Sleepwalking is most common in children between the ages of 5 and 12 and decreases between the ages of 12 and 18. It is much less common in adults. However, if this is the case, it can lead to dangerous situations. Sometimes there is even talk of a sleepwalking murder. Fortunately, this is rare and most adult sleepwalkers will suffer at most some minor injuries. Sleepwalking can be treated. For example through medication, but in many cases through relaxation. Because stress due to lack of sleep is one of the many causes. It becomes more difficult when brain injury or a stroke is the cause.
What is sleepwalking?
We mainly know sleepwalking from children: they do it more often. The child gets up during sleep and walks around the house. The child can grab a toy, walk down the stairs, have a (one-sided) conversation or undertake other activities. The child appears awake but does not respond or responds poorly to the environment.
Another name for sleepwalking is somnambulism. More than a third of all people have ever sleepwalked. There is a lot of sleepwalking, especially in the age group 5-12 years. This decreases significantly around puberty.
What exactly happens?
Sleep has different phases. There are four phases in total that we collectively call a cycle. During the night, people go through between 3 and 5 cycles. So every cycle starts again with phase 1.
- Phase 1, the non-REM sleep or slumber phase (NREM1): during the first phase, slumber sleep occurs. You may sometimes feel like you are falling.
- Phase 2, light sleep (NREM2): light sleep occurs. You can sometimes wake up from noises, but this is more difficult than during the first phase.
- Phase 3, deep sleep (NREM4): your sleep is deep. It is difficult to wake you up. If that does happen, you will be shocked or confused. There are no dreams yet. Physically, your body recovers in this phase.
- Phase 4, dream sleep (REM sleep): during this phase you dream. These can be pleasant or bad dreams. The eyes show movements, also called the Rapid Eye Movement. The brain is just as active as if you were awake. Mentally, your body recovers during this final phase.
Sleepwalking occurs during NREM-3 sleep, which is the phase when you are not dreaming. We speak here of the third phase, or the phase when you are in a deep sleep. During this third phase the body is very active and we move a lot with our arms and legs. Sleepwalking can be seen as a state between sleeping and waking. The body is very active and gives orders to get up or perform actions. However, part of the brain is still asleep.
Adults who sleepwalk
Although sleepwalking is most common in children and they grow out of it between the ages of 12 and 18, it sometimes persists in adults. It can also suddenly develop in adults while it was not present before. The cause for this can be diverse. Adults who sleepwalk are at greater risk of harming themselves. In rare cases they even drive a car. In some cases, a sleepwalking murder even takes place: the person kills someone while sleepwalking. A British man killed his wife when he dreamed he was fighting burglars. His wife was strangled. The man suffered from sleep disorders.
Causes
In children, sleepwalking occurs due to the immature stage of the brain. This is different with adults. One of the most common causes of sleepwalking in adults is alcohol use, lack of sleep, inflammation of the brain, migraine, stroke, premenstrual syndrome in women, brain injury or an overactive thyroid gland. The use of certain medications can also cause sleepwalking. People with a mental disorder are more likely to suffer from it. Sleepwalking can occur in combination with other sleep disorders such as sleep apnea.
Symptoms
Someone who sleepwalks has their eyes open, acts and stares blankly into space. The person is hardly approachable. It is impossible to have a normal conversation, the answers are vague or mumbled or there is no answer at all. When the sleepwalker wakes up, he or she is disoriented and confused. There are no memories of how the person ended up in a certain place. The sleepwalker himself sometimes notices that he gets out of bed and walks around. Dangerous situations can sometimes arise.
Therapy
With sleepwalkers it is important to remain calm. Sending the person back to bed with gentle coercion helps in many cases. Waking up can result in the person becoming anxious or aggressive. Sometimes it helps to put a wet mop next to the bed. The sleepwalker then wakes up as soon as he/she gets out of bed.
The cause must be addressed. Relaxation is important when stressed. Sometimes help is needed with this. If you have a lack of sleep, it is important to look into this. The patient is often in a negative spiral and therefore gets less and less sleep. This must be broken. Sometimes medication is advised, so that the cause of sleepwalking can be addressed.
But medication use as well as alcohol use can also cause sleepwalking. In these cases, its use should be discontinued.
Brain injury/stroke is difficult to treat. This cannot be removed anymore, the damage has already been suffered. However, medications may be prescribed. This can reduce the frequency of sleepwalking.
In general, there are not many sheep walkers who need medication. In most cases, the cause can be found in stress, and this can be treated well through relaxation, rest, meditation or therapy.
