Sleepwalking

• Sleepwalking is one of sleep disorders. Sleep

disorders include insomnia (which means inability to
sleep), bruxism (which denotes grinding one’s teeth in
sleep), sleep apnea (which refers to brief interruptions of
breathing during sleep), and so forth.
• The medical term for sleepwalking is
“somnambulism,” from the Latin words for sleep
(somnus) and walking (ambulus).
• Definition: Sleepwalking is a series of behaviors
that are initiated during slow wave sleep and
result in walking during sleep.
Sleepwalkers Act out Their Dream?
Sleepwalking occurs during stages 3 and 4, while
vivid dreaming take place in Rapid Eye Movement
(REM) sleep. Sleepwalking and vivid dreaming
occur in different stages of sleep, so the
sleepwalkers are not acting out their dreams while
sleepwalking.
 Symptoms of Sleepwalking
• During an episode:
• a. It’s difficult to awaken the patient during an episode of
sleepwalking.
• b. Sleepwalking is accompanied by sleeptalking.
• c. The range of the episodes of sleepwalking is wide.
• d. The child may piss in an inappropriate place or use obscene
words that would not be used when awake.
• After an episode:
• a. The sleepwalker would forget what he’s done during an
episode of sleepwalking.
• b. The sleepwalker may feel tired, unrestful, and have
decreased awareness during the day.
 Frequency & Distribution

• How Serious is • How Common is

Sleepwalking? Sleepwalking?
• About 18% of population are prone to
sleepwalking.
• It depends on an
• It’s more common in children than in
individual adolescents and adults.
sleepwalker. • In children, boys are more likely to
sleepwalk than girls.
• The highest prevalence of sleepwalking
was 16.7% at ages 11 to 12 years old.
 Sleepwalking Facts

• Sleepwalking that starts at an early age,

generally disappears as the child gets older.
• If the child outgrows the sleepwalking, the
age that it ended was approximately 13.8
years old.
• If the child begins to sleepwalk at the age of
9 or older, it often lasts into adulthood.
 Potential Causes of Sleepwalking
• 1. Genetic Factors:
• For: Scientists find:1) Sleepwalkers often have a strong family history of sleepwalkin
g. A sleepwalker has a quarter of relatives who have sleepwalking. 2) Sleepwalking oc
curs more frequently in monozygotic twins and is 10 times more likely if a first-degre
e relative has a history of sleepwalking.
• Against: 1) Dr. Yang Chih-tao, a hypnotist who cured a child with sleepwalking by hy
pnotherapy asserted that the patient with sleepwalking, for most part, has mental stress
, such as studies, so sleepwalking has nothing to do with heredity. 2) A Hong-Kong do
ctor traditional Chinese medicine stated that from an angle of Chinese medicine, sleep
walking stems from the dryness and hotness in body, so using the suitable medicine ca
n remedy it.
• 2. Environmental: sleep deprivation, chaotic sleep schedules, stress, fever, chemical
or drug intoxication
• 3. Physiological:
• a. Greater length and depth of SWS (slow wave sleep) in children than in adults may b
e a factor in the increased frequency of sleepwalking in children.
• b. Pregnancy & menstruation may indirectly trigger sleepwalking.
• c. Associated medical conditions: arrhythmias, psychiatric disorders,etc.
 What can be done about Sleepwalking?
• There are four aspects:
• 1. Supportive: Support the patient, handle the
sleepwalker’s feeling about somnambulism, and remove
any dangerous factors from his/her bedroom
• 2. Behavioral Therapy: Sleepwalkers should get enough
rest, can develop a calm bedtime ritual, and don’t drink
much water before sleep. Hypnosis and an accurate
psychiatric evaluation could be helpful to them.
• 3. Medical Therapy
• 4. Prognosis: Sleepwalking usually end between 7-14
but may persist until adulthood.