sleepwalking

     

Sleepwalking (also calle somnambulism or noctambulism) is a parasomnia or sleep disorder where the sufferer engages in activities that are normally associated with wakefulness while he or she is asleep or in a sleep-like state. Sleepwalking is usually defined by or involves the person affected apparently shifting from his or her prior sleeping position and moving around and performing normal actions as if awake (cleaning, walking and other activities). Sleepwalkers are not conscious of their actions on a level where memory of the sleepwalking episode can be recalled, and because of this, unless the sleepwalker is woken or aroused by someone else, this sleep disorder can go unnoticed. Sleepwalking is more commonly experienced in people with high levels of stress, anxiety or psychological factors and in people with genetic factors (family history), or sometimes a combination of both.

Trivia about sleepwalking

  • Normally this activity is harmless, but make sure the person doesn't fall down the stairs
  • Bellini's opera "La Sonnambula" is so named because Amina, its heroine, has this nocturnal habit
  • Lady Macbeth has a famous scene where she experiences this, aka somnambulism; things don't work out well for her
  • Somnambulism is the medical term for this; snap out of it!