Sleepwalking in adults, the main hypothesis is the factors that provoke

Sleepwalking in adults: a disease or not? In the scientific community and environment, sleepwalking is called somnambulism, in medical language. This condition is shrouded in a lot of myths. The science that studies this phenomenon is psychosomatics.

This concept has a definition - sleepwalking and sleeptalking. Previously it was argued that walking in a dream is associated with the phases that the moon goes through.

Sleepwalking - why do people walk in their sleep?

Although modern scientists have long refuted this theory and given a more precise explanation of this fact.

Scientifically speaking, who is a sleepwalker?

Sleepwalking is widespread among people, affecting approximately 3.5% of the population. In the case when attacks of sleepwalking are constantly repeated, you need to consult a doctor. This condition can cause quite dangerous diseases, such as epilepsy. When somnambulism in an individual manifests itself accidentally, then the help of a specialist is not required. Sexual sleepwalking is also known; it most often occurs in young people during puberty.

Treatment of insomnia

The basis of treatment for insomnia is sleep hygiene and creating a sleep deficit.

We don't like to prescribe prescription sleep aids because they are highly addictive—40% of people can't stop taking them.

We mainly look for a cause of sleep disturbance that is not related to sleep hygiene and often find anxiety and depressive disorders. In this case, we prescribe antidepressants and psychotherapy that help the person cope with these symptoms and at the same time improve sleep.

The production of the sleep hormone decreases markedly after age 55. For people of this age who suffer from insomnia, we recommend using melatonin. We usually don’t recommend melatonin for young people - they already have enough of it. The only time we can recommend melatonin to a young person is for jetlag (difficulty falling asleep when changing time zones).

Factors that provoke sleepwalking

Why do people walk in their sleep? Currently, scientists have found the main reason for the appearance of sleepwalking, but there are other specific hypotheses that explain this phenomenon.

The reason is the following - a large accumulation of carbon dioxide in the blood. In medical language it is called hypercapnia. Which occurs as a result of temporary cessation of respiratory movements.

People snore, and then they stop breathing for a while. Then they snore monstrously, as they need to draw in a portion of oxygen. These people experience such a condition.

Oxygen levels drop in the blood. Carbon dioxide levels rise. Serotonergic pathways are activated in the brain, where the hormone serotonin predominates.

Sleep, while snoring, stopping breathing. The brain tries to wake up a person, but only activates motor areas. A man gets up, walks somewhere, but sees nothing. Because the eyes are open, but they are sleeping. He is in a semi-conscious state.

Sleepwalking is accompanied by stress or fatigue

Usually, sleepwalking is characteristic of people with very high emotionality, subject to experiences and stress. In adults, the cause may be fatigue at work, insomnia, or taking medications such as sedatives and antihistamines. Sleepwalking also occurs in impressionable people when they find themselves in an environment that is unusual for them.

Other causes of somnambulism include pathologies associated with a person’s mental and physical state, which may well affect sleep. There may be physical reasons:

• head injury;
• severe migraine;
• obstructive apnea;
• convulsions and fever;
• epilepsy, its attacks;
• restless legs syndrome.

Psychological illnesses that cause attacks:

• split personality;
• panic attacks and so on.

Of course, the state of sleepwalking can be caused by drinking alcoholic drinks of various strengths and energy drinks. The mechanisms that work during sleepwalking are very simple and can be easily understood. The areas of the brain that are responsible for controlling movement have been identified. In addition, scientists have proven that somnambulism is a genetic disease and is inherited. Therefore, if parents were or are sleepwalkers, they may give birth to a child with the same disorder.

How do I know if I have insomnia?

Causes of sleepwalking in adults

The symptoms of sleepwalking are different, and they are always visible to the patient’s relatives.

Symptoms that can be noticed in the patient:

• Sleep apnea. That is, snoring, loss of breath for a while;
• Restless sleep with twitching of limbs;
• Smacking, frequent swallowing, etc.;
• You can also hear the patient talking in his sleep, usually with his eyes open, and under certain circumstances he can enter into a dialogue either with someone nearby or with himself; in some cases he can shout sharply in his sleep, quite loudly.

All of these symptoms are typical for people with a hot temper and a high degree of irritability who take sedatives.

Sleepwalking girl with glassy eyes

A person suffering from sleepwalking may also grind their teeth in their sleep and sit with their eyes open but with a glassy look. Of course, one of the main signs is sleepwalking. The consequences of sleepwalking are very serious if nothing is done.

During such an attack, the individual experiences:

• moves around the house;
• begins to take different objects;
• turns on lights and various household appliances;
• gets dressed or performs other familiar activities.

There are times when a patient goes outside and the front door is open, which poses a danger and can harm himself and others. A person begins to sleepwalk in a state of deep sleep, which occurs several hours after falling asleep. In this case, in the morning the person will not remember what happened last night. In each patient suffering from this disease, sleepwalking manifests itself differently. For some, attacks begin in stressful situations and occur rarely, for others it occurs frequently, even several times in one night.

What does it look like?

To the untrained eye, something mysterious happens: in the middle of the night, about 1-2 hours after falling asleep, the baby gets out of bed and begins to walk or do something. Sometimes the child may not get up, but simply show signs of anxiety, “spinning” on the bed. It seems that the baby is doing everything meaningfully, as if he woke up and is aware of his actions; in fact, he is in deep sleep.

If you look closely, you will notice that all the child’s movements are meaningless and poorly coordinated. Most often you can observe walking around different rooms, less often you can see actions with objects that seem to copy ordinary daily actions (dressing, manipulating toys, etc.). Sleepwalking usually lasts from several minutes to half an hour. The baby's gaze becomes detached, his facial expression is indifferent, and there is no reaction to others. It is difficult to wake up a baby, but if suddenly these attempts are crowned with success, then he cannot come to his senses for a long time, does not understand and does not remember what he was doing, he is simply disoriented. The fact is that actions in a dream occur in the deep (slow) sleep phase . Therefore, the child does not remember everything that happened during this period in a dream after waking up.

Is it possible to wake up a sleepwalker?

Of course, you need to know that it is not recommended to wake a person in this state, as this can frighten and cause severe psychological distress. There is also a category of sleepwalking called “aggressive”. In this case, the sleepwalker experiences attacks of aggression towards people who are nearby at the moment.

Such people can injure themselves, be injured by household objects, or fall out of a window.

If you see such a state of sleepwalking, you need to take the person by the hand and take him to bed. You need to understand that a person can be awakened if he needs your help. Since the motor zones are awakened, and the zones responsible for consciousness are asleep. If necessary, wake him up gently.

Prevention of attacks and accidents associated with somnambulism

In order to avoid accidents, you need to secure the room in which the sleepwalker sleeps. To do this you need:

• remove all piercing and cutting objects from the room (knives, forks, tools and even pens and pencils);
• turn off and remove electrical appliances that are in the room and in the kitchen;
• close the windows in the house tightly;
• turn off all the lights in the room (night light, chandelier), as they can provoke somnambulism.

By using these tips, you will reduce the incidence of injury to the sleepwalker.

Sleepwalking attack

Is it possible to be cured

To cure a person from somnambulism, doctors use an integrated approach. Typically, the following treatment algorithm is used:

1. The cause that caused the sleep disorder is identified and, if possible, removed. For example, if somnambulism was provoked by constant stress at work, then the person first of all needs to stop being nervous. Otherwise, no medicine will help.
2. Various methods are used to correct the subconscious programs of a sleepwalker: hypnosis, self-hypnosis, relaxation. In this way, various phobias are removed and anxiety disorders that provoke sleepwalking are treated.
3. The doctor prescribes special medications that calm the nervous system and improve the quality of sleep. Drug therapy is selected individually, depending on the manifestations of somnambulism and the frequency of its episodes.
4. The patient strictly adheres to sleep and wakefulness, and avoids any factors that could provoke another attack. Before falling asleep, it is strictly not recommended to eat heavily, be nervous, or perform hard physical work.
5. The so-called controlled awakening method is used. It has a particularly good effect on children, significantly reducing the number of episodes of sleepwalking. Its purpose is to wake up the sleepwalker each time about 15 minutes before the next attack of sleepwalking.

Important: Under no circumstances should you self-medicate or self-prescribe strong drugs that prevent attacks of sleepwalking (hypnotics, antidepressants, tranquilizers). Firstly, they are addictive and fraught with serious side effects - and therefore can only be used under the supervision of a doctor. Secondly, there is no point in starting treatment until a thorough examination reveals the cause of somnambulism.

Precautionary measures

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to completely cure sleepwalking. In cases where a child or adult continues to sleepwalk, despite treatment, all that remains is to come to terms with the situation and take measures to avoid bad consequences. To prevent a sleepwalker from getting injured during night walks, it is necessary:

• tightly close windows and doors to the street while a person is sleeping;
• remove from the bedroom all piercing and cutting objects that could accidentally injure you;
• If possible, control the behavior of the sleepwalker during sleepwalking.

Even if you can’t get rid of sleepwalking, this is not a reason to despair. It is quite possible to live a long and happy life with this diagnosis if you exercise due diligence. In addition, for many people, somnambulism goes away on its own, or its episodes become extremely rare when stress factors are removed, illnesses are cured and life circumstances change for the better.

Diagnosis of sleepwalking

When you have an attack of sleepwalking, you may well associate it with stress or overwork, then you may not need to see a doctor right away. If such attacks happen more than once, then you should go to a neurologist, neuropsychiatrist or psychiatrist so that he can help you solve this problem.

In order for a specialist to be able to understand the cause of this phenomenon, relatives need to:

• write down on paper the time the sleepwalker falls asleep, after what period of time the walking episode begins, how long it lasts, how the patient behaves in such a situation, whether there are attacks of aggression at this time, and then indicate the time of morning awakening;
• understand the causes of attacks that were noted at the beginning of the article;
• provide a list of foods that a person eats, as well as medications that he takes.

And you need to take all this data to your doctor’s appointment, they will certainly help him.

In this case, the specialist will conduct a conversation with the sleepwalking patient, ask him certain questions, conduct an examination, and then prescribe additional examinations, if necessary, to confirm or refute the disease. After all, it is a correct diagnosis that will give the desired effect of treatment.

Therapeutic measures

Treatment of sleepwalking in children and adults involves, first of all, ensuring the complete safety of the patient. The main thing is that such a person does not have the opportunity to leave his home. Therefore, doors and windows must be tightly closed. It is important to normalize the period of sleep and the period of wakefulness. Before going to bed, it is better to take a short walk in the fresh air, do not drink alcoholic beverages, and avoid eating foods that are too high in calories.

Treatment of sleepwalking in adults in young children also involves conversations with a psychologist. This condition can be cured - the main thing is to take appropriate measures in time.

How to fight - treat sleepwalking

At present, no medicine has yet been created that would help completely get rid of sleepwalking.

People suffering from sleep apnea have a device placed on their finger that shows how much carbon dioxide and oxygen is in the blood. Next, CPAP therapy is used. Forced saturation of blood with oxygen. It turned out that stopping sleep apnea cures a person from sleepwalking.

Therefore, treatment methods in other cases proceed in the order of minimizing, reducing these episodes. Somnambulism will occur quite rarely, or even stop altogether, if the person sleeps soundly and avoids stressful situations. A person should also not take strong coffee, energy drinks or alcohol. If sleepwalking is a consequence of any disease, then it should be properly treated.

Therapy is selected after a doctor has examined the patient and established the cause of somnambulism, as well as a correct diagnosis. When sleepwalking takes the aggressive form mentioned above, you have to prescribe medications to treat it.

Types of insomnia and diagnosis

Acute insomnia occurs within a short time, often due to stress factors. Lasts up to 3 months. Doctors usually encounter chronic insomnia that lasts more than 3 months.

There are special questionnaires that can be used to confirm the presence of insomnia:

— Insomnia severity index

— Epworth Sleepiness Scale

Insomnia is an independent nosology - it can be primary and occurs without any reason. But most often we are faced with secondary insomnia, which occurs against the background of psychological problems, anxiety, and depressive disorder.