Somnambulism or sleepwalking is a very bizarre phenomenon that about 4% adults suffer from. Sleepwalking has fascinated many doctors, scientists and psychologists around the world and they have run several tests and organized experiments to learn the truths about sleepwalking. It was believed that people who sleepwalk do so because of the dreams they see. No one has yet reached a definite conclusion regarding sleepwalking. But it is a phenomenon that has always raised questions in our mind. There are different theories regarding sleepwalking or somnambulism.
It is believed by some that sleepwalking is a side effect of other severe health disorders like epilepsy. Some research show that people who get hysteric and suffer from chronic hysteria are more prone to sleepwalking. There are different stages of sleep that we pass through. In the first phase we sleep lightly and with time we go into deeper levels of sleep. The levels of sleep can be divided into five stages and sleepwalking happens only at the third and fourth stages of sleep. Sleepwalkers are not fully awake yet they are not completely sleeping. Their brains received a call for action or arousal which failed to awaken them. As a result their bodies became active but they were not aware about this.
Too much stress can be one of the causes of somnambulism. People sleepwalk because they cannot handle the stress effectively and even in sleep they act without knowing that they are moving. Children are more likely to be prone to sleepwalking than adults. Some scientists and researchers also associate sleepwalking with genes. It means that sleepwalking is a hereditary disorder. Medication can be used for controlling this problem. It can be injurious to the sleepwalker’s health and they can get injured because they do not know that they are walking and would not know if there is any obstacle in their way.
