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| Sleepwalking is not dangerous at all (image is credited to www.irishtimes.com) |
Approximately, five per cent of the population walk in their sleep, when they are kids, but for most people, the nightly activity stops, when they have grown up. Sleepwalkers get out of bed when they are in deep, dreamless sleep. Being asleep and unconscious, they may walk about for several minutes, talking. Sometimes sleepwalkers even carry out sophisticated activities, such as rearranging the furniture, getting dressed and cooking food. Even more, in 2005, a British girl even ventured onto a crane.
When people walk in their sleep, it is usually due to lack of sleep or mental disorders such as anxiety. But, is it dangerous? Sleepwalking is actually not dangerous. Although sleepwalkers have fallen down stairs or out of windows, there is normally nothing alarming about sleepwalking, according to scientists. The condition need not to be treated, if only the nocturnal activities take place in a safe manner. In most cases, sleepwalkers return to bed and go on sleeping though. When they wake up in the morning, they usually do not remember the episode.
In adults, the phenomenon is often observed during periods of severe lack of sleep. One of the best ways to prevent sleepwalking is to sleep well and for a long time. Some scientists associate sleepwalking in children with late development of the central nervous system, whereas in adults, it is associate with mental disorders such as schizophrenia and anxiety.
Some studies indicate that migraine victims walk in their sleep more often than other people do, but they are individual studies, which do not provide at clear picture, so scientists do not really know how to explain the causes of sleepwalking.