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Sleepwalking

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Biology 202
1999 First Web Reports
On Serendip

Sleepwalking

Marion Howard

Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder effecting an estimated 10 percent of all humans at least once in their lives (1). This widespread phenomenon varies in its intensity and frequency. While most sleepwalking incidents are short and not dangerous, some can involve self-injury and are much more dangerous for the sleeper. Also, most interestingly, the disorder seems to stem from many different sources, not from one definable cause such as a chemical imbalance. While it is predominantly pre-adolescents who suffer from somnambulism, it is also observed in adults, although the frequency and severity of incidents increase with age. The source of the disorder was once thought to be entirely psychological and an extension of dreaming. It is now understood to be a complex combination of one or more factors, such as psychological and physiological factors as well as chemical interference (such as alcohol and drug abuse) (3). The source of the sleepwalking behavior varies according to age with the younger sufferers having more physiological problems which they grow out of, while older somnambulists, stress and substance abuse play a larger role.

Somnambulism is most common among children from the ages of 4 to 12 (3). Estimates for the percentage of the population which will sleepwalk at least once in their lifetime range quite a bit. Some sources say that most children will walk in their sleep at least once, with 15% sleepwalking more regularly (3). Others claim that 18% of the population is "prone to sleepwalking" (9). There is consensus, however, on the fact that boys sleepwalk more frequently than girls and that it is between the ages of 11 and 12 that the most cases of sleepwalking are reported (9). The fact that most children grow out of it after puberty and that people who start sleepwalking later in life tend to have the problem for the rest of their lives (9) seems to suggest that there are at least two classes of somnambulism, which may stem from different sources.

Sleepwalking most often occurs at a certain point in the sleep "architecture" (6).This is the point where the sleeper's brain waves have become larger and he or she has moved into deeper sleep. This is not REM sleep, but deep non-REM sleep. The series of complex behaviors characterizing somnambulism includes "amnesia following an episode," and "difficulty in arousing the patient during an episode" (9). The patient can also have other REM disorders or psychiatric and medical disorders which do not account for the sleepwalking. While sleepwalking, the patients' brainwaves show a mixture of types of brainwave patterns, including ones similar to those observed in waking patients, as well as those found in deep sleep. It is the "awake" patterns which match the waking behaviors like walking and talking while the patient is still asleep enough so that he or she is not aware of what it happening and is not forming memories of their actions (3).

The difference between older people's sleepwalking and that of children may be related to the sleep pattern changes a person undergoes as he grows older. Children spend more time in deep sleep (the stage during which sleepwalking is initiated) and as one becomes older, sleep is more fragmented, with more time spent in light sleep. The physiological aspects of sleepwalking probably have more to do with the cause of sleepwalking in children because they spend more time in deep sleep. To support the idea that it is physiological sources that cause the disturbance in their sleep, children undergo physiological changes (puberty) which cause the symptoms to go away without the intervention of drugs or other treatment. This is observable in the significant drop in post-pubescent incidences of sleepwalking. Drug therapies are also effective in stopping the problem for many children, implying that it is a chemical cause for the disorder in many cases involving young patients (5). There is also a genetic tendency for sleepwalking in adolescence which some people inherit and which plays out so that children in a family will often all sleepwalk, or uncles and parents will have sleepwalked in their childhood and outgrown it (3). This is another indication that childhood sleepwalking has less to do with psychological and substance abuse factors than with purely physiological factors.

On the other hand, if a patient begins sleepwalking later in life, he is more likely to have the disorder for the rest of his life (3). Stress and alcohol abuse, among other things, have been shown to contribute to sleepwalking among adults (3). Fatigue also increases the chances of a person sleepwalking because it forces the body to go into deeper sleep, allowing the dysfunctional transition into deep sleep to occur more readily, leading to somnambulism. Far fewer adults sleepwalk than do children, only about only about 1 in 200 (3). Adult sleepwalking is more serious in that it is often more aggressive, and so has more potential for self-injury. Sleepwalkers are not allowed in the armed services of the United States, at least partly because of the threat they pose to themselves and others when they have access to dangerous equipment (such as weapons) and are unaware of what they are doing when they sleep (2). Treatments for adult sleepwalkers often includes psychological treatment as well as relaxation techniques and sometimes requires anti-depressants to regulate the behavior (7). The difference in effective treatment from children to adult implies a different source for the disturbance. A more psychological or substance abuse-related set of causes seem to exist for adults.

Sleepwalking is a serious disorder for some and a mild annoyance for others. However, no matter whether it happens infrequently or often, there is the potential for harm to the person who is walking around without having full use of his brain's decision-making capabilities. The more common "type" of somnambulism, that affecting children, is less intrusive and goes away faster than the kind associated more with adults. This could be because the source is natural and a part of growing up and perhaps a part of the changing nature of the sleep patterns occurring during adolescence. Children grow out of their sleepwalking, but adults who suffer from it have in a way inflicted it on themselves or been influenced by the outside world. They then have to treat this other problem, such as a psychological problem, stress, or a drug habit, in order to get rid of the symptoms.

WWW Sources

1)"Is Sleepwalking Normal for Children?"

2) "Sleepwalking Question." by Carol King.

3)"Night Flying-An Overview of the Parasomnias." By Mark Mahowald and Carlos H. Schenck.

4) "The Sleep Disorders of Sleepwalking and Sleep Talking." By Jennifer Meuller.

5)"Paroxysmal Disorders."

6)"Sleep."

7)"Sleepwalking."

8)"Sleepwalking Disorder."

9)"Sleepwalking (Somnambulism)."

10)"Somnambulism (Sleepwalking): Guidelines for the Primary Care Provider."

 

 

Continuing conversation
(to contribute your own observations/thoughts, write in the Sleepwalking Experiences Forum on Serendip)


06/27/2005, from a Reader on the Web

I am interested in sleep walking. I did it as a child and have started doing it again. I am 51 years old and find myself in many different places in my home. I often wake up and when I figure out where I am I go back to the bed room and stay there for the rest of the night


07/01/2005, from a Reader on the Web

I am 28 years old. I have been sleepwalking for 10 years. I am aware of the situation when i sleepwalk. I just think the situation is real. I have gone looking for people that werent there. I have thought there were bugs everywhere. I have thought there was an earthquake. I will take my alarm clock off the table and put it under it. It makes sense to me as I am doing it. My husband will wake up and tell me that I'm dreaming and I get mad at him and tell him that it is real this time. I'm just wondering if that is normal with sleepwalkers---to remember all that you did. And is there anyway to stop sleepwalking.


07/06/2005, from a Reader on the Web

I have just got recently engaged to a wonderful man.We live together. He is so great to me, however, he has sleptwalked, talked and even fought ME in his sleep.(because I am right next to him) I was awakened in my sleep to him trying to gouge out one of my eyes,he has gotten up in his sleep and turned on the microwave in the kitchen, sat up and talked to me in his sleep, and so on. I am starting to get worried. It is getting to the point that I have to sleep in the daytime while he is at work, if I want to sleep. I read your posting on this site after having looked up sleepwalking in the search engine. Any insights you may have on this would be extremely grateful.

 

Additional comments made prior to 2007

yea so last night i think i was sleep walking. im only 15 years old turning 16 in like two weeks.but last night i came home i little drunk and was really really tired. i layed down and i just kept thinking about getting up and brushing my teeth and washing my face. i fell asleep and this morning i woke up with toothpaste in my hair and on my fingers and on my arm and leg. the only person that couldve done that to me would be my parents and im pretty posative it wasnt them but the bathroom was spotless when i woke up. so it lead me to believe i was sleep walking and tryed to brush my teeth ... James, 13 March 2006

 

 

Hi, my name's Joe and I have just turned 14. I am a really bad sleepwalker, I recently while asleep ran out of my room to the front door, ran outside and tried to jump over the neighbours fence, I know this because my Mum was watching TV and saw the whole thing. This is one of the worse sleepwalks I have ever done and I also sleeptalk alot and many other stuff. I am quite scared that one day I might wake up somewhere I have never been or even worse not wake up at all. And I would like to know if there are any things that can help prevent sleepwalking. Thank you for your time ... Joseph Agius, 24 March 2006

 

 

Hi I don't have a comment but a Question, a freind and I were talking the other day about sleep walking and the subject of not being able to wake a person up that is sleep walking because he said a freind of his had driven a car. I asked why they didn't wake him and he said you are not suppose to wake a sleep walker. My question is is that true and if it is true why is that? ... Les Redding, 8 October 2006

 

 

Hi i am only 11 years of age. I sleep walk probably almost every other night. When i wake up i have no clue what has happened.This morning my mom told me i had slepwalked. That night i went downstairs asked my mom what she was doing(of course i was sleepwalking) she told me she was going to go to sleep,then she asked me what i was doing then i said i was just going to watch T.V.She told me it was 11 o clock and i needed to go to sleep so i yelled "FINE" then went back upstairs. Later at 6:30 when my mom usually wakes me for school she called me then i yelled "morning!" then fell asleep. she noticed i wasnt down a little while later so she called.This time i woke up and went on with my day......Is that normal for a child my age to sleep walk? ... Ruby, 21 November 2006

 

 

I have a son age six who has been sleepwalking and talking scince he could walk and talk,he tries to get out of the windows, doors, and often throws his toys or what ever is in his way across the room cursing at what ever he is dreaming of, this is taking it toal on our family as he does not go one night without waking more than three times a night, he is a very emotional person easily frustrated etc. we are currently waitng on a hospital opt so he can be assesed but in the mean time do you have any advice? ... Leanne Fox, 11 October 2007

 

 

I am alarmed that you say those who begin sleepwalking later in life tend to keep it up. I am 67, and last night fell out of bed on my head. I hurt my arm and have a knot on my head. It hurt like the dickens. This is one of many episodes that I have had in the past 3 or 4 years. I have awakened my husband, telling him the ceiling is on fire, I have crawled over the footboard to "escape", tried to get out of the front door, etc. I am afraid I have some form of strokes. My doctor wants me to go to a sleep clinic. Any opinion? ... Martha Meyer, 18 october 2007

 

 

I'm interested in the subject of sleepwalking because i feel this is influencial in the beginning stages of life as a person. As a fact, we understand they grow out if it. Like if flowing in natural, somewho a stage or natural behavior into growing up. I'm trying to write a childrens book and so i want to be familiar to their way of thinking of learning. Habits that mark their life through adulthood and influence them to the their way of way of think and viewing perspectives. How are paradigms created? ... Juan Adame, 27 October 2007

Comments

Shani's picture

Sleepwalking

I used to sleepwalk as a child, now i am 38 year old female and has been sleep walking for the past 4-6 months. My husband tells me i am usually emptying the dishwasher. Last night I was vaccuming but i don't remember. Life is busy but not stressful. I don't drink or smoke.

Denise's picture

Sleepwalking

I am so glad to have found this site. I am 46yrs old and have had this problem since I was young. I do wonder if anyone can tell me if they think all these things factor into it. First I am extremely hyper,cant sleep unless i have a couple drinks to shut my brain off, I have on and off panic attacks and night terrors. I have done some bizaar stuff while sleep walking like emptying my entire linen closet and moving all the stuff to another room in the house. I have woken up in the morning to find all types of baking stuff all over the counter, I am not a baker. The list goes on and on. I become belligerent by anyone who tries to stop me, I just want it to stop! Im going to try not to drink to see if it helps but I did things like this even when I wasnt drinking. Good luck to all of you.

Serendip Visitor's picture

Thinking baby is in the bed

I recently had a baby (about 4 months ago). After he was born I kept waking up thinking he was in the bed, feeling around, trying to "unwrap" my pillow, which I thought was him. After feeling around for awhile, I'll realize that he's actually in his room sleeping, and I'm imagining it. The episodes occurred less as he got a bit older, but now that I have gone back to work, leaving him with a sitter, they have been happening every night. I used to sleepwalk as a child, and now have periods of time where I'll imagine people are in the room with me, or I'm trying to find something, etc. I usually wake up partway thru the episode, and realize it's not real. Is it sleepwalking when I can remember most of what happens? How can I get it to stop? Could it be stress related?

Kaitlyn's picture

Sleepwalking

Hi, I'm Kaitlyn, and I'm 13 years old. I've talked in my sleep ever since I was a little girl, but now I'm starting to sleepwalk. I don't recall when I sleepwalk, but my sister and parents always tell me about it. The first time I suspected I was sleepwalking, I apparently sat up in the middle of the night, took one of my basketball ribbons off my bulletin board and put it on my nightstand. The second time was where I woke up at 3 AM, and I couldn't find my pillow (I was awake). The next morning I asked my sister where my pillow was, because I thought she was just playing a prank. My pillow was sitting in front of her bedroom door. I'm assuming that I got up, took my pillow and placed it in front of her door. Last night, at 4:30 AM, my sister saw me walking out to the kitchen. I don't remember this, but apparently I didn't even turn the lights on, and I was getting a drink of water. She fell back asleep before I went back to bed, so I don't know how long my episode lasted. I don't usually have stress in my life, and whenever I do, I get rid of it properly. If anyone could please help, that would be appreciated!

Cameron g Dahlin's picture

Sleep Walking is normal...

Hello I'm 20 turning 21 soon, I've just started sleep walking more often then I can remeber or anyone can tell me. I'm not violent or anything but I get up and stand on my bed and yell at people who arnt there, I'll walk around my house and check the doors and windows. I'll try to clean or fix certine items around the house and my roommate will wake up and ask me what im doing and i get startled and try to talk to him but don't recall anything that happens and nothing i say makes anysense. sometimes he says my veins are comeing out of my neck and arms like im pissed but never yell at him, he says im seem to get frusterated with him sometimes but never try to hurt him or yell. Then I go right back to bed and wake up and he tells me about it and showed me a few videos and all i do is laugh. any ideas on whats causeing me to do this?

Serendip Visitor 's picture

sleep violence

Had a work place injury so i could not work any more, my wife died and my daughter was removed from my care who i have not herd from or seen since. Drs put me on anti depressants then add medication then bipolar meds. All that did was to mess my head up and nearly starved to death from the add meds at my lowest point i had lost 30 kilos, on a skinny man that is not good, then i get the shit kicked out of me by a girl i was having sex with who turned out to have a mental dissorder and a black belt. I do not remember the assult my 5 year old daughter had to tell me two days later when i woke up in pain and coverd in bruzes I spent two weeks sleeping for about 23 hours a day during that time i could hardly breathe and had many NDEs a day. After you have seen the "other side" it is hard to cope with normal life as nothing is normal after you have an NDE but thats off the point. I dont take any medication any more and i am fine exept a little bit depressed. But i have been a pain to my girlfriend of 5 years as I wake her up at night by calling out my dead wifes name, screeming very loudly waking the dogs and our daughter., punching and kicking her. trying to rape her ass, and trying to smother her with my pillow. She can never wake me and i never remember anything.i also do some non violent things like have a shower and walk around. At first i did not belive her. Also i usually wake up tired in the morning, sometime i cant get out of bed before lunchtime. just went to a new doctor today as my previous doc had no idea, thank god this doc, an immigrant to our country, knew what the problem was. mabey we should send our doctors off to a third world country to learn. I am afraid i will end up killing my partner. I hope the drugs work.

victor's picture

sleep violence

I have sleep violence what did you do please email me and tell me what to. Do. I want help

Bryan Mullins's picture

Sleep walking dreaming

My sleep walking experiences is difficult to explain because i a dreaming that im in like a strange place. but it so vivid and its like im almost aware and know where things are. Like i remember in my sleep dream i woke up from a bed and i was inside a house i never been before, i remember its intensely bright color theme it was a light blue and brown in the inside. i could hear everything around me that was happening outside my dream like the tv, or the phone ringing. In my sleep dream i kept walking back and forward in like a circle in the living room part, i kept hearing someone scream my name but there was no one there and i just kept walking in circles, after about 4 minutes of that or two i was awaken by a hard shake. My grandmother was shaking me asking me was i ok and that i was just pacing back and forward across the house, talk about weird

Anonymous's picture

Sleep Walking

I am a teenager and i have been sleep walking since i can remember. But as ive gotten older, its actually gotten worse ! When i was about 6 or 7 my mom said i would go to sleep in my room and then the next morning i would wake up in the basement, or that i would wake up , go wake her up, then start talking to her about the most random things, she said the things i would say didnt make sense. But since about June, it would become more extreme. Like in the middle of the night i would go into my garage (attached garage) and go to the door that leads outside and just look through the window and just stare at the blackness, but when i wake up, i remember getting up, openening the door that leads to the garage then i remember pulling back the curtain and looking outside and thats all i remember. Another night, i woke up and i was in the bathroom staring in the mirror, i dont remember anything but looking in the mirror. Another night, I remember walking down the stairs then i remember stading over my dogs pen cage thing and just staring at them. And also i will wake up in the middle of the night, lock my bedroom door, then go to sleep. or i will open my door. but i usually remember some of it, but i NEVER remember going back to sleep. Also my dog who ive had since i was 3 recently died and i think i might be looking for her, but i dont know. Is this normal/ ok ? Im scared its going to get worse as i get older.

Heat@760's picture

I remember everything

I am 32 years old and sleep walk. The funny thing is that I remember what I am doing and it seems perfectly normal in my mind. My husband gets a kick out of watching me at night because of what I do. He has found me turning the light in our closet off and on but to me I was putting books on a bookshelf. The other day someone (I was asleep) had given me a tupperware container that had a goats head in it. I tried to get my husband to throw it away for me but he wouldn't get up. I wanted to show him I wasn't crazy but the container was gone. I went back to sleep when I couldn't find it in the bed. Why can I rationalize doing something this crazy in my mind. We laugh about it in the morning most times but others can be more serious. I have gone outside naked and walked onto our balcony in the middle of the night. If you are asleep and not in a concious state as all the doctors say then why do some people remember the episodes?

mattyca's picture

me too

Im 28 male and I sleepwalk and remember most everything. Yes its funny in the morning to the other person but im not always with somebody i know so well haha. Ive done it since I was a kid. 3 weeks ago in vegas I took this chics scrarfs off her door she was tripping.. Anyway sleep well

jackie's picture

My shrink thinks it's stress

I have no recollection of anything that happened last night. My bed partner told me he woke up because he started feeling cold and realized it was because the wine cellar door was open. He said he could hear me talking down there playing with my shoes. Then I walked up the stairs and said that my dog peed in the cellar, I turned off the bedroom light and went back to bed. This is bizarre behavior for me. I am 28 and have never known of myself sleep walking. The wine cellar has broken glass on the floor and I was barefoot. I always wear shoes when i go in there, and a jacket because it's super cold. I talked with my psychiatrist today and requested a sleeping aid, which he denied. There are lots of stress in my life right now and I've been trying to deal with it- most recently by going on long walks to the river with my dog for a couple of hours. He thinks that my subconscious is trying to deal with the situation and therefore doesn't want to medicate me further. I want to get up and walk away from the stresses that are in my life right now, but I cannot, so he thinks that my subconscious is wanting to do it during my sleep. My dog NEVER pees in the house- and there was a puddle. I am assuming it was from the dog because I was not wet- and because I said the dog peed. My thoughts are that my dog knew that something wasn't right and peed because he was scared or to wake me up. Definately the strangest situation. It really scared me that I have no recollection of any of it.
Does anyone else know of sleep walking due to major stresses and anxiety?

Serendip Visitor's picture

Sleep walking

In answer to your stress related sleep walking, yes I sleep walk when I'm stressed about something. And it's usually when I have a problem that I try to avoid or don't resolve that day; but your sounds a little bit different than mine... I don't really know what's going on because I hate shrinks, but I will wake up and hallucinate that something terrible is happening and try to run out of the room... then stop half way across the room and realize it's probably not really there/happening. And go figure, it was just me having a bad dream again... but I remember seeing it, and people say when you have a "night terror" you can't move but you do hallucinate and when you sleep walk you don't remember... so I don't know what the heck is going on with me lol. I've tried praying myself to sleep once and it worked, but only because I let my mind clear and troubles go.

Sara's picture

I have recently also been

I have recently also been told by my sixteen year old son that two nights ago at about 4 am i was outside trying to get into the garage although i did not have the key but he said i was just outside messing with the lock on the door when he asked what i was doing i apparently told him "look stupid i am just trying to go to the restroom" i would never go into the garage for one i am terrified of bugs and there is no lights in there. but he opened the door for me i guess i walked to the far corner, stood there for a minute and went back to bed. the following morning my boyfriend asked how my night was? I replied just fine! he told me that i was in and out of bed all night! all i remember is watching tv for a few minutes the night before and waking up the following morning! this is not the first time i have had unusual behavior during sleeping hours. but i normally just blow it off, but my son said i had scared him this time! that worries me (and yes at this time in my life i am under quite a bit of stress)

Maree's picture

I think I have started...

A few days ago, I got a text message from my daughter. The time stamp on it was 4:35am and she asked me if I'd just tried to call her... as far as I know I was asleep. Then this morning I got up to find the front door open. I'm sure I shut it properly last night. This week my two live-at-home kids are away and it's the first time in more than 30 years I've been on my own in the house all night. Perhaps it's some kind of subconscious stress from that, coupled with the fact that I'm really tired from work at the moment because I'm doing an absent colleague's work on top of my own?

Serendip Visitor Shannon's picture

I do much more then what in my sleep

I have been a sleepwalker for many years now. I am 39 and it is getting worse as the years go by. I eat in my sleep at leat 4 times per month. Mostly it is already prepared food. However saying that, I have been known to cook food on the stove. Thank God that I have not burned down our house. Just last evening I have removed my wedding rings and have not been able to find them anywhere in the house. I am at my whitts end. Any ideas on what I can do? HELP

Amber Denise's picture

Sleep walking

I'm sure you've thought about it a bunch of times, but if your sleep walking is getting dangerous or costly you should see a doctor. I'm thinking of going myself because if anyone sleeps in the same room as me they get woken up at least twice a night by my nightmares or talking or walking. I think the best thing is to make a constant pattern: go to sleep the same time every night, DO NOT eat, drink, watch tv or do anything remotely exciting an hour before bed. I think taking meds for sleeping better can actually make the sleep worse. So before you do go to sleep close your eyes and clear your mind and do a deep breathing exercise to calm yourself. Working out every day also helps relieve some of the tension of every day stress. Also set your alarm clock and phone across the room so that you don't ever press the snooze button or call/text in your sleep. Over the course of a couple weeks your body should get used to the pattern. (Of course this doesn't apply to me because I haven't kicked my bad habit of eating and reading right before bed, but I know I sleep soundly when I do those things) Good luck.

Stephanie NYC's picture

I might be able to help

I am working on a new series for the Biography Channel that is looking into parasomnias. We are looking for people who are suffering from sleep eating or sleep walking to tell their story and then we pair them with a sleep expert to help identify the issue and layout a plan for treatment. You can find me at optomen productions in New York.

Serendip Visitor's picture

sleep walking

I have suffer most of my adult life. when awaken by husband i try to reason with him that what I am doing is important. Many instances I am looking for a lost baby, or I am trying to help some one. Sometimes I wake up scratching the floor or carpet as if I was a dog to find my self disoriented and confuse. I need help.

Serendip Visitor's picture

Older sleep walkers have

Older sleep walkers have somehow inflicted it on themselves?? I hope you never have to wake up terrified because every time you go to move you start to fall and have no clue of where you are.

I don't know what you study major is but hopefully it is not towards a career that has contact with anyone suffering from any form of disabling condition.

Serendip Visitor e....'s picture

sleepwalking

I have always sleep-walked from a young age but it was never anything sinister, my mum would tell me next morning that i went into the kitchen or talked some rubbish then went back to bed. I have always related it to stress as it gets a lot worse when i am under a lot of stress. I am 19 now and recently my episodes have become quite serious the 2 latest incidents being; me sitting on the end of the bed (seemingly concious of what i was doing) and i pulled my chest of drawers over on top of which the hampster cage was sitting. Thankfully the hampster & the dogs which were lying underneath were unharmed. My most recent incident involved me getting up (after 15 hours of sleep) petting the dogs and then urinating on my partners underwear which were on the floor. As you can imagine im quite embaressed and worried can anyone help?

mandie's picture

I have something similar..

When i was younger my parents and older brother would tell me the next day that I would walk down the steps.. through the living room and dinning room, and mess with things in the kitchen saying random things. I was maybe 12... my friends in middle school and high school said that I would talk in my sleep(full sentences). Friends at college have told me that I mumble in my sleep, and even laugh. I haven't slept walked in years, now 22 and visiting my parents, i fell asleep on the couch last night. From what I remember I thought friends were in my living room, and they started to walk out towards the kitchen, I got up and walked out there yelling for them to wait for me. While I was yelling, I realized that I had been asleep and i was standing in my kitchen yelling to people who i dreamed were there. I don't exactly know when I woke up, but when I was younger my parents would just walk me back upstairs, with no recollection in the morning of my excursions. I remember everything, and just found myself calling to people in my kitchen, after feeling awkward with myself, I laid back down and fell asleep. All day today I have just been really confused. Is this all starting again? or was it a one time deal? lol i don't know if you have any answers, but I'd be grateful for any advice you may have

Marty's picture

I sleep walk.

Hi, I have a horrible problem. I sleep walk all the time. I am terrified to go to sleep. I wake up as I am falling. I am 60 years old and live alone. I have bruises all the time. Very bad bruises. Broken ribs etc. I hate it when it starts to get dark. I fall in different rooms. I can't make my home accident proof cause I never know which room or how I am going to fall. It started about 5 years ago. I wish there was help for me.

Serendip Visitor's picture

I cant explain this. i looked

I cant explain this. i looked up this site to figure out if this could be me. my residence has been broken into twice. While i was there and asleep. i havent been hurt nor have things been stolen. I remember closing and locking both the stormdoor and front door. I have a deadbolt on the front door. i have been living here about a year and have a habit of locking both doors. Even when my children come in and out i always tell them to lock both doors. that is why i was suprised this morning to find my frontdoor completly open and my storm door unlocked. i have zero record of sleepwalking.

Luke Stone's picture

locks

hello there

i have been locking my appartment door each night since i moved in about a month i have lived there now but 4 nights out of 7 i wake in the mornning to find the door unlocked i have changed the locks but still is unlocked in the mornning even when i have friends or my girlfriend stay i will lock but the mornning is unlocked no one has seen me sleep walking but i cant think of any other explanation

Rikki's picture

peeing in the closet because of sleep walking or being drunk?

Hi, my husband drank tonight. He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. Then he got up and I asked him what he was doing and he said something like he was washing the raisin off his finger, and getting a drink from the raisin cup. I was so confused. I told him we don't have a raisin cup and asked where he got the raisin from, he just said from the cup. Okay, that was kinda funny to me, as I had never heard anything like that before. Then he went back to sleep and got up again and went towards the bedroom door and I asked him again what are you doing. He replied going pee, he was standing in peeing position. I raised my voice and said that that's not the bathroom that's the hallway hurry up and go pee inside the bathroom. So he did go to the bathroom. I was glad for that. Then like an hour later he gets out of bed again and goes and turns on the closet light (it's a walk-in closet) and of course starts peeing. I'm thinking this can't be happening and I then yelled to him and said honey you are peeing in the closet go to the bathroom! So he pees the rest of the way walking toward the bathroom and finishes up in the toilet. After he got done I told him he peed in the closet,then he walked to the closet and turned off the light and he started getting mad at me and saying he didn't pee in the closet, he was yelling at me defending himself about not peeing in the closet. So I got up and tried to show him where and he didn't say much except for he didn't do it. Well he happened to pee on his backpack and some clothes, so I grabbed the pair of sweats that he urinated on and showed him that he sure did pee in the closet. Of course he still denied it and said he couldn't smell anything, so I pointed out that it's because all he should be able to smell is alcohol because he reeked of it. Also, he has a deviated septum and his nose isn't very good at smelling things. We pretty much got into a big ol' argument over this. Then he says he can't believe I am freaking out over this, because it's not true. Pretty much insinuating that I am being crazy and making all this up. I really didn't believe him for a minute that he was denying this. He said that he woke up to me yelling at him and admitted to possibly peeing in the closet, but saying that he isn't drunk anymore. Then yelling more at me asking what I want him to do. I told him I wanted him to clean up the pee. But also I have to back track, because when I first told him he peed I asked him to clean it up. Anyway, so he was mad at me for that also because he kinda still didn't think he did. So it went on and on about what he wants me to have him do. I'm like pretty much crying by now and don't know what to tell him because I had already told him what I wanted him to do and he would not stop shouting at me. He told me I am in control and I always have been, and that he would do anything I say, and he said if I wanted him to get the gun and blow his head of he would do it right now. I have no idea what to think right about now because this is not the guy I married, all mean and pretty much suicidal and crap. So you know, I told him to clean it up, so he did. Then more shouting because I said he is being a prick. Then he asked what else should he do because now he admits he is not sober and he is asking a sober person what to do. I told him to go back to sleep. Now I wrote this story right after this happened. Oh yeah, when I asked him to prove me wrong about him still being drunk and asked about the raisin thing, he tried to explain to me what he was talking about, he said he was referring to a comedian that was telling a joke.

Serendip Visitor's picture

husband getting drunk and peeing in random places

my husband is an alcoholic he doesn't think he is but he is now i don't have a problem with drinking i ave a problem with not knowing your limit with that being said when he drinks too much he pisses in random places or he will just sit up on the side of the bed and pee his pants he has pissed in the middle of the hallway, on the walls, in the bedroom i guess wherever he feels the need to now i am a very heavy sleeper but as soon as i hear his piss hit the floor im up i tell him to go to the bathroom most of the time he does but sometimes he wants to get loud and mean about it it is ridiculous

Serendip Visitor's picture

I've just experienced this.

My boyfriend just came to visit me at my friends house (I'm crashing on their couch for a while) and he was really very drunk when he got here. He passed out almost immediately. I was still awake watching a movie and cuddling him for a couple hours and right when I was about to fall asleep he got up, walked to the end of the couch, undid his pants and started peeing on the couch. I asked him what he was doing but he didn't say anything so I panicked and tried to stop him by waking him up. When I realized this wasn't going to happen I just turned him around so he was facing a wall and not the couch (my bed) and ran into the bathroom to get a towel. I started cleaning the couch and tried waking him up but he just kept peeing, all over the radiator and the windowsill. I tried to shake him and yell to wake him up but he just turned around and looked at me with a stupid grin on his face. Then he flopped back onto the couch and passed out again.
He's nice, generous, polite, friendly, and just generally a really good person so I don't believe he would ever do anything like this on purpose so he must have been sleeping. I just spent the last 3 hours cleaning and sanitizing everything. I'm so pissed off, how does this happen? We've been dating for about 7 months now and have slept together almost every night but I've never seen him do this before, even while intoxicated. How do I react to this? Do I let him know I'm mad at him? I know he didn't do it on purpose and of course he's going to apologize but what can I do? I've already cleaned it and waking him up in this state isn't exactly an option. I'm trying to calm down right now so I don't explode when he wakes up and I don't want to humiliate him. I'm thinking I should just tell him to leave when he wakes up and that I'll explain later or something but what the hell do I say? HOW DO I REACT TO THIS?

Reyanne's picture

I know that game

Wow! Its like you were at my house last night! I had the same night last night with my fiance.It has happened a few times , but in the last 2 weeks , I have found him peeing in cups, in our shared hallway ,with our landlord..down the stairs..this man has gone all over the house. I know from 2 years with this man that it is all booze induced. I also get yelled at and he is shocked and angry when i confront him about it. He does have a drinking problem , and now this adds a whole bag of stress. I dont have a dog or kids , so i dont want to be cleaning pee off of everything! I have hunted and have asked many people and not once has a woman said she was pee walking. I am to assume that too much booze makes the sleep walking happen more often. Never sawe the man pee in the hall after too many pops. I am at my wits end! Any ideas on how to help this?

Serendip Visitor's picture

Hi there, this happened to me

Hi there, this happened to me for the first time last night and I am a woman...and I don't drink at all! OMG so embarrassed and no idea what to do!!

True2's picture

Peeing in the hallway while sleepwalking

My boyfriend sleepwalks every single night. He often gets up and goes to other rooms and has long conversations that are true sentences but the context makes no sense. How common is it that he does this every night? Every night he goes out to the hall door to find the bathroom instead of the bathroom door that's attached to the bedroom. Every night I have to tell him that the bathroom is the other door. Once in a while I won't catch him in time an he will pee outside the bedroom in the hallway. When I catch him doing this he denies is right while he is in the middle of the act. He will continue to deny it and alway makes up some story that doesn't make any sense. When he wakes up in the morning he has no recollection of this, and feels embarrassed when I tell him. He is 27 years old and never slept walked as a child. His x-wife only recalls him sleepwalking twice in the five years they were together. How is that possible? It happens every night. He drinks at least 8 beers a night. My experience sounds a lot like Rikkis post. Please help!

Daniel's picture

Rikki, I have also started

Rikki,
I have also started sleepwalking and sleep peeing after a night of drinking. I have peed in the shower, the stairway, a stool in the bathroom, and almost on another bed in another room. All of these times I have been confronted by my wife, but I never wake up and I don't remember doing this the next day. My wife also tells me that each time she confronts me, I respond with anger. This occurs a little while after I go to bed. I started sleep walking about a year ago. Each time that I sleep walk, it has something to do with going to the bathroom. The only thing I can think of to explain this is that my need to go to the bathroom somehow triggers the sleep walking. Also, another explanation for the random places I choose to pee is that an object gets in my way (a stool), and that we moved into a new house and my sleepwalking brain still thinks the bathroom is in the same location from the bed as our old place. This theory is supported by, when I actually make it to the bathroom I go out the door of the bathroom and end up in another room which was oriented the same as the bedroom in our old house. I hope that last few sentences weren’t too confusing. Essentially, the bathroom and bedroom orientation are different from that of our old house and my brain can't figure this out. I hope this helps.

Armandia's picture

34 and still sleep walking

I've slept walk for as long as I can remember. The first time I was told about it was when I was around the age of 4. I came out to the living room where my parents were watching television and pulled the pillow out from beneath my mothers head. Then I went to bed as if nothing had happen. I have countless stories from countless people. Whenever a group of my friends and family members get together they love to swap stories. It's a little funny..but a little scary too. I made an appointment with a sleep specialist next month. I want it to stop so badly.

I'm aware of what I'm doing sometimes and sometimes I have no recollection. The incidents that I remember are like hallucinations. In my mind whatever I am acting out is actually happening: a hamster is running around under the blankets and I am grabbing my bed partners feet, The ceiling is trying to fall down and I am standing on my bed pleading for my bed partner to help me hold it up, a huge snake is slithering up the side of the bed and I am screaming, I have a class full of students standing next to my bed waiting for instruction, there are cameras videotaping my every move and I'm forgetting a work project, I'm walking around outside waiting for my mom to arrive... the stories are endless.

I feel like a complete freak. In real life I am not. I am very educated and I am well respected in my community... I wish there were a cure...

mario's picture

I feel your pain

I'm 25 years old and my episodes have been getting worse. I'm lucky that I have a girlfriend who cares for me as much as she does and doesn't head for the hills after some of my episodes. I have "night terrors" which ranged from me just yelling in my sleep to acting out my dreams. My girlfriends method to putting me back to sleep is yelling at me. She says what are you doing in a loud rude voice and i react by getting mad at her and going back to sleep. You could say she tamed my night terrors. I have had nights that i felt like the room was closing in on me and woke up the next morning with a hole in the wall from where i was trying to kick the wall down to escape. My worst episode was when i was dreaming that cord/wire was somehow alive and was trying to wrap around my girlfriends neck. while i was dreaming i was trying to remove the cord from her neck. I woke up to her screaming lucky I didn't hurt her too bad but she did have so scraps on her neck from my finger nails. I really afraid to go to bed at times. I don't always remember my episodes but i feel your pain and with today's technology I'm surprised their isn't so kind of "cure". There are a couple things to do to lessen the episodes. One thing that helps is not to eat anything a couple hours before going to bed. Try going to bed at a certain time every night. Don't use alcohol or drugs (not even prescriptions) before bed. Your actions and emotions from the day before may also trigger an episode try to go to be while you are calm and comfortable. I noticed stress triggers my episodes so i have tried meditation try to think positive thoughts the highlights of your day or just put on a movie or listen to music which calms you down. Hope this helps someone.

D.W.S.'s picture

Reply

I can relate to your sleepwalking problem. And don't feel like a freak. Being well educated, you probably already know, that there is no definitively proven explanation of why we sleep walk.

We're told that we will "out-grow" it. But some of us, like you and I, aren't that lucky. I'm 38, and as I get older, my episodes get worse. I have awakenend in the the car, with the engine running. (No recollection). I have scars where I have slept walked and fell in a rose bush, or stepped on broken glass, etc. As I write this I have a burn on my arm, and I have NO explanation for it. I just woke up last saturday morning with a burn on my arm.

I am also an adult, returning to college for the 3rd time for another degree. I've been told that the additional stress of working full time and going to college may be contributing to my episodes, but I don't buy that.

I've never gotten violent (that I know of). I am a divorced man, and I live alone. Sometimes when I wake up with injuries it's frightening. I had an alarm system installed, but that didn't wake me up. That night, it was the police who woke me up as I was walking around my outside my house in the middle of the night.

I agree, I wish there was a definite explanation and a definite cure.

Armandia's picture

I forgot that I had posted

I forgot that I had posted here. I did my sleep study and that was a waste of $2k. Luckily my insurance paid for most of it. All it told me was that I sleep walk. There is no physiological reason for it. I think noone knows the cause. But something good did come from seeing a sleep specialist. I've been on clonazepam .5mg (an hour before bed) since October (9 months). I rarely sleepwalk now and I haven't had any side effects. It's been one of the best things that has happened to me. It's not a cure, but it's "managing" my problem.

Serendip Visitor Sam's picture

Sleeptalking - Sleepwalking - My partner

Hi there everybody. My name is Sam im 25 and live in the UK. I have just been reading the stories that everybody has been writing about sleepwalking and i think i may have a problem.

I woke this morning with my boyfriend telling me that i was stood at the window last night, talking of sorting out some fish ??? (We dont have fish - no pets at all) When he tried to get me back in bed i starting shouting at him but he cant remember what i said.

For the past Year now he has been really mad at me as i wake him in the night shouting and talking to him and even hurting him. I have woke him countless of times screaming about worms and bug and then i try to wash my hands. I have pinched his pillows put them under me and gone to back to sleep. I have even sat upright and put my elbow out and jumped on him and a few weeks ago i put my hand over his mouth and nose when he was asleep. (He is alot stronger than me and managed not to kill me that time lol) I have poked him and spoke to him and alsorts.

When he told me all this i just laughed it off thinking it was nothing. But now its getting to the stage where he is not sleeping because of it. I haven't had a drink for at least 3weeks now i DONT do drugs. I do snore (like an old man) so what can be the cause.

A few times when it has happened i do remember some of it that happens at the time - like pinching his pillows - thinking there are bugs all over me and have even woke myself up pretending to eat. I dont have the peeing thing which is good. I just dont know what is going on. Should i go see my doctor or will he laugh at me.

Serendip Visitor's picture

Reply to sleeptalking

Hi Sam, most people are nearly paralyzed when they are dreaming (to keep them from thrashing around or doing the things you've been doing). I have heard that there is a condition in which your body does not paralyze during dream sleep--i've seen films in which the person thrashes around as though he's in a fight. I recommend you talk to your doctor about having a sleep study done. Getting a CPAP machine to help with the snoring may help--if you have sleep apnea you are not getting good sleep because you are having difficulty getting into the deepest level of sleep where your body gets the most rest. Sleep apnea is related to snoring and means you actually stop breathing for a few seconds. When I had my sleep study done, they said I had more than 500 sleep apnea episodes in a night!! Drinking, taking antidepressants, and being overweight can make you more likely to have sleep apnea (I take antidepressants and am overweight). A sleep study can tell if you have the non-paralyzing dream state condition or sleep apnea (which is pretty easy to treat). Good luck! the doctor will definitely not laugh at you if he is worth anything.

Sheila's picture

It's not all about drink

sleep walking is not all about drinking, please stop blaming the drink, for doctors will not take sleep walking serious, read about families having to deal with young children sleep walking, look at the root try to work on that, for i read of a parent struggling checking on the little one have they slept on it or is the little one breathing it's very pain full, so please get seriously lets look further than just a drunken night when you can not find the toilet, we are leaving our youngsters empty since the medical people will feel it's just nothing, until you have lost something you love, can you really try to understand how damaging it can be, so my dear friends in sleep walking lets start trying to find ideals of how we should deal with the problem and help one another, okay. the parent with the child put it in a different bed try to get a sleep baby monitor then you can listen to them when ever you wake up panicking and it stop you running up and down but also it will give the little one a peaceful sleep as running up and down is a distraction, it's easier said but trying is better than suffering with fear, God bless, good nite

27 female's picture

2nd time i did this

Hi I'm 27 years old. the first time I heard I peed n didn't remember was at my friends house. we had came home from a night out drinking. she said she caught Me by her bed peeing then I went back in her bed to sleep. I don't remember. all I remember is changing using her bathroom n goin to bed. now two nights ago I went out to celebrate my friend b day. Well I went back to my friends house I remember changing n putting my phone on my charger. n going to sleep. the only thing I slightly remember is her saying you need to leave. well my now ex friend said that she caught me peeing on side of her bed n then climbed back in her bed. also while I was peeing she said to me ur fucking peeing on my floor n I told her to shut the fu k up... then when she told me to leave I grabbed my stuff n drove home. I don't remember. Thank god didn't get pulled over. I'm mortified n lost a friend. but I did notice the last two times I was do for my menses. I'm also on blood thinners for my heart. I recently just went through a very tough situation that's caused some stress n depression... I'm glad not only person who has done this....

27 female's picture

2nd time i did this

Hi I'm 27 years old. the first time I heard I peed n didn't remember was at my friends house. we had came home from a night out drinking. she said she caught Mr by her bed peeing then I went back in her bed to sleep. I don't remember. all I remember is changing using her bathroom n goin to bed. now two nights ago I went out to celebrate my friend b day. Well I went back to my friends house I remember changing n putting my phone on my charger. n book to sleep. the only thing I slightly remember is her saying you need to leave. well my now ex friend said that she caught me peeing on side of her bed n then climbed back in her bed. also while I was peeing she said to me ur fucking peeing on my floor n I golf her to shit the fu k up... then when she good me to leave I grabbed my stuff n drove home. I don't remember. I'm mortified n lost a friend. but I did notice the last two times I was do for my menses. I'm also on blood thinners for my heart. I recently just went through a very tough situation that's caused dome stress n depression... I'm glad not only person who has done this....

Serendip Visitor's picture

my boyfriend has this problem

my boyfriend has this problem of sleep walking and urinating in the strangest of places. at first, we both found it quite amusing and just laughed it off, but now it has reached a far more serious stage. it has resulted in my him being banned from driving, and he frightens me to death every time he gets out of bed. its mainly when he has a drink, but it only needs to be one or 2 cans and it sets it off. he had gone to the pub once and had quite a bit to drink, came home and fell asleep and then sleptwalked and got in the car and drove. he got pulled by the police because he was acting strangely, because he wasnt awake, but they didnt even try to understand and banned him from driving for 2 years. he has his own business and we have a child and it is such hard work with him not being able to drive, i just wish i had gone to the doctors sooner as he may have been able to give them the doctors report. he gets out of bed and then wees in the bed, last night he went into my mums room!!!!!! and he can be agressive when i try to get him into the bathroom. it has now got to the point where if he is only urinating on the landing or in our room, i leave him to it and clean it up when hes gone back to sleep. i my at my whitts end and im scared something really bad will happen like him falling down the stairs or injuring me. he wakes our baby with the noise he makes and has even urinated in the tumble dryer and on our dog, and on me!!!!!! just want to know if anyone has any advice or knows if there is a medication to try to prevent this from happening. charlotte

sheila's picture

Reply

Am sorry to hear, banning from driving was the best they could do for him for now as from what i have read dear, my dear that's is better than if he was in an accident, that i wouldn't know about and everybody would only look for the beer in him, maybe he should just stop drinking completely now his a father am sure he would be even very happy if you were all happy, has he been refered to a sleep walking clinic, the aggression is all to do with any body in this world if some one disturbed you in your sleep your tied and have just gone off you feel aggressive, unhappy etc, but because his sleep walking is actions are worse as it's not just him lying down, can he stop booze for at least 6 months or year to be sure, eve 2 years as sleep walking has attendence of having quite times, so it can suprise you it going on for days and off for month even years, 2007 to june 2009 i didn't drink but i kept on sleep walking then i drink i still sleep walk but i for one has had it since i think i was a baby, some tell me it's an resolved problem the i wonder do i have an solve problems from my mother's womb. it's different with every body but your doctor should look it to it, it's expensive to go to the the sleep walking observing hospitals, i don't it they have any medicines but love please i know it must be hard but you husband as to try please lie off the booze if no difference your Dr should look further please please, it's not easy for all of you, driving ban was a blessing indiguese so take the next steps, am suer your husband feels worse am sure he wishes it's happening to him

Serendip Visitor's picture

SleepWalking i think due to anxiety

I have been sleep walking ever since I remember ...when I was younger I would wake up screaming my head off and freak everyone out or try to leave out the front door..... or sometimes end up behind the couch against the wall or in another room sleeping . I also kept on doing this through my teenage years . I have majorly suffered from anxiety constantly worrying and mind racing which I think is why my brain will not sleep when I am sleeping. I am 22 now and I do not wake up screaming anymore. Maybe a few times in a year, but now I wake up thinking that something is wrong with my 3 year old that she is choking or not breathing and will grab her out of bed and pat her back or make sure she is ok sometimes scaring her but I am sleeping but also aware and think it is real.. The bizarre thing I started doing about a year ago and do it at least 2 or 3 times a month I wake up looking for my other child thinking I have rolled over them or they are gone and am looking everywhere but then I realize I have no other child. Or I look for my grandma but she lives in another state. I don't know why these things happen and I am sleeping but aware at the same time. It is good to know that it is not just me and I know that I am not crazy but I usually don't tell people because it sounds crazy but people don't understand. I think going to a therapist talking about things will really help I didn't have the best child hood and the anxiety is getting worse. Any other suggestions please help Thank you

Serendip Visitor's picture

sleep walking

Wow how long did i put a comment, Alcohol would be hands off, as a matter of fact untill his sure what triggers his sleep walking, for those of us who have been sleep walking since we were toddlers or when it was desicovered that you sleep walk, is a burden infact i found i couldn't drink untill the age of 25years, married then or yeah, i was no longer sleep walking untill things started falling a part, the alcohol became a safe net, to avoid being told you can't manage on your own, because you slept walked the previous night, with alcohol all i had say no i was just drunk and so you buried your fear of your condition, you keep pushing it away the more you worry the worse you make it, so you start to avoid sleep in the night, so you don't go wandering about, luck of sleep creates more problems, you go to a sleep walking clinic nothing is found after days, but the only support is your friends and family,
Please try to be calm watch his sleep walking patterns without disccusing it with him first, but with family and friends it could take months, try without alcohol,then with, tell him then what will you are going to be watching his sleep walking patterns, watching the the pattern with out Wow how long did i put a comment, Alcohol would be hands off, as a matter of fact untill his sure what triggers his sleep walking, for those of us who have been sleep walking since we were toddlers or when it was desicovered that you sleep walk, is a burden infact i found i couldn't drink untill the age of 25years, marriede then or yeah, i was no longer sleep walking untill things started falling a part, the alcohol became a safe net to avoid being told you can't manage on your because you slept walked the previous night, with alcohol all i had say no i was just drunk and so you buried your fear of your condition, you keep pushing it away the more you worry the worse you make it, so to avoid sleep in the night so you don't go wandering about, luck of sleep creates more problems you go to a sleep walking clinic nothing is found after days, but the only support is your friends and family,
Please try to be calm watch his sleep walking patterns with disccusing it with him, but with family and friends it could take months, try without alcohol,then with, tell him then what will happens if he knows you will be watching the the pattern with out then with alcohol you will find the results are different as he maybe unsure or sure, if the family is very very close, (but if you tell him the first experiment he will feel betrayed, and forget you are doing it for his own good, being aware you are being monitored can change your sleep it may make you feel safe comfortable, homely, or scared or even worse), he will trust you and sleep well if his not sure you will find his sleep disturted which will lead to frastrastion as in his mind you would stepped into his space and he will start worrying, patiently support him and let know him sleep walking it's not a burden to you and it won't hurt, if you have faith saying that he will have faith, because however much sleep walkers feel safe deep down you worry if it would ever get out of hand, i found peace safety whenever with my parents, family, trusted friends and boy friends when i have known them for long, i would be at ease i can sleep walk, but if don't feel at ease as well then there i may have the tremurs, screaming, and struggling, try to avoid shouting at someone sleep walking they could have a heart attack just imagine in you bed someone shouting at you, or they may turn on you as to them you are a threat as soon as you shout or grab them hard, unless others are in danger, you or the sleep walker, at time, all you have to do is redirect them gentle back to bed or to the bathroom, and avoid remaining them of the condition it's like being nagged that you are a danger or sick ,or a freak, you could ask a doctor for advise, i haven't got much from them, all this is from my family, friends and learning, and how i feel as a sleep walker, offfff alcohol, it only numbs your but does not stop the problem easy to blame then with alcohol you will find the results are different as he maybe unsure or sure, if the family is very close he will trust you and sleep well if his not sure you will find his sleep disturted which will lead to frastrastion as in his mind you would stepped into his space and he will start worrying, patiently support him and let him sleep it's not a burden to you and it won't hurt, if you have faith saying that he will have faith, because however much sleep walks feel safe deep down you worry if it would ever get out of hand, i found peace safety whenever with my parents, family, trusted friends and boy friends when i have known them for long, i would be at ease i can sleep walk, but if don't feel at ease as well then there i may have the tremurs, screaming, and struggling, try to avoid shouting at someone sleep walking they could have a heart attack just imagine in you bed some shouting at you, or may turn on you as them you are a threat as soon as you shout or grab them hard unless they others are in danger, you or the sleep walker, at time all you have to do is redirect them back to bed or to the bathroom, and avoid remaining them of the condition it's like being nagged that you are a danger or sick ,or a freak, you could ask a doctor for advise, i have not got much from them except all this from my family and learning and how i feel as a sleep walker, offfff alcohol, it only numbs your but does not stop the problem and easy to blame alcohol

Serendip Visitor's picture

Sleep Urinating

I want to thank everyone who has been kind enough to share their story on here. It has really helped me to better understand what is happening to my boyfriend.This is my story.

My boyfriend and I live together. He works two jobs one in the morning and one in the evening. He goes out after his second job to have a drink, not multiple he tells me but just a drink.

He came home one night really late, after working and going to have a drink,I remember him going to the bathroom and coming to lay down in bed with me. Later on in that night he got out of bed and started urinating on my bookshelf. I was still half awake and didn't really realize what was doing until I hear it dripping. He comes back to bed like it never happened. I get out of bed and rudely turn the light on and said "What the hell." He woke up and didn't remember doing it. He blamed the dog, I replied "I don't think the dog can pee on the second shelf of the bookshelf." I figured he had too much drink and didn't want to tell me the truth. It became a funny matter and we moved on with our lives.

Well its now a year later and multiple going out after work to have a drink and coming home without any issues. Again he went out to have a drink came home went to the bathroom before going to bed. He gets up opens the door and starts urinating in the living room by the heating vent. At which point I was up, got out of bed and smacked him on the shoulder and asked "what the hell are you doing" He looks at me and says "I am using the bathroom." I rebuttal with "Look at what you are doing, you are using the restroom in the living room?" He stands there looking at me like I asked a trick question, he eventually walks to the bathroom to finish and goes back to bed.

Both times he does not remember doing it.

I just don't understand how him and I can go out and have more than just "one" drink and he is fine. It is not a constant thing obviously but very odd. This has helped shed a little light on the issue.

Mark Swain's picture

Sleep walking peeing

Yep, I,m not happy about it, but I do it. And drinking is the cause. But I have been doing it since I was 18. The same time I started drinking. I am 46 now, and still do it if I drink to much. But however, over the years I have been studying it.
If i drink a load of lager, or beer that,s when i do it. if i drink wine only, the same units as i pee everywhere beer, it does not happen? if i drink 1 liter of wine and one pint of beer it may happen, two pints with a liter of wine then i will pee anywhere, and not remember a thing. It really does help me to know i am not on my own, because before today, i thought i was a freak. I want to thank ever single one of you guys above for helping me so much, with your honesty.

Thank you all

Mark

Serendip Visitor's picture

I sleep walk pee. I am

I sleep walk pee.
I am ashamed to say that after
Drinking is when it happens.
I have noticed also that hard
Alcohol seems to trigger it
Or mixing hard a and beer.
I too thought I was a freak
Until I found this today. I
Feel somewhat better about it now.
But the hard thing is is that I can
Never really anticipate when its going
To happen, I am 21 and have peed
In my sleep atleast 6 times now,
And because I was always just too
Embarrassed, I never thought to
Research it. Thank you everyone
For your posts, hopefully I will
Be able to find the cause and prevent
Doing it so that I can still enjoy
A few drinks from time to time without
Being afraid to pee everywhere.

Anonymous's picture

I have just moved in with my

I have just moved in with my boyfriend a few months ago. Every single night he talks in his sleep and sleepwalks. Most of the time he does the same thing ei. Talks to our dog at the side of the bed telling him to calm down as he pets him (Our dog sleeps in a kennel on the other side of the house), Flips the pages in his text book explaining how the human body works along with other facts and screams (very loud). But what worries me the most is when he is violent. About a month ago I was woken by his scream and when I asked him what was wrong he took the blanket and covered my face. I couldnt breathe and had to struggle to get him off and the whole time I could hear him telling me to be quiet and that he was trying to protect me. Other times I have woke up to a punch to the face... even though its never hard enough to leave a mark it still really hurts and scares me. He doesnèt remember most things in the morning only when I wake him up he realises what he is doing. I know your not suppose to wake a sleepwalker but if I donèt wake him it just goes on and on. I read above that it can be caused by stress and or drug abuse, but he is not a stressful person and doesnt have a drug problem. What else can cause this... and what can I do to get it to slow down.. keep in mind this happens EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!

Anonymous's picture

A fascinating thing

I sure am glad I don't live with anyone who sleep walks, it's just me and my husband but just this morning when his radio alarm kicked on for work,I laid in bed for a few minutes listening to a commentator talking about sleep walking and what to do if a person you know does this. It kind of creeped me out at first but after a bit I wanted to know more on this subject and so started looking it up through search engines. There are still so many things about the human mind we don't know and it can be the most powerful thing on the earth. But there is still that creepy element to it, I mean if I saw my husband wandering around in the middle of the night with that unfocused, "glazed over" look to his eyes, I'd be totally freaked out lol. It's like some other unknown realm (the dream world?)controls how the sleepwalker reacts to different things and situations. That may be why some experts say it's best not to disturb or try to awaken them, cuz Lord only knows what you are to them in their sleep fogged mind!