Somnambulism

The reason for the dream is unknown. There are a number of unconfirmed hypotheses explaining the reasons for this behavior. Among them - immaturity of the nervous system ^[5] , disturbances in the phase of slow sleep ^[10] , sleep deprivation , nervous excitement and fatigue. Some studies note a link with genetic factors ^{[3] [11] [12] [13]} .

A number of drugs, mainly agonists of benzodeazepine receptors, antidepressants , antipsychotics and beta-blockers , are associated with walking in a dream. The connection with zolpidem and sodium oxybutyrate is most pronounced ^[14] .

It is believed that a number of conditions, such as Parkinson's disease , can cause episodes of sleepiness in people without a previous history of somnambulism ^[15] .

A relationship was found between sleepwalking and other sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome and respiratory failure during sleep in children ^[16] .

In some cases, adult somnambulism can be a symptom of mental disorders ^{[17] [18]} .

According to estimates, the prevalence of sleepwalking is 4.6-10.3%. ^[19] A meta-analysis of 51 studies, in which more than 100,000 children and adults took part, showed that sleepwalking is more common in children - about 5% of all cases, 1.5% in adults; in those who took part in the study, drowsiness occurred at least once during the previous 12 months. ^[19] The frequency of sleepwalking does not depend on the age of the child. ^[nineteen]

Since the sufferer of somnambulism does not remember his nightly adventures, although he can guess them by external signs, ^[20] he usually learns about his illness from third parties (for example, children from his parents). ^[21] Another most reliable way to diagnose somnambulism is polysomnography .

It should not be confused with blurred consciousness caused by alcohol or drugs, the result of which are memory lapses ^[22] resembling those with sleepwalking. ^[23] In contrast to the latter, when the mind is clouded, a person is able to react more actively to changes in the external environment.

During the differential diagnosis, night horror and other parasomnia of REM sleep should be excluded.

None of the clinical trials have shown the effectiveness of psychological or pharmacological interventions to prevent episodes of sleepiness. ^[24] And this despite the very wide range of methods used; from psychological: psychoanalysis , hypnosis , planned or preemptive awakening, training to relax and control emotions, sleep hygiene, classical techniques (including electroconvulsive therapy ) and game therapy . Pharmacotherapy included the appointment of anticholinergics (biperiden), antiepileptic ( carbamazepine , valproic acid ) and antipsychotic drugs ( quetiapine ), benzodiazepines ( clonazepam , diazepam , flurazepam, imipramine- aminobenzoate, baritazanitobetanobetanobetanobenzoate, baritazanitobetanate fees. ^[24]

There is no evidence that it is harmful to wake the somnambulist or not; although the sleepwalker is most likely to be disoriented if woken up, because episodes of somnambulism occur during the deepest stage of sleep.

Unlike other sleep disorders, walking in a dream is not associated with daytime behavioral or emotional problems ^[21] - this may be a consequence of the fact that sleepwalking sleep is not disturbed; if they have not woken up, they are still in a state of sleep during sleepwalking.

Changes to the environment

For those whose sleepwalking episodes are becoming dangerous, an alarm on the door may provide some protection. There are various types of door alarms that can be attached to the bedroom door, and when it is opened, an alarm sounds. The goal is that the sound will completely awaken the person and interrupt the episode of sleepwalking, or if the person suffering from somnambulism lives with others, the sound will make them check the person. ^[25]

Sleepwalkers should strive to arrange their bedrooms on the ground floor of a house, apartment, hostel, hotel, etc. ^[25]

In addition, sleepwalkers should not have easily accessible weapons (loaded guns, knives) in the bedroom or in any room of the house. If there is a weapon, it must be locked with a key that the patient does not have access to. ^[25]

The dreaming has long attracted attention due to its mystery, but until the last century has not been seriously investigated. The 19th century German chemist and parapsychologist Baron Karl Ludwig von Reichenbach conducted extensive research on lunatics and used his discoveries to formulate the theory of odic power .

Initially, walking in a dream was attributed to a waking dream. ^[5] For example, in one study published by the Organization of Science and Society in 1954, the conclusion was: “The suppression of hostile feelings towards the father caused patients to act outside the world of sleep through dreaming and distorting perceptions of all authoritarian figures such as fathers , officers and harsh bosses. " ^[26] Twelve years later, the same group published an article with a new conclusion: “Walking in a dream, contrary to most beliefs, seems to have little to do with dreaming. In fact, this happens when the sleeper enjoys his deepest, deepest sleep - the stage in which dreams are usually not reported. ” ^[27] Later studies have shown that sleepwalking is actually a disorder, a sign of which is arousal in the slow phase sleep ^[5] More accurate sleep data is associated with the invention of technologies, such as the electroencephalogram of Hans Berger in 1924 and the neuroimaging of Frank Duffy in the early 1980s. ^[28]

In 1907, Sigmund Freud made a speech about walking in a dream in a Vienna psychoanalytic society. He believed that the dreaming was connected with the fulfillment of sexual desires and was surprised that a person could move without interrupting a dream. At that time, Freud suggested that the essence of this phenomenon was the desire to fall asleep in the same place in which a person slept in childhood. Ten years later, he reflected on somnambulism in his article “Metapsychological Supplement to the Theory of Dreams”, in which he explained in more detail the connection between walking in a dream and the work of the unconscious . ^[29]

• In the tragedy of William Shakespeare "Macbeth" (1606), the episode with the dreaming (act 5, scene 1) became very famous.
• The plot of the opera by V. Bellini “Somnambulist” is built around the fact of somnambulism of the main character.

The obsolete name is sleepwalking, ^[30] comes from the Late Latin lunaticus - crazy, from the Latin luna - moon. The term "sleepwalking" is associated with the ideas of many ancient peoples about the influence of lunar cycles on the human psyche.

In hypnosis, one of the deepest stages of trance is called somnambulism. ^[31]

• Sexomnia
• Sleep paralysis