Keeping them awake for a full day can trigger a sleepwalking episode when the people predisposed to sleepwalking are allowed to sleep.
Somnambulism affects up to 4 percent of adults and constitutes one of the leading causes of sleep-related violence and self-injury. Diagnosing somnambulism with objective instruments is often difficult because episodes rarely occur in the laboratory. Nonetheless, sleep specialists may be called on to verify a diagnosis of somnambulism, sometimes for legal reasons, as people may unwittingly injure themselves or act aggressively while sleepwalking.
To determine how sleep deprivation can precipitate sleepwalking, researchers at the University of Montreal studied the effects of 25 hours of sleep deprivation on the frequency and complexity of somnambulistic episodes recorded in the laboratory. The researchers tested the idea that restricting sleep might trigger somnambulism in a group of 40 patients thought to have the tendency to sleepwalk. Fifteen reported injuring themselves during such episodes. The subjects first spent one normal night in the sleep lab so that typical behavior could be recorded. The next day they were supervised for 25 hours to ensure they stayed awake, and then they were allowed to sleep.
The results showed that sleepwalkers experienced a significant increase in the mean frequency of somnambulistic episodes during post deprivation recovery sleep. Post sleep deprivation also resulted in a significantly greater proportion of patients experiencing more complex forms of somnambulism. During the first night, 32 episodes of somnambulistic behaviour in 20 subjects were observed. Following sleep deprivation, there were 92 episodes in 36 individuals. Moreover, sleep deprivation also increased the number of sleepwalkers who exhibited at least one complex episode - such as sitting up or getting out of bed - from 5 subjects the first night to 14 during recovery sleep.
These findings suggest that deprivation of sleep could trigger episodes of sleep walking in those predisposed to it.
Somnambulism affects up to 4 percent of adults and constitutes one of the leading causes of sleep-related violence and self-injury. Diagnosing somnambulism with objective instruments is often difficult because episodes rarely occur in the laboratory. Nonetheless, sleep specialists may be called on to verify a diagnosis of somnambulism, sometimes for legal reasons, as people may unwittingly injure themselves or act aggressively while sleepwalking.
To determine how sleep deprivation can precipitate sleepwalking, researchers at the University of Montreal studied the effects of 25 hours of sleep deprivation on the frequency and complexity of somnambulistic episodes recorded in the laboratory. The researchers tested the idea that restricting sleep might trigger somnambulism in a group of 40 patients thought to have the tendency to sleepwalk. Fifteen reported injuring themselves during such episodes. The subjects first spent one normal night in the sleep lab so that typical behavior could be recorded. The next day they were supervised for 25 hours to ensure they stayed awake, and then they were allowed to sleep.
The results showed that sleepwalkers experienced a significant increase in the mean frequency of somnambulistic episodes during post deprivation recovery sleep. Post sleep deprivation also resulted in a significantly greater proportion of patients experiencing more complex forms of somnambulism. During the first night, 32 episodes of somnambulistic behaviour in 20 subjects were observed. Following sleep deprivation, there were 92 episodes in 36 individuals. Moreover, sleep deprivation also increased the number of sleepwalkers who exhibited at least one complex episode - such as sitting up or getting out of bed - from 5 subjects the first night to 14 during recovery sleep.
These findings suggest that deprivation of sleep could trigger episodes of sleep walking in those predisposed to it.
Annals of Neurology,
March 2008
March 2008