What can I do to help me quit sleep walking?!
Question:
What can I do to help me quit sleep walking?
I dreamt last nite my house was caving into the basement, so like a dumb ***, I hopped up out of bed and took off running down the stairs to save myself from my house collapsing in on itself. I finally woke up with my heart pounding and out of breath. I dont know what woke me up, I am just happy I did.
I have very intense dreams and have slept walked for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid my dad nailed the door shut to the deck next to my room. He was afraid I would fall off the 2nd story and hurt or kill myself.
Does anyone specialize in the area of sleep walking or what can I do to get help for this issue. Its embarrasing. I am not really afraid, just ashamed of doing it all the time. Any suggestions?
Answers:
Sleepwalking (somnambulism)...a common sleep disorder. It occurs when you awaken during slow wave sleep. It is also very common to have your eyes open and to have no memory of the event. The main thing is that you are more likely to injure yourself during one of these episodes. When you have them, someone should just gently lead you back to bed.
To prevent sleepwalking:
avoid fatigue
avoid stress
develop a calming bedtime ritual (read, meditate, etc)
As you can see, stress is a trigger as is fatigue. If you are the typical person, you are probably sleep-deprived. Try to rectify the situation and you should do much better.
You can also make your doctor aware of it and, if he feels it is severe enough to warrant further investigation, he may order a sleep study. Being honest though, usually avoiding the causes (fatigue and stress) is enough to prevent it.