Sleepwalking Children - 4 Must Knows For Worried Parents
Somnambulism or sleepwalking, as it is commonly called, is found to affect around 14 percent of children between the ages of five and twelve, at least once. A quarter of these children undergo more than one sleepwalking episodes. Sleepwalking is observed more among boys and less among girls. Many children who develop this sleep disorder overcome it as they grow up and their nervous systems become stronger. By adolescence, they are more or less cured.
1. What Happens during Sleepwalking?
Sleepwalking is a condition in which the body can move even though the brain is half asleep. Sleepwalkers commonly get out of bed and roam all over the house. Some of them even get dressed and leave the house. Sleepwalkers' eyes remain open, and they can see what is in front of them. However, their expressions are blank and they are unable to respond either to conversation or to their names being called out.
Sleepwalkers are usually clumsy and prone to bump into things and knock them over things as they walk around the house. Usually a sleepwalking session lasts for a quarter of an hour; sometimes, it can go on for an hour or more than an hour. A child who is prone to sleepwalking usually begins walking in his or her sleep an hour or two after going to bed.
2. Sleepwalking in Children
Sleepwalking among children is due to a poorly developed sleep/wake cycle. In normal circumstances, the entire brain awakes at the same time. A sleepwalker's brain, however, is different in the sense that only a portion of it wakes up at a time. The portion of the brain that manages mobility awakens while the portion that deals with cognition and awareness is still asleep. A sleepwalking child is actually fast asleep.
Children usually grow out of this tendency, and parents do not have to worry about it. Treatment is not required. All you have to do as a parent is to take the child gently back to bed. You do not have to awaken the child.
3. Sleepwalking in Adults
About one percent adults suffer from somnambulism. They need not have had this problem as a child. Sleepwalking in adults is due to complex problems such as anxiety, sleep fragmentation, stress, sleep deprivation, and also medical disorders such as epilepsy.
Unlike children, adults have to take treatment for this condition, and the type of treatment they have to take depends on the type of dangerous situations they are exposed to during their sleepwalking sessions. For instance, sleepwalkers who open the doors and walk on a street busy with traffic is in great danger while a sleepwalker who just walks around in the hall is not in any dangerous situation. Sleepwalkers can go in for self hypnosis, behavioral therapies, and prescription medication to treat their condition.
4. Protection of Sleepwalkers
Certain precautions should be taken to protect sleepwalkers from dangerous situations. Sleepwalking adults or children should ensure that they are in a safe place during their sleepwalking session. They should take care to see that they will not get injured during a sleepwalking session.
Parents should not keep any sharp or fragile objects in a child's room. Lock the doors of a sleepwalkers room to prevent him or her from venturing out at night. Fixing a bell to alert a parent or caregiver if a child go out of the room is a great idea. Large glass doors or windows should be covered by heavy curtains to prevent sleepwalkers from trying to walk through them during their sleepwalking sessions.
Children who sleepwalk should be given ample protection till they outgrow this disorder. There is a possibility of them running into dangerous situations during their sleepwalking sessions.
Danos tu comentario
แสดงความคิดเห็น