Real-life zombies are among us: They are called sleepwalkers, and they are not combative unless suddenly startled awake and disoriented.
They do not eat anyone, but they might decide to cook a meal in their sleep so other household members might want to gently guide them away from the stove.
Maybe a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would satisfy.
And be sure to confiscate the car keys. No one needs to go on a nocturnal drive with no destination in mind or sense of stop signs or need for turn signals.
Sleepwalking – scientific term somnambulism – usually occurs during the deeper states of non-REM sleep. After that, people move into rapid eye movement sleep, when dreaming occurs. The sleepwalking phenomenon often results in daytime drowsiness.
“It is usually the first half of the night when a spouse or child starts doing these weird behaviors,” said Dr. Sarah Mufti, a Mercy Health neurologist in Toledo. “One thing to do is to lightly guide them away from anything that might harm them.
“You want to do it in a careful way. They are not typically violent, but when they are awakened they can become combative. They can get angry or very scared,” said Dr. Mufti, noting also to be aware of any tripping hazards. “We just want to eliminate the risks and keep them in a safe environment.”
That also means removing sharp objects and weapons, such as guns.
For those with a longer history of sleepwalking, Dr. Meena Khan, a sleep medicine specialist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, also suggests putting a lock on the front door, and for kids, placing a rail or a baby gate at the top of any staircases.
“It is usually not a prolonged event,” Dr. Khan said.
Such episodes of parasomnia are most prevalent in children during non-REM sleep.
“Typically, it peaks around (ages) 8 to 12. They grow out of it,” Dr. Mufti said of the 15 percent of kids who have embarked upon a sleepwalking adventure. Only about 4 percent of adults are prone to climbing out of bed when asleep.
“The key symptom is they have no recollection of the episode,” she said. “It can last from a few seconds to a half an hour. They can be doing random tasks like laundry or moving furniture.”
She noted that sleepwalkers often have a blank look or a glazed expression.
“Their speech may not make much sense,” Dr. Mufti said.
Dr. Khan notes that sleepwalking can arise from a number of causes.
When people who have a predisposition for sleepwalking have been sleep deprived, the likelihood of an event escalates during their sleep recovery, according to Dr. Khan.
For instance, a 2008 study published in the Annals of Neurology identified 32 episodes of sleepwalking from 20 sleepwalkers, or a 50 percent occurrence, as the baseline data. After keeping 40 sleepwalkers awake for 25 hours, recovery sleep saw 92 episodes recorded for 36 patients – a 90 percent rate.
In nonmedical terms, loss of sleep from binge-watching television or an all-night gaming session is not desirable.
Obstructive sleep apnea also may lead to nocturnal wanderings, as the condition can disrupt the natural progression of one sleep stage into another, according to Dr. Khan. Treating the sleep apnea can result in a reduction in sleep walking.
Drinking an excessive amount of alcohol is another element that can disrupt the sleep cycle, Dr. Khan says. Again, get rid of the booze and eliminate that round-the-house ramble.
The Food and Drug Administration issued a safety announcement in 2019 that some prescription insomnia medications, such as Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata, can lead to sleepwalking. It identified 66 cases over 26 years reported to have caused serious injuries or even death. Its list included accidental overdoses, falls, burns, drowning, exposure to extreme cold temperatures leading to loss of limb, carbon monoxide poisoning, motor vehicle collisions, and self-injuries, such as gunshot wounds and apparent suicide attempts.
Patients usually did not remember any of the events, according to the FDA.
“Looking at medications would be important,” said Dr. Khan, noting that any number of medications can disrupt established sleep patterns.
There are numerous sleepwalkers who cannot point to any cause for their nightly jaunts. Sometimes, sleepwalking runs in families, Dr. Khan said. One generation seems to pass that baton to the next generation.
That genetic connection is still being studied.
First Published April 14, 2024, 4:00 a.m.
