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And falling… until you are suddenly awake. Falling, you’re falling into a dark abyss. Suddenly, you’re no longer moving forward, the safety of the ground cannot be felt. No matter how fast you run, you can’t seem to get away. You’re running through the dark woods, there’s heavy panting and warm breath right behind you. Sleepwalkers tend to not remember anything after the events. If it is necessary to wake the sleeper, sharp noises from a safe distance may be a better option than shaking them awake as the sudden arousal and confusion can cause irritability and aggression. The sleepwalker usually goes back to bed but a gentle coaxing may be helpful.
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Sleepwalking can be dangerous if the person bumps into things, falls, or attempts complex actions like driving or cooking. This parasomnia seems to run in families and last about 20 minutes, though longer cases have been recorded. It is a partial arousal from sleep during the non-REM cycle where the person stumbles around, eyes wide open, and sometimes speak incoherently. It’s a fairly common occurrence in children up to 12 years old but even as many as 4% of adults may have sleepwalking experiences. Heart racing, you peer around the corner only to be met by the wide open eyes of your little sister-she’s sleepwalking again. You investigate a small shadow you saw cross the hallway. In the spirit of Halloween, this article is focusing on 5 of the spookier parasomnias but this just scratches the surface into the world of parasomnias. Some may have a genetic factor but it’s still mysterious why these happen but emotional stress, sleep deprivation, medication, and illness (like a fever) are commonly accepted factors. Parasomnias are not usually associated with any psychotic disorders and are mainly troublesome in that they can cause daytime sleepiness. Though usually more common in children, adults can suffer from parasomnias as well. Parasomnias can occur at any point during the sleep cycle from falling asleep to waking up so conditions can be divided into either REM (rapid eye movement) or non-REM parasomnias, depending on which part of the sleep cycle it occurs. These include restless leg syndrome, bed-wetting, rhythmic movement disorders, and many more. Parasomnia is a broad category that covers any sleep abnormalities. Many are becoming familiar with common sleep disorders like sleep apnea, insomnia, and narcolepsy but there’s a section of sleep disruptions that fall in the shadows: parasomnias. As the world becomes chronically tired, more effort has been invested to understand sleep. Sometimes the things that go bump in the night are more than just a child’s imagination.