Sleepwalking Issue

I have a friend that sleepwalks.

This friend falls asleep in the middle of the day, in public places etc. and before bed, and can happily carry on like normal and perform normal tasks e.g buy food, enter their pin number at an ATM etc.

Most of the time they know it's still me, sometimes they think they are elsewhere and think i'm someone else. Sometimes the sleepwalking can get violent.

Not too sure about the subject personally. Did some googling but nothing covers more than just the general sleepwalking "disorder". What my friend has is far more serious, is not Narcolepsy as they can fall asleep at a blink and carry on like normal, and not just fall asleep.

I'd describe it as dreaming whilst awake, as if the line between reality and the dream world has been damaged / distorted and the brain switches between modes.

I'm worried these episodes could happen in more serious situations e.g driving, in an exam etc.

It's already happened in a supermarket and a cinema, and whilst walking home.

 

I had sleep walking issues before but not in the middle of the day. Your friend needs some serious medical attention

 

Theres nothing except medical attention that'll help, as you say there's no telling when it'll happen and there's an accident. But make sure to try and get them to a sleep specialist because GP's don't really know anything well.

 

Yeah I know bud, I'll try my best to convince them.

I find it super interesting and really makes me curious as to how sleep works, and how their mind is working when in that situation. Quite interesting stuff really.

 

It is indeed. I suffered from a load of night terrors when I was younger and it intrigued be quite a bit. Documentaries about sleep clinics are amusing, sleep eaters, killers etc

 

My brother did this same sort of thing. He would sleep walk all the way to our outside porch and would sometimes get locked outside and would stay out there til morning. It's definitely scary stuff.

He eventually grew out of it.

 

I use to work for an adult foster care home with a person who had a very very similar issue and he ended up getting them diagnosed as a type of seizure. I would definitely suggest medical testing. I think a neurologist over a sleep specialist, this sounds more like a brain-related issue.

 

that's some serious stuff. i can only hope for the best

 

I've only had sleepwalking issues on a few medications. Sounds pretty serious though. I was on Ambien at one point and heard of people driving and not even know it.

 

Interesting, is it really asleep though? or is he just zoning out really hard?
Zoning out - Just doing the regular things and all of a sudden realizing that you're doing something without actually knowing you're doing it.

Just asking because I had similar experiences (zoning out) when I had a few weeks in which I couldn't sleep for more than 4-5 hours.
These experiences could last for hours, and it was really a weird experience overall.

 

^

I zone out a lot. I find that if I drink alcohol (even a modest amount), I can zone out for a good 10-15 minutes at a time. However, it happens on a regular basis then that is a medical problem and needs medical attention.

 

Yeah, that is pretty weird. I sleepwalk occasionally but never in any dangerous situations like when I'm driving. As has been suggested you should probably talk him into seeing a doctor about that, could potentially save his life.

 

Yea like cas said. Are you sure its sleepwalking? Cause yea it looks really serious if it is and your friend will need to be careful by going to a specialist,...

Its really interesting though. Ive never heard of sleepwalking middle of the day and these stuff you said... 0.0 When you know more, tell us!

 

I'd say consult with a doctor and check out some options to help em.

 

Has he been to specialist yet? Better to get a professional opinion on how to proceed.

Also, has he/she been through any traumatic experiences during the course of their life? Some studies show that many traumatic happenings can cause the brain to 'sleep', 'suppress' anything relevant to said event; which in some cases causes the person to fall asleep to block out said memories/context dependant memories, but carry on with whatever they are doing, i.e walking/cinema/shopping. A more specific example would be if your friend had lets say had a terrible break up, and while shopping they bumped into their ex bf/gf. To avoid any feelings of emotion, the brain 'falls asleep'.

 

Yes, and it is definitely sleep walking. Misconceptions i.e who I am when this occurs, are related to bad events.