How serious is sleep walking?

For some, the episodes of sleepwalking occur less than once per month and do not cause any harm to either the patient or the others. The problem is that some experience sleepwalking more than once per month, in some cases almost nightly, and sometimes it is even associated with physical injuries. In some cases the sleepwalkers can exit the house, walk the streets and even drive a car. It is proven that sleepwalking that starts at an early age, generally disappears as the child gets older. If the child begins to sleepwalk at the age of 9 or older, it often lasts into adulthood.

Differential Diagnosis of sleepwalking

Some disorders have similar or even the same symptoms. The doctor should first rule out the following disorders to establish a precise diagnosis.

• Partial Complex Seizures Occurring during sleep
• REM Behavior Disorder
• Night Terrors
• Malingering
• Dissociative Phenomena
• Medication Effects

Signs and tests for the proper diagnosis

Usually, no examination and testing is necessary for the diagnosis of sleep walking.
If sleep walking is frequent or persistent, an examination which would rule out other disorders (such as partial complex seizures) may be appropriate. Some experts believe that it may be appropriate to undergo a psychological evaluation to look for the underlying causes such as excessive anxiety or stress, or medical evaluation to rule out other causes.

Treatment

Medications

Benzodiazepines are the medicines that help sleeping. They are effective and they have few side effects. However, your body becomes used to them very quickly, so their effect starts to vanish. This means that they are addicctive and that you’ll probably need to take higher doses to achieve the same results. This is particularly the case in depression, since it may take several weeks for the illness itself to respond to treatment.

Antidepressants

Some of the older antidepressants like Amitriptyline and Dothiepin are sedative. As a result, they were used a great deal to help depressed patients who had marked sleep problems.

Other medications

Occasionally other sedative medicines are used along with an antidepressant such as sedative antipsychotics. These medications can help anxiety, agitation, and sleep and, under certain situations, may help somebody respond to an antidepressant if they did not previously.

Some tips for better sleep

• Get into a routine with your sleep times.
• Take some physical exercise during the day.
• Avoid exercise two hours before bedtime.
• Avoid watching disturbing or violent films prior to bedtime.
• Avoid drinking caffeine in the evening after 6pm.
• Drink herbal teas or milky drinks such as Horlicks in the evening.
• Avoid heavy meals two hours before bedtime.
• Avoid alcohol in the evening. While alcohol is sedative, it is not a good idea to try to use it to sort out a sleep problem. This is because alcohol does not lead to normal restful sleep.
• Your bedroom should be warm and familiar with a comfortable bed and quilt, etc.