Sleep walking ...
@awesomehorizons (884)
United States
February 8, 2007 8:44am CST
If you happen to have a sleep walker in your home here is one sure remedy to get your sleep walker back in bed without waking them up or causing them any harm. First it's best to make sure that there is nothing that they can trip over through the night.
My son is a sleep walker and when he was growing up I would always find the front door wide open in the mornings when I got up. That was a shocker and I couldn't figure out how it was happening until one night I happened to be up very late. My son came out of his bedroom, sound asleep, and walked over to the front door, opened it, walked out on the porch and then came back in the house and went back to bed leaving the front door wide open. When I asked him what he was doing he didn't answer me and kept walking. That was freaky.
The next morning I talked to the doctor and this is the advice that he gave me. "Make sure that the door is UNLOCKED before your son goes to bed. When he is sleeping then LOCK the door. If he knows that the door is locked before he goes to bed then in his subconscience he will know to unlock it and go out the door. If it is unlocked before he goes to sleep and you lock it after he goes to sleep his subconscience will not know to unlock it and he will go back to bed. It will be a boundary for him." I tried it and it worked every night.
I took it one step further and used his bedroom door in the same way because I didn't want him bouncing into the walls and furniture through the night. I left his door open until I knew that he was sleeping then I would close it. It worked! He stayed in his room all night. He was still up sleep walking but he never left his room in the middle of the night after that and all of us slept better. It's amazing how the mind works, even in our sleep.
3 people like this
7 responses
@freak369 (5113)
• United States
12 Feb 07
That's great advice. Have anything for sleep eaters? No, I am not joking. One of the boys comes down in the middle of the night, pours some cereal, eats it and leaves the bowl in the table. At first I thought it was funny, that someone was playing a joke on me but when I heard noise in the kitchen and went to investigate, there he was, chomping away. It wasn't until I did some reading and asking around that I realized what was going on. It's not a nightly thing, it happens three or four days / nights in a row then nothing for a month or two. We chalked it up to growth spurts and we tried having a snack before bed and that did nothing. If I hid the cereal boxes, he would go for bread or anything in the cabinet. Thankfully it never came down to seeing him noshing on raw pasta LOL.
So the next time you get up in the morning and see a cereal bowl on the table ... you may just have a sleep eater on your hands. The doctor I spoke with said there's nothing wrong with it, it isn't a common thing but it certainly isn't unheard of. There's even a climical term for it; Nocturnal Eating Syndrome. At least I know I'm not losing my mind. LOL
2 people like this
@lonewolfnan (4366)
• Canada
25 Feb 07
I am told I suffered the same Nocturnal Eating Syndrome and for me it seems it was because of my love for chicken(I am a chickenaholic) as that would be about the only time I would do this.At least,this is what my brother tells me.But by reading your reply and the original discussion,I can see where it was a big possibility.I did not realize there was a term for it,but it does explain some things to me.Thank you both for sharing!.
@awesomehorizons (884)
• United States
20 Feb 07
No sorry, I don't have any remedy for 'sleep eaters' but I'm sure that there has to be something a person can do about it. WebMD could have the answer for your question. LOL at 'noshing on raw pasta', hope it never gets to that point, LOL. Thanks for responding :-)
@mama_of_two (268)
• United States
19 Feb 07
That is very interesting. I wish that my parents knew to do this when my sister would sleep walk. She once decided that she was going to go outside in the backyard and play, but she didn't make it because my dad stopped her. She would do things like this all of the time. It was really cool in a way, but I guess it could be extremely scary for parents. If my daughter ever does this, then I will know what to do. Thanks for the info!
1 person likes this
@awesomehorizons (884)
• United States
20 Feb 07
You're very welcome! It is interesting and it amazed me that it even worked.
@weemam (13372)
•
19 Feb 07
Wow ! that was brilliant , I used to sleepwalk when I was little , we all lived in the same room me Mum and Dad so it was easier for them just to turn me around and lead me back to bed , I never did it after I grew up I am very glad to say , xx
@awesomehorizons (884)
• United States
20 Feb 07
Some doctors can be brilliant sometimes with solutions to health problems, lol. All fun aside, this seems to be the least interacting solution there is. I've heard it said that if someone wakes up a person who sleep walks in their sleep that it can be very dangerous for them mentally, but who knows.
@kgwat70 (13388)
• United States
19 Feb 07
Thank you for sharing this with us as this is great information and can help anyone that does have a sleep walker in their household. I will keep this information so that if I have children, I will know what to do to keep them from sleep walking throughout the house. I have never witnessed or knew anyone that slept walked. I have been told that I talk in my sleep sometimes but never sleep walk. Glad to hear that this worked for you and your family. Somebody can get hurt sleepwalking throughout the house.
1 person likes this
@awesomehorizons (884)
• United States
20 Feb 07
You are quite welcome! This remedy was the best solution for us. Thanks for your response.
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
8 Feb 07
This seems to be a good thing to remember. I did sleep walk as a teen however, I got all the way outside and to the fence gate and woke up. It scare me and I don't believe it ever happened again. My kids seem to not do this so this will be added to the information I have and shared when someone says that they have this situation. Thanks for sharing this here.
1 person likes this
@awesomehorizons (884)
• United States
20 Feb 07
You are very welcome and hope this helps a lot of folks. Thanks for your response :-)
@awesomehorizons (884)
• United States
20 Feb 07
Hmmmm, makes me wonder if there is something that can be done about sleep talking, probably not, LOL. My hubby sleep talks but I can hardly ever understand what he is saying. Hope this sleep walking tip helps your friend's son as well. Yes it is strange how the mind works and a little spooky sometimes too, LOL. Thanks for your response :-)
