This paper explains the reasons behind the occurrences and ramifications of sleepwalking as well as highlighting the techniques to minimize this sleep disorder. Sleepwalking does little injury to the sleepwalkers, however, if the disorder persists, potential harm can be created. Hence, to be able to lessen the occurrence of sleepwalking and possible harm it's been causing, self care method is introduced. Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, can be triggered by several factors; a few of which can be sleeping with the bladder full or distress. To include on, sleepwalking, recognized by Dr. Ebrahim (2008), is more likely to occur if some particular factors are present and these factors include stress, sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. Since self care method includes ways release a stress and advices people on ways to get enough rest as well as sleep, thus, it is considered the better option to displace medication treatment and counselling session because of the costly prices.
Broughton (2000) once mentioned that "The term parasomnia refers to several acute, episodic, physical phenomena that either occur exclusively during sleep or seem to be exaggerated by sleep" (as cited in Pegram, McBurney, Harding & Makris, 2004, p. 200). The generally more typical encountered NREM sleep parasomnias consist of "sleepwalking", "sleep terrors, confusional arousal, sleep talking, and bruxism" (Pegram et al. , 2004, p. 200). Sleepwalking, also called somnambulism in its medical term, is definitely the least harmful sleep problems when compared with insomnia and sleep apnea which might cause damages to one's health. However, when the sleepwalker wanders too far away or carry out some dangerous activities, accidents could possibly occur at any one time. For instance, there was an extremely interesting case of sleepwalking where a 33 year-old lady named Donna Sheppard-Saunders attemptedto murder her mother during sleep. She held a pillow over her mother's face for about 30 seconds and stopped after that as the mother struggled and called for help (Crompton, 2009, para. 1).
Sleepwalking episodes generally result from an arousal through the deepest stages of sleep. These stages are otherwise known as slow-wave sleep. Later on, actions such as sitting up may be stimulated due to the incompletion of such arousal while asleep. As a result, sleepwalking episode occurs. Nonetheless, immediately after the sleepwalker is awakened and reaches full wakefulness, she or he may not remember anything at all that has happened while she or he sleepwalks (Chambers, 2000, p. 311). Sleepwalking episodes usually affects children more than adults. Dr. Irshaad Ebrahim (2008) states that "[t]he condition influences 15 per cent of children but only between 2 and 4 per cent of adults" (para. 5). In this case, Chambers (2000) believes that this could be because slow-wave sleeps hold the tendency to diminish as a person gets older (p. 311).
However, the occurrence of the disorder is not fixed. With regards to the seriousness of sleepwalking, a person can sleepwalk occasionally, or even, almost every night. Not just that, sleepwalking is hereditary and it runs in some family, too. Nevertheless, there are several factors that cause sleepwalking that occurs for some individuals throughout their sleep. Thus, self care method may be used to treat sleepwalking patients without interrupting their daily lifestyles.
One of the reason why would be stress. Negative stress, also called distress, is bad as it could impair a person's health. It often pertains to problems such as anxiety, lack of appetite, struggling to concentrate well, loss of libido, irrational behavior, easily feel irritated or annoyed. Other than that, it also causes physical effects which include discomfort of stomach, tense muscles leading to neck, back or shoulder ache, and even missing periods in a few women, with attention to depression. Therefore, sleepwalking is often reported to be triggered when a person is overly distressed. Consequently, stress became the one of the first factors to check out when a person sleepwalks.
Nevertheless, stress is not really the only reason behind this sleeping disorder. Other causes such as not getting an enough amount of sleep can indirectly lead to sleepwalking as well. Other than that, anxiety - usually initiated by stress - and sleeping with a complete bladder are very much interconnected with night terrors and nightmares which in turn contribute to the sleep disorder. In Science, Roger J. Broughton (1968) highlights that "bladder contraction, producing enuresis; sensorium impairment" can result in the occurrences of somnambulism (p. 1077). Sleepwalking, recognized by Dr. Ebrahim (2008), is much more likely to happen if some particular factors are present and these factors include stress, sleep deprivation and alcohol consumption. He also added that "[t]rigger factors may be internal, such as snoring or excessive limb movements, or external, such as noise or being touched" (para. 6).
In addition, those who find themselves born in a family group with sleepwalking history will sleepwalk compared to others when they feel stress. There was a case study where Carl Edmonds (1967) provided evidences regarding the genealogy of somnambulism. An individual with sleepwalking background was accepted for treatment after consecutive incidents of parasomnias since he was very young. It had been then which both the therapist and the individual knew, as told by the parents that his father used to sleepwalk whenever a young man. To make the point even stronger, the paternal grandmother was also a sleepwalker in adult life. Furthermore, his three sisters were as well influenced in various ways (p. 237). In cases like this, it is logically proven that folks with a family history of sleepwalking have greater likelihood of sleepwalking or encountering other parasomnias in comparison to that of others. Although milder cases of sleepwalking are not harmful, however, there are a number of things that require to be taken care of to decrease the chances of potential harms when sleepwalking occurs due to undertaking certain activities unconsciously during sleep.
Contrary to numerous beliefs, sleepwalking will not necessarily always mean walking while sleeping. Sleepwalking activities can include sitting up and appearing awake, when in fact, the sleepwalker is asleep. Besides that, common behaviors of sleepwalking also consist of dressing and undressing or even more complex activities. For instance, moving furniture and preparing meals. To further illustrate, Shirley Koecheler, who has been a sleepwalker for quite some time, started munching food in her sleep after she got married. She would roam into her kitchen and grab on some snack (Epstein, 2010, para. 1). To some extent, sleepwalking is generally considered not dangerous unless the occurrence of sleepwalking continues in to the adulthood and posts a risk of potential injury to the sleepwalker or the people around. Until then, it is essential to get for help from doctors or counselors (Ebrahim, 2008, para. 8). Rosalind Cartwright (n. d. ) once said that sleepwalkers can be aggressive as top of the frontal lobe where moral teaching is most developed, is resting (as cited in James, 2010, para. 3). Hence, in acute cases, sleepwalking can harm self or the people around. Dr. Ebrahim (2008) also mentions that disorder should be taken care of immediately if it disrupts the sleepwalker's daily lifestyle. There must be noticeable daytime symptoms of which include sleepiness or irritability due to lack of sleep the night before (para. 8).
Take for example; a sleepwalker can in fact commit crimes like murder while sleeping. It often becomes a challenge to the juries in order how suspect can achieve this much including driving normally however, not distinguish the person they're attacking while sleepwalking. To help expand note it, the sleepwalkers do not appear to be able to perceive sound made by their victims when they cry out for help throughout a sleepwalking violence scenario. Sleepwalkers can also hardly register the pain when they accidentally injure themselves. This may only imply that the hormonal changes or brain pathways might still be in a sleeping state whilst the complex motor behaviours such as attacking people take place (Cartwright, 2004, p. 1152). Another similar case would be "How sleepwalking can result in killing". On this news article, Laura Smith-Spark (2005) reported that Jules Lowe, 32 year old man who had committed a murder by killing his 82 year old father while he was sleeping. He had experienced retrograde amnesia where he didn't remember anything about the brutal incident (para. 1). Dr. Ebrahim (2005) believes that the sleepwalking episodes occurred partly because of the fact that Mr. Lowe has already established a history of sleepwalking. Other than that, it was also because Mr. Lowe previously had consumption of alcohol and plus other factors such as death of step-mother (as cited in Smith-Spark, 2005, para. 6-7).
To further illustrate, Jack Malvern (2008) reported that "[a] teenage rugby player fell to his death from a fourth-storey window because he was sleepwalking" (para. 1) in the headline "Teenage tourist sleepwalked to his death". This tragic case of Ross Kimpton was thought to have been due to over-consumption of alcohol, therefore triggered the factor which led to sleepwalking. To add on, Kimpton could also have been bothered by the noise via outside of the room through the opened window (Malvern, 2008, para. 6-7).
Though sleepwalking may seem to be horrifying, exactly like any other disorders, there is always at least a method to treat this disorder. One clear treatment will be medication. Medication can be utilized in cases where sleepwalking occurrences are much severe, aggressive, regular, or troublesome. With the help of medication, occurrence of sleepwalking can be visibly reduced. Take for example; drugs can be terminated a couple weeks without recurrence of sleepwalking. Also, therapy usually involves the benzodiazepine or a tricyclic antidepressant. The result of fewer episodes of sleepwalking varies depending on the patient. Even if the episodes of sleepwalking reduce, however, sleepwalking will still increase briefly after discontinuing the medication. Therefore, the self care method is much safer and much easier to make use of.
Another possible treatment that may be taken into consideration into the management of sleepwalking is consulting a doctor and most preferably, attending a few counseling sessions. Perhaps, through the course of counseling, sleepwalkers can identify their causation root of sleepwalking. In the treatment of sleepwalking in children, primary causal of sleepwalking can highly be related to the stress at home and school. Hence, these areas can be explored thoroughly before going for a step further in managing children's cases of sleepwalking. To help expand illustrate, children of which go through the divorcing parents or possibly have the pressure to accomplish top in school greatly escalates the likelihood of sleepwalking. As according to David Moltz (2009), sixty-eight percent of the college or university students reviewed accounted that stress was the main one issue that gets in the manner most with initiating sleep. These cases or even more severe ones sometimes fail to respond to counseling (The British Medical Journal, 1980, p. 1660). In other words, seeking a counselor might not be the best answer. That's the reason the self care method is still preferred as the better solution in caring for children's safety. Colonel Sandier (n. d. ) reported that they didn't claim to have cured these men - a group of somnambulists who got psychiatric treatment - only to flourish in helping a few of them (as cited in Medicine: Lady Macbeth's Children, 1945).
Though many solutions have been generate to treat such a sleep problem, however, no one treatment can really cure sleepwalking altogether. Top of Form
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That is excatly why self care method is introduced. Sleepwalking seems just like a complicated disorder, milder cases of sleepwalking can be reduced or treated effortlessly at home by taking certain safety precautions, known as the self care method. This solution is defined to instruct the sleepwalkers the proper way to look after themselves when they are asleep. To begin with, sleepwalkers have to adopt a good sleeping pattern in order to ensure they are getting enough sleep. This is done by preparing a schedule whereby enough time to time to visit bed should be approximately the same every day. By hearing soft music prior to going to sleep can help to soothe and relax your brain to be able to make sure sleepwalkers will not have active minds while these are asleep. Exercises can help in reducing stress as it regulates the body's internal activity and therefore help to achieve homeostasis. Because of this, people with sleepwalking history are strongly encouraged to exercise regularly, so that they can decrease the occurrences of sleepwalking. Furthermore, having a good way of coping with stress can as well greatly decrease the options of sleepwalking. For instance, by finding and understanding the source of stress permit people to seek the right way to overcome stress easily. To include on, relaxing is thought to be one of the techniques to cope stress.
To add on, taking safety measures and precautions is vital in keeping sleepwalkers safe when sleepwalking. For instance, obstacles should be taken off hallways so that sleepwalkers won't trip and fall about them. When possible or when needed, sleepwalkers can sleep in a bedroom on the floor floor and also stay away from bunk beds. Not only that, it's important to cover all sharp objects that are easily reached in cabinets and get them to securely locked. Usually, the main door needs to be locked for safety in the event sleepwalkers may wander outside - roaming around outside at night can be quite dangerous. So, the self care method is still thought to be the better way to help sleepwalkers, rather than starting a medication treatment.
Not only that, meditation can also assist in relaxing one's mind. Just like exercising, meditation can be practiced easily - provided that they're in the right environment. Many people who meditate suggest that a person must be in a very quiet room and ensure that there are no distractions whatsoever. Moreover, the seat needs to be setup properly so that it is comfortable to take a seat on. Then all you can find left to do is relax your brain - turn off from all thoughts. However, it will always be easier in theory. So, it is important to concentrate on the breathing rate, that is, follow each breath that is inhaled and exhaled. In this manner, all the unnecessary thoughts can be placed aside for the moment. When meditating, it helps the mind to attain a certain degree of tranquility thus creating a very relaxed surrounding. As a result, stress level which usually contributes towards occurrence of sleepwalking can be reduced. With the state of attaining the tranquility, the blood circulation pressure is lowered and then it'll decrease the muscle tension. Moreover, it balances someone's physical, emotional and mental state. Benefits of meditation are of help in curing many stress related sicknesses, with sleepwalking being one of them. Thus, meditation is shown to be very useful towards the treating sleepwalking.
In a nutshell, to guarantee a safe environment, self care method should be performed well. It really is highly probable that sleepwalking is because of sleep deprivation and distress. Although this sleep disorder is incurable generally, however, the regularity of the episode can be effectively minimized in a long span of energy. Thus, self care is a very useful method that can help decrease the likelihood of the occurrence or at least lessen the amount of hazard for the sleepwalker. If any family were to learn that the sleepwalking episode is taking place, they are not advised to wake the sleepwalker as this may trigger a violent behavior from the sleepwalker. This is proven right when Scott Falater killed his wife in sleep. Falater was fixing a broken pool pump when his wife interrupted him, hence, triggering a hostile reaction (James, 2010, p. 3).
