselves and those around them.

However, in some cases it is necessary to consult a doctor, especially if the episodes occur frequently, the child looks tired after them, or there are signs of physical and nervous exhaustion.

You should contact a pediatric neurologist or psychiatrist.

Treatment of an adult

Treatment tactics are developed depending on the causes of lagophthalmos

Can a person sleep with his eyes open and not get sick? If we are talking about an adult, then such a situation is very rare. As a rule, a quality medical examination always reveals some disease. Therefore, all people who sleep with their eyes open or have other signs of somnambulism (talking in their sleep, unconscious movements, etc.) should seek professional medical help.

The main method of treatment is contacting a psychologist or psychotherapist, who help the patient cope with factors that are traumatic to the psyche and deal with internal problems, thereby reducing the level of stress. If the appearance of symptoms is associated with alcohol or drug intoxication, then detoxification therapy and taking a course to combat addictions come to the fore. In case of organic lesions of the brain (growth of a benign or malignant tumor, changes in the vessels of the head), the prescribed neurosurgical treatment is carried out, however, such cases are quite rare.

It is important to note that in adulthood, finding out the reasons for such sleep and prescribing rational treatment is very difficult. This is due to a large number of factors causing somnambulism and possible minimal organic changes in the brain, which are very difficult to identify using even modern diagnostic methods

However, situations with the development of serious damage to the central nervous system are rare, therefore, the main approach to therapy should be aimed at eliminating stressful situations from a person’s life, as well as normalizing his rest.

Woman consulting with a psychotherapist

Sleeping with your eyes open in childhood may be a variant of the norm, and, most often, does not lead to any negative consequences. However, parents of such a baby should always be on guard and if the symptom does not go away or any neurological disorders occur, immediately seek professional medical help. Early diagnosis of any disease allows for a quick recovery and returns the quality of life of the person or parents to the previous high level.

Causes

In most cases, episodic sleepwalking is no longer a problem after the age of 17.

But adults are exposed to this for various reasons:

• acute stress;
• chronic lack of sleep;
• taking drugs and alcohol in large quantities;
• eating junk food, eating a heavy dinner;
• recent traumatic brain injury;
• panic attacks;
• heredity.

There are also quite serious causes of somnambulism: various heart problems (tachycardia or heart failure), formations in the brain, aneurysms, Parkinson's disease.

Hormonal surges also affect the brain, so pregnant women can also suffer from this disease.

Diabetics also experience bouts of sleepwalking as their blood sugar levels drop at night.

Causes and proper treatment of sleepwalking in adults

Somnambulism is also known as sleepwalking. This is a sleep disorder that can cause serious consequences. With its development, walking and talking during night rest are noted. Sleepwalking is often diagnosed in adults. The causes and treatment tactics for this disease are not reliably known to doctors, but it is still possible to reduce the manifestations of such symptoms.

What is sleepwalking and how does it develop?

Somnambulism is a systemic disorder that has not been fully studied by scientists. Symptoms of sleepwalking include performing certain actions while asleep. They can be simple, complex and pose a serious danger to humans.

At rest, a person is in two phases: fast and slow. The slow one consists of four stages. The fast phase is characterized by eye movements and vivid dreams. The duration of one cycle is about one and a half hours. In just one night they can be repeated up to ten times.

Sleepwalking in adults, as a rule, begins to manifest itself in the deep sleep phase. During the day, such symptoms appear extremely rarely. This is due to the fact that the day's rest is not long enough.

The manifestation of symptoms of the disease is observed when the activity of the central nervous system is inhibited, but those parts of the brain that are responsible for movement continue to function. Due to this, the sleeper can walk in his sleep and talk.

How sleepwalking manifests itself

A person who suffers from sleepwalking is characterized primarily by sleepwalking and sleep-talking. The main symptoms of this condition, which manifests itself during a night's rest, are as follows:

It is noted that after awakening, the somnambulist does not remember anything that happened to him at night. Attacks of sleepwalking in adolescents and adults vary in duration. They last from a few seconds to a couple of hours.

Why do people walk at night

The explanation for why people become sleepwalkers is genetic predisposition. It is noted that most often somnambulism is transmitted by heredity. At the same time, it is far from always that symptoms begin to appear in sleeping people even in this case. This requires a push.

The following causes of sleepwalking are distinguished:

• exposure to stressful situations;
• alcohol abuse;
• head injuries;
• excessive fatigue;
• chronic lack of sleep, which negatively affects the state of the nervous system;
• congenital abnormalities of brain structure;
• infestation with worms;
• epilepsy;
• depression and neurosis;
• taking certain groups of medications.

Under the influence of these factors, people talk and walk in their sleep. Until this point, such changes may never be observed.

Diagnosis of the disease

If sleepwalking is observed for the first time and is associated with excessive fatigue or a stressful situation, then there is no reason to immediately consult a doctor. To cure a person, it is enough to eliminate unfavorable factors. Repeated attacks should be cause for concern. When they appear, you need to consult a neuropsychiatrist, neurologist and psychiatrist.

During the diagnostic process, a number of activities are carried out, including:

• electroencephalography;
• polysomnography;
• Ultrasound of the brain;
• CT or MRI.

Additionally, you may need the help of a pulmonologist, endocrinologist and cardiologist.

How to get rid of sleepwalking

Sleepwalking begins to be treated by prescribing the following groups of drugs:

Psychotherapy sessions will help ensure healthy sleep. In addition, the underlying disease that may cause such sleep disturbances is treated.

Control and protection of the sleepwalker during sleep

People living next to a somnambulist need to know everything about sleepwalkers in order to provide timely assistance, and also adhere to a number of recommendations:

Preventive actions

In order to prevent somnambulism in adults, certain rules should be followed:

1. Avoid watching overly intense movies and shows at night.
2. Physical activity during the day should be moderate. In the evening, only walking in the fresh air is allowed.
3. Follow a daily routine, go to bed later than 23:00.
4. Get rid of bad habits and stop taking systemic stimulants.
5. Take a warm shower close to bedtime.
6. Avoid stressful situations.

Episodes of sleep walking are dangerous

It is extremely important to do everything to ensure that they do not recur. It will not be possible to cure sleepwalking completely, but thanks to properly selected therapy, the frequency of attacks can be reduced

Night signs of a sleepwalker

Drawing by John Sloan, 1908

When you hear the word “sleepwalker,” many people imagine a man in pajamas, cheerfully marching along the ridge of the roof, arms outstretched and eyes closed. This is a misconception: somnambulists act with their eyes open. Sleepwalking is also called sleepwalking, but walking is not its only manifestation. Sometimes people do something as simple as pointing at a wall. But it happens that a person in this state dresses, cooks, plays music and even drives a car. The episode lasts from a few seconds to half an hour. And it all begins with a pathological awakening in the stage of deep slow sleep.

There are two stages of sleep: REM and NREM. They are identified based on electroencephalogram (EEG), muscle tone and eye movements. During REM sleep, the eyes move quickly under the eyelids. Slow sleep, in turn, is also divided into several stages: falling asleep, light sleep and deep slow sleep (delta sleep), especially deep sleep. When deep sleep is suddenly disrupted, it is sometimes difficult for a person to concentrate and adequately perceive his surroundings. This pathological condition is called confused awakening, or sleep intoxication syndrome, and it can be accompanied by quite complex behavior. In this case, the awakened person remains in bed, driving a car or at the place of night duty - where he slept. But as soon as he leaves this place, the episode is classified as sleepwalking ( Sleep

, 2007, 30, 1039–1047).

REM and NREM sleep alternate, with one cycle lasting about an hour and a half. At the same time, at the beginning of the night, most of the cycle is occupied by periods of slow-wave sleep, and towards the end, periods of fast sleep become longer. Since somnambulism occurs during the deepest sleep stage, its episodes usually occur in the first third of the night.

Somnambulism is more common in children than in adults. Canadian scientists observed 1,400 children from the province of Quebec born in 1997-1998 ( Pediatrics

, 2007,119:e1016–25). According to their data, the proportion of sleepwalking children increases from 2.5 to 10 years, and gradually decreases from 12 years of age (Fig. 1). During adolescence, the disease goes away and persists in only a few. Sleepwalking affects 2–4% of the adult population, about a quarter of them have been ill since childhood, the rest acquired this disease later. Why somnambulism goes away with age in some people and not in others is unclear.

Rice. 1.

Children from 2.5 to 12 years old are more likely to suffer from somnambulism.

Experts have been trying for decades to understand what causes sleepwalking. No association with other neurological or psychiatric conditions has yet been found, although some sleepwalkers report mood disorders and anxiety.

Undoubtedly, there is a hereditary predisposition to somnambulism. About 80% of sleepwalkers have at least one relative with a mood disorder, and somnambulism is more common in children who have one or both parents who were also sleepwalkers. Studies conducted in Finland have shown that cases of childhood sleepwalking occur in identical twins one and a half times more often than in fraternal pairs, and among adults - five times more often. There have been attempts to find the genes responsible for somnambulism; there is a list of candidates, but it has not yet been possible to determine their role in the development of sleepwalking.

Signs of sleepwalking in adults

Sleepwalking often occurs in childhood. Most often, this phenomenon is associated with a fragile child’s psyche. Sleepwalking is less common in adults, but can usually have more serious consequences. The symptoms of somnambulism are obvious and therefore easy to recognize in both adults and children.

• A person suffering from sleepwalking may talk in their sleep. However, his speech may be slurred. Sometimes the sleepwalker pronounces quite intelligible phrases, asks questions, and answers them himself. These conversations in a dream have a close connection with situations that happened in reality.
• The sleepwalker can sit on the bed, stand next to him, after which he returns to his place and continues to sleep. But there are cases when a person begins to walk around the apartment, perform familiar actions, for example, turning on electrical appliances, preparing breakfast, cleaning the apartment.
• At this moment, the sleepwalker’s eyes are closed or open, his gaze is absent, his pupils are narrowed, he seems to be looking into himself.
• There is an opinion that sleepwalkers should not be awakened during their journeys. In fact, it will be very difficult to wake up such a person, since he is in deep sleep. But if you still manage to wake him up, the sleepwalker will be very frightened by the sudden change in the position of his body. Such people remember nothing about their nightly adventures.
• As a rule, after walking, the sleepwalker returns to bed and continues to sleep as if nothing had happened.

Somnambulism itself is not dangerous, but the actions that a sleeping person performs can harm him or his loved ones. It often happened that a sleepwalker tried to get out of the window, climb onto the roof, or turn on the gas, which could lead to disastrous consequences. That is why relatives of sleepwalkers worry about their life and health.

Today, there are special diagnostic methods that make it possible to determine the cause of somnambulism, the elimination of which will help normalize the patient’s night rest.

Myths about sleepwalking

Most people get their idea of ​​somnambulism primarily from books and films. As a result, this phenomenon is endowed with mystical properties and is surrounded by many myths. Let's look at a few of the most common ones.

Myth No. 1. Sleepwalkers can perform complex actions and even communicate

Many people believe (and popular culture propagates this misconception) that a person suffering from somnambulism can perform complex actions while sleepwalking, for example, not just leaving the house, but calling a taxi and going to the airport. In fact, the actions performed during attacks of sleepwalking are usually quite primitive.

Most often, a person simply gets up in bed, sits for 30 seconds (sometimes uttering some words), and then lies down again. He can also get out of bed and come right back. If you try to talk to him, he usually does not react at all or answers inappropriately, so such manifestations usually frighten spouses. The phrases uttered by a sleepwalker, as a rule, are meaningless, so he will not be able to call a taxi, buy a ticket and go to another city.

Myth No. 2. Sleepwalkers always return safely to bed

Unfortunately, the reality is not so rosy. If a person in a somnambulistic state goes far enough, then with a high probability he will lie down in another place (often on the floor). In addition, statistics indicate that approximately 25% of sleepwalking cases result in injury, and 0.2% result in death. Therefore, the danger of this phenomenon should not be underestimated.

Myth No. 3. “Don’t wake up the sleepwalker!”

There is a widespread misconception that you should not wake up a person in this state, as this is fraught with negative consequences. However, there are no real grounds for such statements. Most likely, this myth appeared due to the fact that an awakened sleepwalker always turns out to be disoriented.

However, this has no real consequences for health (apart from fright and possible injuries due to sudden movements). Moreover, people suffering from sleepwalking are advised to install a loud alarm on their bedroom door, which will wake them up if they try to leave the room while asleep.

Myth No. 4. Sleepwalking occurs during the full moon

Modern medicine gives a clear answer to the question of what sleepwalking is, but mystical views on this phenomenon are still common. In particular, many people believe that sleepwalking can be triggered by bright moonlight shining on a sleeping person through a window.

There is a certain logic in this statement, since a sleepwalker needs the room to be at least slightly lit in order to get out of bed. But there is no mysticism in this. And if the room is already light enough (from the night light or TV on), then it makes absolutely no difference to a person whether the moon shines on him or not.

Teenage sleepwalking: characteristics of the condition

The main manifestations of sleepwalking are well known from films and fiction. When relatives personally experience these symptoms, it can cause

panic, since it is not clear what the causes of sleepwalking in adolescents are and what to do about it.

You should familiarize yourself with the symptoms, mechanisms of occurrence and factors that provoke the appearance of this condition. All this will help not only not to experience fear and panic, but also to contact specialists in a timely manner to solve the problem.

Symptoms of pathology

Manifestations of somnambulism are clearly expressed and cannot be confused with anything else:

1. A teenager, without waking up, can sit on the bed, spend a little time in this state and lie down again.
2. Some children get out of bed, walk around the house, can open cabinets and doors, and rearrange household items.
3. In severe cases, a teenager can go outside and try to go through a window.
4. Twitching of the limbs, muttering, or clear and intelligible speech are often observed.
5. During an attack, the eyes can be either closed or open, while the gaze is directed into emptiness.
6. During sleepwalking, children move slowly and smoothly, their movements are slightly inhibited.
7. The sleepwalker does not respond to the speech of others and external stimuli.
8. After waking up, children cannot remember what they did during the attack.

If a teenager experiences at least one of the symptoms described above, this indicates an attack of sleepwalking.

Provoking factors

Since the psyche of adolescents in adolescence is extremely unstable, the following factors can provoke an attack of sleepwalking:

• Insufficiently formed central nervous system. In its functioning, disruptions may periodically appear, the consequences of which are somnambulism.
• Constant and severe stress that occurs both at home and in an educational institution. Conflicts with peers, the first emotional experiences due to falling in love are also provoking factors.
• Neurotic conditions arising from stress, as well as insomnia.
• Congenital pathologies of the central nervous system and inherited mental disorders. They begin to manifest themselves at an early age and sleepwalking is one of the symptoms.
• Trauma to the skull and brain resulting from an accident, infection.
• Initial stage of epilepsy.
• Malignant and benign brain tumors.
• In rare cases, sleepwalking can occur against the background of helminthic infestation, as parasites secrete toxins that affect the nervous system.

It is important to know! A single attack can be caused by stress. If they occur regularly, this indicates the presence of a hidden disease.

Mechanism of violation formation

Sleepwalking is not a disease, and often does not pose a threat to the life and health of the child.

It occurs as a result of dysregulation of the processes of wakefulness and inhibition in the central nervous system. During sleep, the body goes into energy saving mode, many actions proceed more slowly.

In some cases, inhibition processes may not affect the areas of the brain responsible for movement and speech. It turns out that consciousness and memory are at rest, but motor activity is not, so the child can walk or perform some actions in an unconscious state.

Sometimes the inhibitory processes are not very pronounced, so the body does not completely switch to energy saving mode. This can also cause sleepwalking, and its signs will be weakly manifested.

What is sleepwalking?

Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder in which a person can perform quite complex actions (getting out of bed, walking, getting dressed) without waking up. This happens in the deep phase of sleep, so it is quite difficult to wake a person, and he himself does not wake up, even when he bumps into obstacles and drops various objects on the floor.

The words “sleepwalker” and “sleepwalking” come from two similar Latin words: lunaticus (mad) and luna (moon). Thus, the term “sleepwalking” can be roughly translated as “lunar madness.” It was a logical and correct name when people believed in the influence of the phases of the moon (or moonlight) on humans.

Today the word “sleepwalking” is considered obsolete, and the medical term “somnambulism” is used instead. Occasionally you can hear such an option as “somnambulism”, but it is not used in the scientific literature. The term “somnambulism” is derived from the Latin words somnus (sleep) and ambulo (to walk). In colloquial Russian, its direct translation is often used - “sleepwalking”. Sometimes the term "noctambulism" is also used, derived from the word noctis (night).

This phenomenon is much more widespread than is commonly believed. Emotional trauma, strong experiences, alcohol and some medications may well provoke isolated episodes of somnambulism in a completely healthy person. This is not considered a pathology if it occurs no more than 1-2 times a month. Quite often, sleepwalking is observed in children. Regular episodes may occur between the ages of 8 and 16, but after puberty the problem usually disappears completely.

In the medical literature, somnambulism has the symbol F51.3 and refers to parasomnias - motor, behavioral or autonomic sleep phenomena. Normally, the brain during sleep should completely suppress all motor activity of the muscular system, including the speech apparatus. If for some reason this does not happen, the person begins in reality to perform all the actions that he dreams of at the moment. Since most people very rarely remember dreams, episodes of sleepwalking are usually completely forgotten.

Treatment of somnambulism

If the cause of sleepwalking is any disease, then the problem is solved by treating the disease. But there are also several ways to treat this disease.

Medication

Medicines are necessary when a person, during attacks of sleepwalking, poses any danger to himself or his loved ones.
The doctor may prescribe antidepressants or sedatives and sedatives, or tranquilizers.

There are quite a few, such as Trazodone (Desyrel), ProSom or Klonopin.

This method of treatment is used only with a doctor's prescription! It also happens that attacks of sleepwalking become more frequent after a course of medication, but this does not last long.

Warning wake-up method

With this method, it is important to know at what time the attacks occur and how long they last. It consists of waking up a person 15-20 minutes before the start of the episode and not allowing him to sleep the entire time it should last.

It consists of waking up a person 15-20 minutes before the start of the episode and not allowing him to sleep the entire time it should last.

This is used for long-term treatment.

Relaxation

This method is more related to traditional medicine. It involves taking a bath (sitz bath or foot bath) before bed with various oils such as:

• St. John's wort;
• sage;
• mint;
• Melissa;
• sweet clover

The water should be warm and the procedure should last about 10 minutes.
Yoga classes can also be considered relaxation.

They will help cope with stress, a possible cause of sleepwalking.

Sometimes the method of mental imagery is used in treatment. This method will be effective if it is carried out under the supervision of an experienced specialist in the field of behavioral therapy (this may be a hypnotist).

Treatment for sleepwalking episodes

All awakening parasomnias are relatively harmless. If walking at night occurs rarely, then you can ignore them. It is enough to ensure a safe environment in the room, remove objects that could cause injury, and close the windows tightly. If sleepwalking occurs regularly, you should reconsider your daily routine. In this case, children may benefit from a short nap during the day.

It is important to exclude traumatic situations in the family and in the team, which can become provoking factors in susceptible people

In cases where frequent sleepwalking disrupts normal functioning, causes severe daytime sleepiness, or poses a health risk, doctors may prescribe medication to treat sleepwalking. In such situations, antidepressants and benzodiazepines sometimes help, but only a psychiatrist can prescribe them.

Sometimes it is suggested to use hypnosis to treat sleepwalking in children. This is a dubious method, since the harm from nighttime episodes may be incomparably less than the consequences of hypnotic influence. Therefore, it is not advisable to use such methods of therapy.

Treatment for somnambulism

It is carried out when obvious health problems or pathologies associated with the state of the brain and nervous system are detected.

In the absence of obvious diseases, only recommendations are given on creating conditions for healthy sleep and eliminating factors that provoke the occurrence of disorders. In difficult cases, it is suggested to use hypnosis.

Indications for mandatory drug treatment are:

• the young patient has epilepsy (antiepileptic drugs Felbatol, Depakote are prescribed);
• the appearance of neuroses and depression (sedatives valerian, Novo-Passit, psychotropic drugs are used);
• detection of worms (antiparasitic drugs Pirantel, Dekaris are used).

If it is discovered that sleepwalking in children is a consequence of a brain tumor or head injury, surgical treatment is performed.

Causes of sleepwalking

As mentioned above, children, especially boys, most often suffer from sleepwalking. This is probably due to the functional immaturity of the central nervous system. Children are naturally emotional and impressionable, and the stress on the nervous system today is so great that, while absorbing new information during the day, the brain continues to work actively at night, while the child is sleeping. Evening quarrels between the child and family members, worries about parents’ quarrels, active games, games on the computer, watching cartoons or TV shows before bedtime contribute to the occurrence of sleepwalking: under the influence of these factors, the nervous system, tired in the evening, becomes excited and does not have time to calm down before bed. In such situations, sleepwalking may be accompanied by other disorders of the nervous system - involuntary urination (enuresis), obsessive-compulsive neurosis, neurosis-like tics, restless legs syndrome.

Other risk factors for sleepwalking in children include:

• genetic predisposition (it is known that if one of the child’s parents suffers or has suffered from sleepwalking, the probability of developing symptoms of this disorder in the child is approximately 40%, and if both of them increase to 65%);
• high temperature during illness;
• migraine;
• epilepsy (somnambulism can either accompany epilepsy, being one of its symptoms, or be a predictor of this disease, developing even several years before its onset).

In adults, somnambulism develops much less frequently and, as a rule, is secondary. The main causes of sleepwalking in adults are:

• chronic lack of sleep;
• acute and chronic stress;
• migraine;
• tumor diseases of the brain;
• neuroses;
• panic attacks;
• Parkinson's disease;
• senile dementia;
• epilepsy;
• traumatic brain injuries;
• cerebral aneurysms;
• cardiac dysfunction (severe arrhythmias);
• obstructive sleep apnea syndrome;
• pregnancy and menstruation in women;
• nocturnal attacks of bronchial asthma;
• diabetes mellitus (due to nocturnal hypoglycemia, or a decrease in sugar levels below normal at night);
• a hearty dinner before bed;
• poor nutrition, containing a large amount of unrefined foods, leading to a deficiency of the microelement magnesium in the body;
• taking alcohol and drugs;
• taking certain medications (in particular, antipsychotics, sedatives and hypnotics).

Causes of sleepwalking

Previously, when researchers were just trying to understand what sleepwalking was, they considered it an independent disease. In modern medicine, it is considered a consequence of various conditions in which the brain does not quite correctly control the body’s systems during sleep. The most common reasons are factors such as:

1. Emotional turmoil.
   This usually happens when a person does not understand how to live further. This may be a feeling of emptiness associated with the loss of a loved one, or simply a state of confusion caused by the loss of a job or ruined plans.
2. Sleep deficiency or inadequate sleep.
   A person needs a good rest. If he does not get enough sleep for a long time, then many body systems begin to malfunction, and even the sleep mechanism may not work correctly.
3. Hormonal imbalances.
   Hormones control all processes in our body, and if their balance is disturbed, this can provoke episodes of sleepwalking in people who have not previously encountered this problem. This effect can be observed in adolescents, as well as in women during menstruation or pregnancy.
4. Organic brain damage.
   Sleepwalking is a consequence of improper functioning of the central nervous system. Therefore, it may well arise as a result of injury or age-related brain diseases.
5. Diseases of internal organs.
   An increase in episodes of somnambulism has been observed in people suffering from diabetes, bronchial asthma and diseases of the cardiovascular system.
6. Poor nutrition.
   Excess insulin in the blood can greatly impair the quality of sleep, so dinner should not be filling. But too strict a diet can lead to undesirable consequences. An ideal diet should be balanced and provide the body with sufficient nutrients, vitamins and minerals every day.

A single episode of sleepwalking can be the result of heavy alcohol intoxication, taking psychotropic substances or certain medications. Sometimes it is provoked by alcohol in combination with strong emotional experiences or unusual impressions.