Sleep Walking

What is sleep walking?
Sleep walking is a tendency for a child to wander during deep sleep.
It occurs usually in children aged 4 to 15 years.
About 15% of normal children do sleepwalk.
While sleepwalking, your child cannot be awakened, no matter what you do.
The child’s eyes are open and staring blankly.
The child is not as well coordinated as when awake.
The child can perform semi-purposeful acts such as dressing and undressing, opening and closing doors or turning lights on and off.

What is the cause?
The cause is unknown at this time.
It does tend to run in families.
It does occur more in boys than girls.

How long does it last?
Your child will start sleep walking 1 – 2 hours after going to bed.
They will walk around for 5 – 20 minutes.
Children usually stop sleep walking during adolescence.

How can I take care of my child?
Gently lead your child back to bed.
First, lead your child into the bathroom because s/he may be looking for a place to urinate.
Then, guide your child to their bedroom.
The child may stop once they are in bed.
Don’t expect to awaken him before he returns to normal sleep.
Protect your child from accidents. Although rare, they do happen, especially if the child wanders outside.
Sleep walkers may be hit by a car, bitten by a dog or they may become lost.
Put gates on your stairways and special locks on your outside doors.
Avoid having your child sleep in a bunk bed.
Help your child avoid exhaustion. Fatigue and lack of sleep lead to more frequent sleep walking and night terrors.
If your child needs to be awakened in the morning, that means s/he needs to be in bed earlier at night.
Move “lights out” time to 15 minutes earlier each night until your child can self-awaken in the morning.
Try prompted awakenings to prevent sleep walking.
If your child sleep walks frequently, note for several nights how many minutes pass from the time your child falls asleep to the time s/he starts sleep walking. Then, on the following night, awaken your child 15 minutes before the time you expect him/her to start sleep walking.
Remind your child at bedtime that when you do this, his/her job is to wake up fast.
Keep your child fully awake for 5 minutes.
Continue these prompted awakenings for seven nights in a row.
If your child starts sleep walking again, repeat this seven night training program