Do you have a child who is a sleepwalker in your house? We do, and it can make life a little interesting for the whole family. It can also get your sleepwalking child into trouble. I forgot to mention to our sons’ hockey coach that one of them is a sleepwalker. The coach took the boys along with his own sons to a hotel for a weekend hockey tournament. It had been snowing and they didn’t want to drive back and forth late at night on icy roads. When they returned home, the coach complained to me about Lane walking around the room at 2am. Apparently, he was yelling, woke everyone up, and wouldn’t lie down so the coach had been mad at him ever since. I felt a little guilty for not mentioning the sleepwalking but Lane doesn’t do it everyday or even every week.

It is impossible to wake him up when he is sleepwalking. I usually just try to lead him back to bed and help him lie down. He frequently babbles random phrases during these episodes.

Researchers believe that sleep deprivation may lead to sleepwalking and could help specialists diagnose sleepwalking. Canadian researchers studied 40 patients who had been referred to a sleep disorder clinic for sleepwalking. During the study, researchers allowed the patients to sleep through the first night to create a baseline. The next day patients proceeded through their normal schedules and were kept awake for 25 hours. They were allowed to sleep after the 25 hours while researchers videotaped them. During the baseline sleep, 50 percent of the patients had episodes of movement, while 90 percent had episodes after sleep deprivation.

Researchers indicated that it is difficult to confirm a diagnosis of sleepwalking in the sleep lab by observing behavioral events following sleep deprivation. One would wonder why doctors are unable to accept the testimony of family members. Apparently, we are considered unreliable. I remember telling doctors that Super Dad had restless leg syndrome. I told them that he had kicked all night for the 16 years of our marriage. They had him spend the night in a sleep clinic so that they could diagnose him.

Up to four percent of adults are sleepwalkers. Typically, sleepwalking involves misperception, unresponsiveness to surroundings, mental confusion, and amnesia during sleepwalking episodes. There is no proven method of diagnosing sleepwalking. Sleepwalkers should avoid sleep deprivation and maintain a regular sleep schedule to help avoid episodes.

Photo Credit Julia Fuller 2007