Symptoms Associated with Sleepwalking

Previously published in Examiner

Most Montrealers complain they do not get enough sleep. Yet, sleep affects are physical and mental health. Not having enough sleep affects our mood, our stamina, our home-life and career, and our social relationships.

Sleep is an important human function which is essential for good physical health and good mental health. Even though sleep is so important many Montrealers take sleeping for granted. They either sleep too much or more often than not, sleep less than is recommended for good health. Montrealers will catnap rather than sleep, burn the midnight oil studying, play on the computer, or just insist that they are too busy too sleep.

Conditions that affect sleep, our health, and mental health include such topics as sleepwalking. For help in the Montreal area for sleep disorders you can in Montreal click here:

Mount Sinai Hospital Sleep Center

Montreal Sleep Clinic

Family members are usually the first people to see sleepwalking in action. To familiarize one's self it is important to know the symptoms.

Symptoms of sleepwalking:

• Sitting up in bed appearing to be awake
• Quietly walking around
• Running and appearing agitated
• Dazed
• Exhibiting clumsy behavior
• open eyes, glassy stare
• If spoken to, responses may be gibberish, or responses can be slow in coming, or there may be no response at all
• If sleepwalkers goes back to bed without every being awaken they will not remember sleepwalking
• Older children who sleepwalk and awaken at the end of the episode are likely to become shy or embarrassed about the incident, especially if what they did during the sleepwalking episode was inappropriate such as urinating on the carpet.
• Bedwetting is also known to occur among sleepwalkers.
• Some sleepwalkers will not actually walk, but perform repeated behaviors such as readjusting their night clothes, turning a light on or off and so on.
• Sleepwalking is not associated with a history of previous sleep disorders. It has no bearing on sleepwalking if the sleepwalker sleeps alone or in a room with one or more individuals.
• There is no research to support that children who are sleepwalkers have a fear of the dark, or are subject to bursts of anger.

What the studies seem to point to is that young children who are sleepwalkers are restless sleepers especially during the first year of life. They continue to be restless sleepers up until the age of four or five.

Sources

http://www.medicinenet.com/sleepwalking/article.htm