Archive for the 'Sleep Walking' Category

In recent studies, it has been proved that sleepwalking can be diagnosed through sleep deprivation. Sleepwalking usually involves unresponsiveness and misperception to the environment. In some cases, amnesia and mental confusion are also responsible for somnambulism.

The research has also proved that out of 100 percent, 4 percent of the people are suffering with the problem of sleepwalking. There is a sharp rise in the studies related to sleep walking because it includes injuries and aggressive behaviors.

Somnambulism will be diagnosed with the help of person’s clinical history, but the latest study found that it can be diagnosed easily with the help of sleep deprivation method.

According to the expert’s view, reason for obtaining the problem of sleepwalking is also difficult to find out. Each and everyone will have different cause for attaining this problem. We can’t predict the reason for attaining the problem of sleepwalking immediately after observing him or her for sometime [Sleepwalking treatment].

Even experienced doctors also take time (days or weeks) to find the cause of sleepwalking in a person as several factors will be involved in it. Almost all the doctors first find the clinical history of the person if he/she is suffering with the problem of the sleepwalking. Sometimes this problem can also be attained hereditary, so it takes time for the doctors to find the right cause for the occurrence of sleepwalking.

Sleep walking is also known as noctambulism or somnambulism. This problem is mostly seen in children who are aged between 4 to 8 years.

Mostly this problem of sleep walking appears to run in families. There are lots of chances to obtain this problem for your child if anyone of your family members has this problem.

The factors which cause the problem of sleep walking in children are:

• Fatigue or lack of sleep
• Due to fever or some other illness
• It can also be caused with the usage of certain medications which are not suitable for your child.
• Stress or some psychological problems
• Facing problems in getting uninterrupted or good sleep
• Some emotional problems can also lead to this problem

Sleep walking is not so serious and there is nothing to worry a lot regarding this. Most of the sleep walkers don’t perform this more often.

Yeah! Sometimes this can cause some hazardous problems when the child doesn’t realize what he/she is doing such as walking through the opening windows and down stairs.

Sleepwalking sometimes has been associated with violent behaviors against other people around them.

The violent behavior takes place only after the sleepwalking episode has been triggered and is underway.

Ninety percent of the people with sleep walking had some sort of violence in their sleep. Men are more susceptible than women.

Sleep walking occurs when you get up from bed and walk around even though you are still asleep.

It also involves many complex actions. It is common in children and affects both girls and boys.

Sometimes, sleepwalking begins in the old age. Men are more likely to display aggressive behavior than women when they sleep walk.

During the sleep walking event, the person moves around the environment and encounters someone else-most likely a family member. The person may come in contact with the sleep walker and violent behavior may result.

Kicking and hitting with arms and hands is the common type of violent behavior occurring on nightly basis. In some cases, violence can be more serious. Some sleep walkers place their hands around the neck of other person.

Adults who sleep walk may do as the result of genetic disorder according to the news released from American Academy of Neurology.

In a recent study, reported in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers discovered the first genetic marker for sleep walking.

A study conducted from the University hospital in Bern, Switzerland, found that adult sleep walking has a genetic component related to the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system, a genetically determined element of the immune system. HLA genes provide the information needed to allow the body to create immune cells.

Compared to child sleep walking, adult sleep walking is often associated with dangerous activities. In the study conducted, thirty two percent of participants reported occurrences of violent incidences as a result of sleep walking while nineteen percent reported injuries while sleep walking.

Of the study participants, 58% of them are sleep walkers from childhood and 24% of them had relatives who also were sleep walkers.

Sleep walking occurs when your brain has trouble making the transition from non-REM sleep to REM sleep. Adult sleep walking is related to REM sleep behavior disorder.

Sleepwalking can be very disturbing.

Imagine going to sleep at night and getting up in completely different place or you might wake up in your own bed, but your family members tell tales of you walking and talking to them.

You have no recollection of the events when you wake up. Doesn’t it sound spooky?

Approximately 10% of the population has bouts of sleepwalking, many of them children. Sleep walking is also known as somnambulism. Often, it is during the deep sleep phase, sleepwalking occurs.

The common belief that you should not wake sleepwalkers is dangerous. Actually, if you do not wake them, they have a great potential of hurting themselves or the people around them.

Causes of Sleep Walking

• Lack of sleep is the biggest factor that causes sleep walking. A person’s consciousness is affected when that person is deprived of sleep.
• Stress, anxiety and worrying about something can kick off episodes of sleepwalking.
• Extreme fatigue can also play a factor in the cause.
• Sleeping disorders and other health conditions can contribute to this event. For example, kids with asthma and sleep apnea are more prone to sleepwalking than others because their conditions are not always conducive to a good night’s sleep and rest.