recollection of this event in the morning so it would be either the parents, or the spouses’ responsibility to bring this to the individuals attention.Sleepwalking is commonly seen in older children. It ranges from getting out of bed to prolonged and complex actions. “Sleepwalking occurs relatively often among children; one can even cause it intentionally simply by picking up a child or adult in deep sleep and standing them on their feet” Borbely (1986). In adults, sleepwalking could indicate a personality disturbance. For instance, a good amount of adults that sleepwalk are suffering from depression. It is thought that this condition is hereditary and can be brought on by stress, also by not getting enough sleep or a high fever. The typical sleepwalking episode begins about three hours after the individual has fallen deeply asleep and it will usually last about five to twenty minutes. During one of these episodes the sleepwalker’s eyes are generally open. However, we don’t think they can see their surroundings because they always seem to be completely unaware of the environment around them. They manage to show keen ability to navigate through their surroundings without serious harm. Less often than not you can expectt a sleepwalker to dress themselves, open doors, make a sandwich, or go to the bathroom without any problems. Unfortunately there is always the extreme tragedies, for example. “A fourteen-year- old boy got up, walked to the refrigerator, and then stepped out the door----of the family camper, which was going fifty miles per hour down the San Diego freeway” Fritz (1993).“The etiology of sleepwalking is not clear. It does however seem to be concentrated in families and to be characterized by the presence of bursts of high voltage delta activity in delta sleep” Borbely (1986). There is no known drug yet for sleepwalking however doctors have been prescribing ...
