Sleep walking is also known as noctambulism or somnambulism. This problem is mostly seen in children who are aged between 4 to 8 years. Mostly this problem of sleep walking appears to run in families. So if anyone in your family has the problem, it is more than likely to occur in one of your children.
The factors which cause the problem of sleep walking in children are:
• Fatigue or lack of sleep
• Due to fever or some other illness
• Medications which are unsuitable for your child, may contribute to the problem.
• Stress or some psychological problems
• Facing problems in getting uninterrupted or quality sleep
• Some emotional problems can also lead to this problem
Sleep walking does not indicate that the child is physically or emotionally stressed, although in some cases this may be a cause. Most of the sleep walkers will go back to bed on their own. The following morning they will be unable to recall sleep walking.
The most common symptoms which can be observed in the children who have the problem of sleep walking are:
• Opening eyes (half open in some cases) during sleep
• They will have a blank look on their face
• They appear awake or sit up during their sleep
• They try to perform some detailed activity when they are in sleep
• Disoriented, confused upon awakening
• Talking to themselves in their sleep
• They will be clumsy, dazed and feel hard to wakeup.
Some other conditions which accompany this problem are:
• Enuresis (it is also known as bed wetting)
• Night terrors
• By sitting up in their bed they will perform some repeated motions like fussing their pajamas or rubbing eyes.
Follow these simple steps to keep your child out of harm:
• Remove breakable or sharp things which are present around the bed of your child.
• Don’t let them sleep in bunk beds, because there is a chance of falling .
• In order to prevent the child stumbling, remove all obstacles which are present in your child’s room or in your house
• Install the safety gates near the stair case and/or outside of your child’s room
• Lock the doors and windows throughout your home
• Don’t scare your child by awakening him/her suddenly in their sleepwalk
• Make your child feel more relaxed when they are ready to sleep, by playing some relaxation or soft music tapes .
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Sleep Net
This is a very interesting article. My nephew has night terrors and often walks in his sleep. My brother installed stair gates to prevent him from harm and it is working great for that purpose.
While this post is unique nowadays, this is always something that needs to be remembered. This was a great article.