A person experiencing
sleep walking disorder will get out of bed and walk around during
the night. Many times, the person will not communicate and will have
a blank stare on their face. Once awakened, the person seldom remembers
the details of the sleep walking episode. During the sleep walking,
some people may negotiate stairs, go out of doors, or eat a snack.
Children who experience sleep walking usually outgrow it. However,
sleep walking in adults can be chronic and last for many years.
Main criteria
involves:
On numerous occasions, the patient arises and walks about, usually
during the first third of sleep.
During
sleepwalking, the patient stares blankly, can be awakened only with
difficulty and responds poorly to others' attempts at communication.
Although
there may be a brief period of confusion upon first awakening, within
a few minutes the patient's behavior and mental activity are normal
and unimpaired.
After
the episode or the next morning, the patient has no memory of the
sleep walking activity.
The symptoms
cause clinically important distress or impair work, social or personal
functioning.
Not directly
caused by a general medical condition or substance use, including
medications and
drugs of abuse.
Associated
Features:
Other characteristics
that can occur with sleep disorders include depression, decreased
concentration, fatigue, anxiety, and irritability. People with chronic
sleep problems tend to have other illnesses such as stomach problems,
muscle aches, and headaches.
Differential
Diagnosis:
Some disorders
have similar or even the same symptoms. The clinician, therefore,
in his/her diagnostic attempt has to differentiate against the following
disorders which need to be ruled out to establish a precise diagnosis.
Partial
Complex Seizures - Occurring during sleep
REM Behavior Disorder
Night Terrors
Malingering
Dissociative Phenomena
Medication Effects
Cause:
Sleep problems
frequently occur around periods of stress. As an example, it is not
at all uncommon for a person's sleep to be disrupted following the
death of a loved one or around the time of a major medical problem.
Therefore, many sleep problems resolve once the stress is resolved
or the medical condition subsides. However, some sleep disorders can
begin with an acute problem and become a chronic sleep problem. This
usually does not indicate a serious disorder, although it can be a
symptom of other disorders.
In general, sleep
disorders can occur at any age. However, sleep problems do increase
with increasing age. These problems are very common in our culture.
More than twenty percent (20%) of adults will complain of sleep problems
at some period in their lives.
