Previously published in Examiner
Part 1 of the Sleepwalking series
Most Montrealers complain they do not get enough sleep. Yet, sleep affects are physical and mental health. Not having enough sleep affects our mood, our stamina, our home-life and career, and our social relationships.
Sleep is an important human function which is essential for good physical health and good mental health. Even though sleep is so important many Montrealers take sleeping for granted. They either sleep too much or more often than not, sleep less than is recommended for good health. Montrealers will catnap rather than sleep, burn the midnight oil studying, play on the computer, or just insist that they are too busy too sleep.
Conditions that affect sleep, our health, and mental health include such topics as sleepwalking. For help in the Montreal area for sleep disorders you can in Montreal click here:
Mount Sinai Hospital Sleep Center
Montreal Sleep Clinic
Facts and Myths About Sleep walking
Sleepwalking is a fascinating disorder where people are still asleep but are walking around doing all types of activities that they are not even aware of.
Origin and causes of sleepwalking
The sleepwalking phenomenon has been recorded in history as far back as Hippocrites in (460 BC-370 BC). The classic literature of Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as sleepwalking when she kills her father-in-law. She was said to be insane.
Symptoms of sleepwalking
The person who sleepwalks may talk gibberish. The sleepwalker’s eyes will be open, but they will tend to have a glassy stare, which is a good indicator that the sleepwalker is really not aware of his or her surroundings.
Prevalence of sleepwalking
Sleepwalking is most common during childhood and young adolescence. About three percent of children between the ages of 4-12 will sleepwalk. Though sleepwalking usually tapers off by late adolescence, there is still ten percent of children in their teenage years who start sleepwalking at that time.
There seems to be a genetic component to sleepwalking
When sleepwalking occurs during the sleep cycle
The sleep cycle consists of 4 stages where there is no dreaming (non-REM), then one stage that involves dreaming (REM sleep or Rapid Eye Movement). Each of these 5 stages is considered part of one complete sleep cycle. These sleep cycles last about ninety to one hundred minutes. The average sleeper will go through about four to five of these complete cycles each night.
Source
http://www.medicinenet.com/sleepwalking/article.htm