A child suffering from sleepwalking fell out of a window at night. Is the disease dangerous?

Author Yana Filimonova

03/19/2013 15:00 (Updated: 06/14/2021 00:34)

Health » Health and prevention » Psychotherapy

Sleepwalking (scientifically, somnambulism) is a disease so mysterious that it has acquired a mass of myths and legends.

Professor Antonio Zadra and his fellow scientists from the University of Montreal in Canada debunk some popular myths about sleepwalking. For example, the idea that somnambulism occurs only in children and adolescents is incorrect. It is also wrong to think that sleepwalkers often cause harm to themselves and others (although sometimes this cannot be avoided). What is the “true face” of sleepwalking?

A quarter of somnambulists suffer from sleepwalking after adulthood

"He'll outgrow it." With these words, doctors usually reassure the parents of a child who has been diagnosed with somnambulism. These ideas are based on the knowledge that with age, the proportion of deep slow-wave sleep decreases, during which sleepwalking attacks occur. However, the belief that somnambulism certainly goes away during puberty is nothing more than a myth.

The statistics are encouraging, but do not guarantee a 100% cure for sleepwalking with age: a quarter of somnambulists still suffer from sleepwalking even after adulthood.

What is sleepwalking?

Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder in which a person can perform quite complex actions (getting out of bed, walking, getting dressed) without waking up. This happens in the deep phase of sleep, so it is quite difficult to wake a person, and he himself does not wake up, even when he bumps into obstacles and drops various objects on the floor.

The words “sleepwalker” and “sleepwalking” come from two similar Latin words: lunaticus (mad) and luna (moon). Thus, the term “sleepwalking” can be roughly translated as “lunar madness.” It was a logical and correct name when people believed in the influence of the phases of the moon (or moonlight) on humans.

Today the word “sleepwalking” is considered obsolete, and the medical term “somnambulism” is used instead. Occasionally you can hear such an option as “somnambulism”, but it is not used in the scientific literature. The term “somnambulism” is derived from the Latin words somnus (sleep) and ambulo (to walk). In colloquial Russian, its direct translation is often used - “sleepwalking”. Sometimes the term "noctambulism" is also used, derived from the word noctis (night).

This phenomenon is much more widespread than is commonly believed. Emotional trauma, strong experiences, alcohol and some medications may well provoke isolated episodes of somnambulism in a completely healthy person. This is not considered a pathology if it occurs no more than 1-2 times a month. Quite often, sleepwalking is observed in children. Regular episodes may occur between the ages of 8 and 16, but after puberty the problem usually disappears completely.

In the medical literature, somnambulism has the symbol F51.3 and refers to parasomnias - motor, behavioral or autonomic sleep phenomena. Normally, the brain during sleep should completely suppress all motor activity of the muscular system, including the speech apparatus. If for some reason this does not happen, the person begins in reality to perform all the actions that he dreams of at the moment. Since most people very rarely remember dreams, episodes of sleepwalking are usually completely forgotten.

Sleepwalkers can remember what happened to them

“I don’t remember anything.” The myth says that somnambulists cannot remember anything from their nocturnal adventures. However, this is not always the case.

Somnambulism in both children and adults has the same symptoms:

• part of the brain is asleep,
• some are awake.

The waking part is responsible for appropriate behavior:

• a person opens and closes doors,
• washes hands,
• goes up or down stairs,
• his eyes may be open,
• he can even recognize people.

At the same time, consciousness is changed, and reactions to the environment are unusual and illogical. However, since part of the brain is still awake, the somnambulist sometimes remembers what happened. Some can even record what they thought or felt at that moment, although such an improvement in memory in somnambulists occurs again with age.

Causes of sleepwalking

Previously, when researchers were just trying to understand what sleepwalking was, they considered it an independent disease. In modern medicine, it is considered a consequence of various conditions in which the brain does not quite correctly control the body’s systems during sleep. The most common reasons are factors such as:

1. Emotional turmoil.
   This usually happens when a person does not understand how to live further. This may be a feeling of emptiness associated with the loss of a loved one, or simply a state of confusion caused by the loss of a job or ruined plans.
2. Sleep deficiency or inadequate sleep.
   A person needs a good rest. If he does not get enough sleep for a long time, then many body systems begin to malfunction, and even the sleep mechanism may not work correctly.
3. Hormonal imbalances.
   Hormones control all processes in our body, and if their balance is disturbed, this can provoke episodes of sleepwalking in people who have not previously encountered this problem. This effect can be observed in adolescents, as well as in women during menstruation or pregnancy.
4. Organic brain damage.
   Sleepwalking is a consequence of improper functioning of the central nervous system. Therefore, it may well arise as a result of injury or age-related brain diseases.
5. Diseases of internal organs.
   An increase in episodes of somnambulism has been observed in people suffering from diabetes, bronchial asthma and diseases of the cardiovascular system.
6. Poor nutrition.
   Excess insulin in the blood can greatly impair the quality of sleep, so dinner should not be filling. But too strict a diet can lead to undesirable consequences. An ideal diet should be balanced and provide the body with sufficient nutrients, vitamins and minerals every day.

A single episode of sleepwalking can be the result of heavy alcohol intoxication, taking psychotropic substances or certain medications. Sometimes it is provoked by alcohol in combination with strong emotional experiences or unusual impressions.

Sleepwalkers have a special logic

A sleepwalker automatically repeats actions that are familiar to him from his waking state. This is wrong. The study's authors, Professor Antonio Zadra and his fellow scientists from the University of Montreal in Canada, believe that

• The essence of somnambulism is partial sleep, when the brain does not fall asleep completely. Therefore, there is still a logic in the actions of sleepwalkers, but a special, “dreaming” logic.

A 28-year-old man says: “Now I do not suffer from somnambulism, but in childhood and adolescence my relatives saw me walking in my sleep several times. One night, my mother discovered that I was pouring water from a vase of flowers on the floor onto the floor. She didn’t immediately realize that I was sleeping. When asked what I was doing, I did not respond. But when she told me to get a rag and wipe up the water, I leaned over and began to “mop” the floor with my empty hand. In fact, I dreamed that I was watering indoor flowers, and then that I was wiping the floor.”

How to get rid of sleepwalking?

It is important to consider that somnambulism can occur for various reasons, therefore the approach to treatment must be individual. There is no sufficiently effective way to get rid of sleepwalking on your own. Moreover, this disorder may be the result of a serious disease of the central nervous system, so in any case it is necessary to consult a doctor.

To begin with, you can contact a psychotherapist who will determine whether sleepwalking is associated with emotional disorders, depression or neurosis. If necessary, he will prescribe an MRI examination, blood tests, hormonal levels and other procedures. If there are no serious illnesses, further treatment will be carried out using psychotherapeutic methods. Antidepressants, antiepileptics and some other drugs may be prescribed as additional therapy.

Are sleepwalkers dangerous to others and themselves?

The actions of a sleepwalker can be dangerous for himself and for others . Usually, episodes of somnambulism are so short that the sleepwalker does not have time to do something truly threatening, as the exciting plots of books and films tell:

• open the window and go out onto the ledge,
• take a weapon
• cut yourself with a knife...

However, the idea of ​​sleepwalking as a dangerous disorder is still not far from the truth: if in the example described above the young man had dropped and broken a vase, in his sleep he could well have walked over its fragments and cut himself.

Fall incidents

Sleepwalking does not always end without injury. In some cases, children are seriously injured when they fall. Last July, a 13-year-old schoolgirl fell from an eighth-floor window. And although a parked car softened her fall, she suffered a fractured cervical vertebra. The girl was quickly sent to the hospital, where her spine was operated on.

A similar incident occurred in Zelenograd. A 10-year-old boy suffering from sleepwalking fell from the window of an apartment on the sixth floor. A bush softened his fall.

Dangerous Lunatic - Kenneth Parks

One of the most impressive examples of dangerous sleepwalkers was the Canadian Kenneth Parks.

In May 1987, this 23-year-old man walked out of his home in a Toronto suburb in a dream, started his car, and drove more than 20 kilometers to his father-in-law's house. Getting out of the car, he took a tire iron from the trunk and opened the door with the key he had. Once inside, he strangled his father-in-law, Dennis Woods, and beat his mother-in-law, Barbara Ann Woods, before stabbing the woman to death with her own kitchen knife. Parks then returned to the car, drove to the nearest police station and stated: “I think I killed someone.” The surprising thing is that Kenneth Parks was asleep all this time.

It is clear that at first investigators were deeply skeptical of Parks's assertions that he committed the double murder in his sleep (with his eyes open and being able to drive) and did not remember anything. However, further investigation, as well as a psychiatric examination, an interview with Parks' relatives and examinations of the criminal himself confirmed that he was indeed one of the most dangerous lunatics of his time.

Medical studies showed that Parks was characterized by unusually deep sleep. Analysis of his brain waves showed that he experienced sleep stages more frequently than most people. He also suffered no physical pain during the attack - this despite tearing several tendons that later required surgery. Parks only came to his senses at the police station.

His relatives said that as a child he often spoke in his sleep, sometimes walked, and until the age of 11-12 he constantly woke up in a wet bed. (An earlier 1974 study of 50 sleep-aggressive adult sleepwalkers found that many of them wet the bed as children and walked around without waking.) One night, one of Parks' brothers grabbed his leg at the last moment as he was about to exit through the window. Similar symptoms occurred in his relatives in three generations.

True, some other details from Parks’ life did not put him in the best light. Almost a year before the attack, he became addicted to gambling. This took a toll on his marriage, and he ended up stealing $30,000 from his job to pay off his debts. Two months before the attack, the misconduct came to light and Parks was fired. A few weeks of abstinence were enough for him, after which he began to gamble again, and once even forged his wife’s signature to get money. The wife and her parents quarreled with Parks. Three days before the attack in a dream, he decided to improve: he visited the Anonymous Players Club for the first time and decided to reconcile with his wife’s parents, with whom he was, apparently, quite close. Parks was so nervous about the upcoming meeting that he even lost sleep because he was preparing for the upcoming conversation.

Despite the seemingly far-fetched nature of his alibi, Parks was acquitted. Some features of his condition: neuroticism and insomnia are typical for sleepwalkers, we will talk about this below.

Prevention of sleepwalking

Despite the fact that somnambulism can only be treated under the supervision of a doctor, you can take preventive measures on your own. The following methods of prevention are considered quite effective:

• good vacation;
• lack of stress;
• adherence to daily routine;
• optimal sleep duration (more on this in a separate article);
• refusal of exciting entertainment (computer games, TV series);
• getting rid of bad habits (smoking, coffee abuse);
• refusal of physical activity in the afternoon;
• replacing a heavy dinner with a light snack.

Is it worth waking up a sleepwalker while traveling: arguments for and against

ra I believe that, having weighed all the pros and cons, in the future it will be easier for you to decide whether you need to wake up a person during his hikes at night.

One thing is clear: there is no universal recommendation for those who experience sleepwalking. In every situation, you need to act thoughtfully so as not to harm the sleepwalker himself.

A real-life story about why a sleepwalker sometimes needs to be woken up

One of my friends has suffered from sleepwalking since adolescence. Now she is 35, and she still sometimes gets up in the middle of the night without realizing what she was doing. Her husband is used to this behavior, but he sleeps very lightly and often helps her return to bed to finish her dreams. He never woke her up because he thought it would cause her a lot of stress.

But last year the script had to be changed. One day, a friend of mine, in the middle of the night, while sleeping, went to the kitchen to drink water. As a result, she accidentally broke a glass, and could easily have been injured if her husband had not arrived in time. He woke her up and helped her collect the pieces. Only after making sure that there was no glass on the woman’s body did they go to bed.

I think in such a situation, waking him up was the best solution.

Why shouldn't you wake up sleepwalkers?