Therapies for Sleepwalking

Previously published 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

Additional therapies for sleepwalking

A therapist can help sleepwalkers to relax with deep relaxation techniques and mental imagery to calm the body.

Another technique that can be used at home is to chart the times the sleepwalking normally occurs and then wake the sleepwalker up 15 to 20 minutes before it occurs then let them go back to bed after the episode would have occurred on its own and then would have finished. This last therapy for sleepwalking can work, but can backfire as sleep deprivation is often a trigger for sleepwalking in the first place. Therefore this technique may not work for every sleepwalker.

Sleepwalking may or may not stop as a person ages. It is not a serious condition, but could be a symptom of a deeper underlying condition that needs attention. Sleepwalkers sometimes hurt themselves during the episode by tripping and so on; but, rarely does anything serious happen.

When to call a doctor for sleepwalking

As previously discussed a doctor should be consulted if the sleepwalking is chronic, if it disturbs the other members of the household, and if the sleepwalking activities become dangerous, such as leaving the house, driving, cooking, and so on.

Source:

http://www.medicinenet.com/sleepwalking/page6.htm