What Causes Sleep Walking ?

   What Causes Sleep Walking?

 First off sleep walking is a sleep disorder that causes people to get up and walk around when your sleep. Weird right? Sleep walking often happens when the person is in a deep stage of sleep. The person is unable to respond during this is happening and doesn’t usually remember after it occurs. It is associated with incoherent talking. Which is when a person’s speech cannot be understood. This can come about from drinking, Delirium, Liver Failure and etc. Sleep walking occurs mostly in your childhood and can last up into adulthood.

Episodes of sleep walking can range from quiet walking about a room to a running or the person trying to escape. That’s crazy, trying to escape your protected home and going somewhere that might be dangerous and waking up not knowing where you actually are. If you do end up back in your bed, you tend to not know exactly what happened that night. Basically your eyes are open and they look glossy. You’re staring straight ahead as your roaming a room. Older children that have these symptoms usually are embarrassed when they wake up because of what they might have did while in this comatose type sleep.

Now to answer the question sleep walking is caused by …

• Genetics – it occurs more in identical twins. And, also it is a great chance of it happening if a first-degree relative has a history of it. So , it is a condition that is thought out to be inherited.
• Environmental Factors-  Sleep deprivation, Chaotic sleep schedules, make sure you get enough sleep! Also from Stress, alcohol intoxication.
• Drugs can be another cause. Usually from drugs that help you relax or sleep, or drugs that treat psychosis, stimulants that increase activity and drugs that treat allergies.

Also there are medical conditions that can contribute to the causes of sleep walking..

·         Abnormal heat rhythms. Which is when your heart doesn’t beat at the right beats it should.

·         Fever

·         Gastroesophageal reflux ( food or liquid coming back up from the stomach up into the food pipe.

·         Night time asthma

·         Night time seizure (convulsion)

·         Obstructive sleep apnea ( a condition where you stop breathing for a brief moment)

·         Psychiatric disorder

Treatments for sleepwalking is needed when is its totally bad. Medication can be given to control this problem. Such as ProSom, Klonopin, Trazodone. There is also some steps to lessen the impact of sleep walking. There is no actual way to completely stop this action but certain things can minimize one’s risk. Also there are plenty of ways to keep sleep walking safe , by keeping a safe sleeping environment, sleep on the floor, lock doors and windows, cover windows with heavy drapes, & place an alarm by the door or somewhere close by.

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleepwalking-causes

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/how-is-sleepwalking-treated