Sleepwalking :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Sleepwalking many people have heard of walk and evening know nigh symptoms that surround the disorder, tho is there more to the story than just vigilant up during the night and wandering around in an unaware give in? What actually causes someone to walk? To try to empathize the answers to these questions it is important to understand not only what kind of disorder it is, but who has the disorder, how frequently it haps, what the symptoms are, as well as what the treatments are. By exploring these areas, it may be possible to get out understand the disorder as well as dispel experient notions about it.The Parasomnias are disorders that intrude into the sleep process and create tumultuous sleep-related events. Arousal disorders are parasomnia disorders presumed to be due to an abnormal arousal mechanism. These arousals occur when a person is in a mixed state of creation both asleep and awake, generally coming from the deepest stage of nondreaming sleep, stages 3 and 4. Th is content a person is awake enough to act out multiform behaviors but still asleep and not aware or suitable to remember these actions (1).One of the most common types of arousal disorders is noctambulation, more commonly known as sleepwalking. Somnambulism affects children much more regularly than adults. In fact, sleepwalking affects approximately 1% to 17% of children and is more frequently seen in boys. Interestingly, 15% of children aged 5-12 years sleepwalk at least once, but only 3-6% sleepwalk more than once (5). It has been noted that the incidence of sleepwalking decreases with age. Although the exact prevalence of sleepwalking in adults is not known, it is estimated to be as high as 10%.(4). It has also been noted that those individuals who cause to sleepwalk as adults are more prone to serious problems with it. Because it is found more commonly in children, who are undergoing many physical and chemical changes, if it is seen to start in adults it is thought to be linked to mental disturbances other than weariness or anxiety. However, mental disturbances can be present without counting as a symptom(3). No one seems to know exactly what the cause of somnambulism is, but there are theories that have been suggested. Once asleep, it is thought that the circumstances of the brain that controls muscle function is aroused and the sleepwalker begins to move even though he or she is still asleep (2).