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- Dr. Zadra: Yes. In children and adolescents, amnesia is more frequent, probably due to neurophysiological reasons. In adults, a high proportion of sleepwalkers occasionally remember what they did during their sleepwalking episodes. Some even remember what they were thinking and the emotions they felt.
sleepeducation.org/sleepwalkers-sometimes-remember-their-actions/Sleepwalkers sometimes remember their actions - Sleep Education
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Jan 3, 2024 · While sleepwalkers may not remember their episodes of sleepwalking, it is possible for them to have fragmented memories or vague recollections of the event. These memories are often clouded or distorted and may not provide a comprehensive or accurate account of what occurred during the episode.
- Understanding Sleepwalking: Can People See When They ...
Sleepwalkers may be able to see and hear people, but they do...
- Understanding Sleepwalking: Can People See When They ...
- Overview
- Sleepwalking – Less Common As You Age
- Sleepwalking is Not Automatic
Three myths regarding sleepwalking – that sleepwalkers have no recollection of the event, their behavior has no motivation, and sleepwalking has no daytime impact – are now being contested in a new study carried out by a team at The University of Montreal.
Through an analysis of literature of data from over 15 years of sleep studies, Antonio Zadra and his colleagues have uncovered new findings on sleepwalking and made clear diagnostic criteria for doctors and researchers.
Sleepwalking is genetic. Close to 80 percent of sleepwalkers have a family history of the condition. An identical twin is five times more likely to sleepwalk if the other twin does too.
The current study reveals that stress and tiredness can cause sleepwalking as well. In predisposed people, any situation that interrupts sleep could result in sleepwalking.
Generally, sleepwalking is harmless. Even though the deep slow-wave sleep of sleepwalkers is broken, most events are short and not dangerous, and if they are the danger is small.
Rarely, dangerous longer episodes may occur with sleepwalkers who injure themselves or put themselves or others at risk. For example, driving a car while sleeping.
Sleepwalking is prevalent in children between the ages of six and twelve years. The authors point out that transitioning from sleep to wakefulness necessitates some maturation of the brain, which is sometimes difficult in kids of this age. After puberty the problem normally goes away.
Sleepwalking may continue into adulthood in 25 percent of adolescent cases. If this happens it will always decrease with age, because as a person gets older they get fewer hours of deep slow-wave sleep – the stage in which sleepwalking happens.
When conceptualizing sleepwalking the authors point out that people can be partially awake and partially asleep. This means that the brain does not fall asleep all at at once – it may happen part by part – certain areas of the brain falling asleep before others.
This could explain why some people remember sleepwalking and others don’t. Amnesia is more common in children and teens because of neurophysiological reasons. In adults, it is more common to remember some or all of a sleepwalking episode.
Another popular myth is that sleepwalking is automatic. However, a large number of sleepwalkers remember what they did and why. They are able to admit their actions were illogical, but see that for each episode there is a hidden rationale. A motivation normally accompanies and accounts for the action.
Nearly 45 percent of sleepwalkers are sleepy during the day. Adolescent sleepwalkers are able to mask their sleepiness more easily. Although, when compared with control subjects, they performed worse in vigilance tests. Also, if they were given the chance to take a nap, they went to sleep faster than individuals who had not been sleepwalking.
Zadra concluded:
“Over the last few years, we have shown that the deep slow-wave sleep of sleepwalkers is atypical. Fragmented by numerous micro-arousals of 3 to 10 seconds, their sleep is less restorative. Sleepwalking is therefore not only a problem of transitioning between deep sleep and wakefulness. There is something more fundamental in their sleep every night, whether or not they have sleepwalking episodes.”
Most sleepwalking episodes last less than 10 minutes, but they can be longer. At the end of each episode, the person may wake up, or return to bed and go to sleep. They will not normally have any memory of it in the morning or may have patchy memory.
‘Sleepwalkers don’t remember sleepwalking’ Many sleepwalkers may recall some fragments of their sleepwalking episode, almost like flashbacks, while others may have no memory of it at all. Memory of a sleepwalking episode can vary from person to person.
Jan 3, 2024 · Sleepwalkers may be able to see and hear people, but they do not recognize or interact with them in a meaningful way during sleepwalking episodes. They may appear disoriented or confused if someone tries to communicate with them while sleepwalking.
Mar 12, 2024 · You can't remember what happened while you were sleepwalking. When you do wake up from an episode, you're confused. You aren't suffering from dementia or another physical disorder.
Jun 25, 2024 · Do sleepwalkers remember what they do? Many sleepwalkers have no memory of their sleepwalking episodes, likely because sleepwalking occurs during non-REM sleep, and the individual is not fully conscious or aware of their actions.
