Why You Can't Wake Up Sleepwalkers In Your Sleep

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Why you can't wake up sleepwalkers and what to do when you meet them

All unknown phenomena are always fascinating and frightening, overgrowing with unconfirmed theories and raising a lot of questions. Sleepwalking is one of these phenomena. For example, one of the popular statements says that sleepwalkers cannot be woken up. Is it really?

Sleepwalking: what is it really

Sleepwalking is an outdated name for somnambulism: a special sleep disorder in which the sleeping person performs some action.

However, the image and behavior of a person suffering from somnambulism is fundamentally different from the opinion inherent in many people. Speaking of sleepwalkers, the overwhelming majority of people imagine a person walking around a room with their eyes closed, arms outstretched in front of them.

The image of a sleepwalker is actually different from how he is presented

As a rule, the actions performed by the somnambulist are harmless and include not only walking around the house, but also conversations with household members, feeding pets, cleaning, etc. Less often, the somnambulist performs a complex and more dangerous algorithm of actions: prepares food, drives a car and etc. There are also known cases of aggression and cruelty on the part of the somnambulist.

Contrary to popular belief, the eyes of the somnambulist are most often open, but the gaze is clouded and dull, as if a person is looking but not seeing.

Attacks of sleepwalking usually last for half an hour, rarely - up to several hours. During an attack, the somnambulist is unable to respond to changes in the environment, and after waking up, as a rule, he does not remember his activity.

The phenomenon of sleepwalking has been little studied: there is no reliable information about the causes of its occurrence. Possible causes of somnambulism, according to scientists, can be:

• immaturity of the nervous system;
• lack of sleep;
• disturbances in the phase of slow sleep;
• fatigue;
• nervous strain and stress;
• genetic predisposition;

• taking certain medications:

  • antidepressants;
  • antipsychotics;
  • beta blockers, etc.;
• the presence of concomitant diseases (Parkinson's disease, mental disorders, etc.).

Approximately 10% of the population faces sleepwalking. Interestingly, it is more common in children than in adults. At the same time, the child's age does not affect the frequency and regularity of seizures.

More than 5% of cases of sleepwalking are child somnambulism

A number of clinical trials have not revealed an effective way to combat this phenomenon, despite the wide range of methods tested. The following turned out to be ineffective:

• psychological impact:

  • psychoanalysis;
  • hypnosis;
  • scheduled warning awakening;
  • game therapy;
  • sleep hygiene;
  • electric shock, etc.;
• pharmacological effects (prescription of drugs of various groups).

However, there are a number of recommended measures to minimize the risk for people with somnambulism and their families. To avoid injury during a sleepwalking attack, you must:

• to secure the routes of movement as much as possible (remove carpets, wires and other objects that you can trip over);

• provide window openings with grilles;

  

  There are frequent cases of falling out of the window during bouts of sleepwalking

• remove the keys to the front door and vehicles in a place unfamiliar to the somnambulist;
• safely remove potentially dangerous items (cutlery, tools, etc.).

A common misconception is that a sleepwalker should never be woken up during an attack. In fact, this prohibition is unfounded. It has been scientifically proven that such awakening will not cause irreparable harm to the health of the somnambulist. In the event of a forced awakening, the somnambulist will be disoriented, which can cause an unexpected reaction in accordance with the temperament of the sleeping person: being frightened, the somnambulist can injure himself or the person trying to wake him up. For this reason, it is recommended to gently return the somnambulist to bed. The exceptions are cases when it is simply impossible not to wake a person walking in a dream (due to possible harm to health).

The human essence, the characteristics of his body and psyche have not been sufficiently studied. Many phenomena and deviations cannot be explained despite numerous studies. Sleepwalking is one of them. But, despite the lack of knowledge of the phenomenon, there are a number of tips and rules of behavior, confirmed by research and practical experience, that can facilitate and minimize the onset of negative consequences for a person suffering from sleepwalking attacks and the people around him. The main thing is to approach the issue from a scientific point of view and not believe the numerous fables.