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Handling a sleepwalker: common causes and cases of sleepwalking

It’s late at night.
You’re still awake, glued to the last few pages of the latest best-selling novel. Then you hear something. You turn and see your brother or sister or roommate standing at the top of the stairs. They say nothing as they walk past. Their eyes are glazed, and you know deep down something about them just isn’t the same.
No, it’s not a scene from a zombie movie.
Rather, like millions of others who unknowingly rise from their beds each night, your friend or loved one is sleepwalking. And it’s more common than you might think.
According to Dr. Robert McCain, a sleep specialist at the Dream Away Sleep Lab in Nashville, Tenn., as much as 20 percent of adolescents and teenagers sleepwalk on a regular basis.
“Sleepwalking is so common in elementary school kids and teens it would almost be considered a normal variant,” McCain said. “We rarely treat these people just because it is so common.”
Just because it’s common, doesn’t mean it’s not a little bit strange.
Kelly Meagher, a senior at Belmont University in Nashville, said her parents “would see me leave my room, and I would go outside and get in a car.” She said she started sleepwalking when she was a middle schooler. “They said I’d respond to them but I had no memory of even getting out of bed.”
It’s common for most people who have sleewalking episodes during adolescence to out grow it. Sleepwalking occurs during the deep sleep phase of the sleep cycle. As patients age, they experience deep sleep less, and therefore are not as prone to sleepwalking,
McCain said.
While sleepwalking occurs during periods of deep sleep, it doesn’t relate to the rapid eye movement period of sleep most linked to dreaming.
“You can have dream behavior in non-dream sleep but sleepwalking is really a non-dream phenomenon,” he said.
Instead, the actions of a sleepwalker are caused by habitual routines done while awake, such as making a sandwich or sitting in front of the television.
“A lot of times sleepwalkers can be purposeful but they’re clumsy,” McCain said. “They can talk. They can negotiate stairs, and there have even been stories of people getting in their cars and driving.”
Therein lies some very real dangers of sleepwalking. Like Meagher who on several occasions was found inside her car asleep, there’s a likelihood that sleepwalkers could endanger themselves by driving, walking off balconies or falling down stairs.
There are some precautions that can be taken, McCain said.
“Make sure sharp objects or firearms are put away and that balconies and windows are properly closed,” he said. “For younger sleepwalkers, it’s effective to put bells or chimes on the door so you can tell when they wake up.”
Or you might just be able to tell them to go back to bed.
“Most of the patients are suggestible,” he said. “This means if you go to them and encourage them to go to bed, they’ll do it.”
Medications can also be prescribed to block deep sleep, though they should only be used in extreme circumstances, McCain said.
The best and cheapest remedy, McCain said is having a regular bedtime routine.
“Having a good sleep environment and a regular sleep schedule will usually help eliminate noise and distraction which might cause a sleepwalking episode,” he said. “For most people, it’s nothing serious to be worried about.”
Meagher said she was glad she doesn’t sleepwalk anymore.
“It is good for my peace of mind,” she said.