Sleepwalking in children or somnambulism is a type of sleep disorder from the family of sleep disorders called parasomnias, that occurs in some children in which a child awakens during the night and may walk or do other things like eating, roaming about, getting dressed up, moving furniture etc. without any memory of doing so later. Sleepwalking in children generally occurs in deep sleep and happens in children aged 6-12 years of age. Sleepwalking in children disappears as they grow older. Sleepwalking in children is common in both boys and girls and there are no concrete reasons as to why it occurs. Parents have to be very careful about safety issues as it may lead to physical injury to oneself and others in the house in the event of children sleepwalking.
Sleepwalking in children can be caused due to the following factors like sleep deprivation, disturbed sleep/wake cycle, headaches, head injury, alcohol use, fever, effect of some medications, fight with siblings or friends, noise or light in the bed room etc. What happens in sleepwalking children is that a part of the brain stays awake while the rest is asleep and hence the sleepwalking child is not able to recollect the event later. If someone sees children sleepwalking they shall notice that the eyes are wide open and there is a “glassy†look on the face. But in actuality a sleepwalking child is fast asleep.
The major concerns for sleepwalking children’s parents is their safety and security because they are not aware of their actions. Sleepwalking children generally do not make any noise so it’s easy to go unnoticed and that’s the challenge for parents of sleepwalking children. The bed rooms of sleepwalking children should be free from any clutter or any such stuff that might hurt the child. The beds should not be high rise as the possibility of falling off is high in the event when children sleepwalk. It is advisable to close the bedroom door and lock the windows especially if the sleepwalking child sleeps alone. Another idea is to hang a bell on the door knob so that someone can be alerted in the house when an episode of sleepwalking children occurs.
Sleepwalking in children could have some underlying psychological or physiological disorder so the parents should visit a doctor. Also try not to awaken the child when the child is sleepwalking, instead try to put the child back to sleep in bed.
