Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking:
The Causes and Cures

Sleepwalking is a bizarre sleep disorder, where sufferers can find themselves performing daily routines in their sleep - like doing housework, raiding the fridge, making phone calls, and in extreme cases leaving the house altogether.

Sleepwalkers have no memory of their somnambulism so the condition can go unnoticed for some time. Common causes of sleepwalking include:

• Sleep deprivation
• Emotional problems
• Increased stress
• Fever or sickness

It's a myth that sufferers are acting out the movements of a dream. Most cases occur in NREM sleep - a deep sleep where dreams are fleeting and few. This is also why it's very unlikely to sleepwalk while lucid dreaming. Even if you did, you would probably realize and wake up very quickly.

Sleepwalking Facts

• "After spending some money in his sleep, Hermon the Miser who so infuriated that he hanged himself" Gaius Lucilius

  Some 18% of people (1 in 5) have recurring bouts of this automatism sleep disorder.
  
  
• Unlike other sleep disorders, men are more prone to sleep walking than women.
  
  
• It's more common in children and young adults, who spend more time in Slow Wave Sleep (up to 80% of the night) when parasomnias occur.
  
  
• Sleepwalking begins when you move your legs in your sleep, in synchronization. This triggers coordinated movement.
  
  
• People have been reported to eat, bathe, urinate, dress, drive a car, whistle and even commit sleepwalking murder.
  
  
• They have their eyes open so they can see what they're doing. (But, no, they don't have their arms outstretched like in the movies...)

Sleep Talking and Similar Sleep Disorders

Sleep talking is another parasomnia where people talk in their sleep. It happens during the transition of one NREM cycle to another, when you become partially awake. It can also happen during REM sleep, in which case you can literally verbalize your own dream speech!

Sleep talking is linked to several other sleep disorders:

• REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) - loud or emotional sleep talking
• Sleepwalking - performing waking movements during sleep
• Night Terrors - screaming or shouting during sleep
• Sleep Related Eating Disorder (SRED) - eating during sleep

Sleep talking is very common in young children, but the majority grow out of it. Only 5% of adults appear to sleep talk.

Dion McGregor became a celebrity in the 1960s when his roommate began recording his nightly sleep talking monologues. Apparently they were hilariously detailed and explained what was happening in his dreams - including a hot air balloon trip to the moon!

Ok, back to sleepwalking...

How to Deal with Sleepwalking

First, trying gently guiding the person back to bed.

They may want to complete their sleep walking task first (eg, they may be dusting if they think the house is dirty). In this case, help them out, then guide them back to bed. Don't be embarrassed - they won't remember any of it!

If you're not sure what their goal is, you can just ask them. They may be slow to respond or may not respond at all - just keep your questions simple.

Don't be surprised if they do strange things, like urinating into a pot plant or eating invisible food! They are acting out automatic responses from waking life and are not fully aware of their surroundings.

Sleepwalking Murder

It's shocking - but it's true. Confirmed killers have walked free from court because they used the sleepwalking murder defense. About 68 sleepwalking murder cases have occurred to date, and have led to new laws and definitions of murder.

The courts now recognize that you can't be held responsible for acts which you can't willfully control. This includes acts of automatism - including spasms, reflex actions, convulsions, acts under concussion... and walking in your sleep.

Here are two of the most high profile sleepwalking murder cases.

The idea of sleepwalking murder is chilling for two reasons. In the first instance, we have the subconscious mind making decisions without rational waking logic. While the body acts with automated responses, the unconscious guides its overall behavior as if there is no consequence - as if in a dream world.

Secondly, what if sleepwalking is used as a murder defense by genuine killers - and they get away with it? How can a jury truly understand what happened in a person's brain retrospectively - whether the crime was a true act of automatism?

Fortunately, sleepwalking murder is a rare occurrence. And the act of sleepwalking itself has absolutely nothing to do with lucid dreaming.

You can sleep soundly tonight.

Related articles

Sleep Disorders

False Awakenings

Escaping from Nightmares

Sleep Paralysis

Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking

Night Terrors

Lucid Nightmares

Fatal Familial Insomnia

The Man Who Never Slept

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