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My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) - Health (3) - Nairaland

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Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by darqly(m): 6:38pm On Aug 27, 2009
The replies here are just giving me fits grin Nigerians, we are too damn spiritual!
There's nothing wrong with your girl; I should know, I used to stroll from time to time(In my sleep) as a little lad growing up, I miss my childhood tongue

My mother would occassionally give me what yorubas call "Abare"(hope I got de spelling correct,lol) and I'd jerk back to life and maybe find myself near the backdoor, living room or ANY other place except my bed where I alighted from.

I grew out of it eventually, though I still talk in my sleep occassionally.
Instead of you to set-up an overnite dishwasing service and make easy cash, you're listening to all the "weres" on Nairaland grin
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by JesusDWay(m): 6:52pm On Aug 27, 2009
Well, that she denied the incidence is really something to get concerned about because, i want to believe that is not the first time it is happening to her. I believe she knows something like that is happening to her and she is purposely denying, probably so you will not break the relationship. What i think you should do first of all is to sit her down and let her accept that the situation is real. two, tell her you will do whatever you can to help her out of the situation, this would help to calm her down and in the process help her gain control of her mind. Where the problem really is, is in her mind. While you may need to see a doctor and get appropriate drugs, you will need to be praying for her and tell your Pastor too. But, she has to leave your house o. It's not right for her to be staying with you.Takia
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by Borat1: 7:47pm On Aug 27, 2009
He he! grin
If its only dishes she does, then you dont have a problem. Leave just one soiled dish so she promptly goes to sleep.
Otherwise, your "longman" is NEXT!!
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by oneluvb55(f): 8:10pm On Aug 27, 2009
lol
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by oneluvb55(f): 8:11pm On Aug 27, 2009
dat 1 dey!
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by rasputinn(m): 9:14pm On Aug 27, 2009
~Borat~:

He he! grin
If its only dishes she does, then you dont have a problem. Leave just one soiled dish so she promptly goes to sleep.
Otherwise, your[b] "longman" is NEXT!![/b]

grin grin grin grin grin
Somnambulism is some serious issue man,whatever they sleep-do is always scary.Heard the story of this man that always woke up to set fire in his living room dowstairs and walk back upstairs to sleep only to be woken by the blaring of the smoke detector.Creepy right

O boy carry dat babe go deliverance wan time make she no go put knife for ya neck or JT for night.
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by emeshot: 9:15pm On Aug 27, 2009
i used to do that when i was very young but i have stopped.due to my experience as at when i was little.it is due to stress,you know i used to play alot then do alot of crafty things like building carton house,building carton cars,opening and reopening electric and electronic gadget etc.from my little experience your girl need to relax her mind she has alot of things in her mind.she need alot of rest.it is not a spiritual thing.it is stress.she needs someone to make her relax.it is over 15 years my family experienced that from me.so dont be afraid.allot of people experience that.
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by rasputinn(m): 9:29pm On Aug 27, 2009
Seun:

Try not to treat it as a big deal. Just take reasonable precautions and accept it. No cause for alarm.

Na this kain tin dey make me vex,how you go say make the bobo just accept it say no cause for alarm, bros,alarm dey small oo.Some have been known to do very weird things

@ OP
Just be very careful,at night make sure you protect ya neck,JT,eye,nose,fingers,neck  grin grin grin

Seriously,I see some have created the impression that this  situation happens only to young children,nothing can be farther from the truth.
That said,hers' doesn't sound like the precarious ones(she just does the dishes,right).Two of you can work consciously together to overcome it.Just in case you fear she may progress to doing other things aside from washing,then always put away ALL sharp and dangerous objects,plus match boxes and lighters,lock them in a safe place and you hide the key.You may also set your clock alarms at 4 hourly intervals,make sure the alarm tone is nasty enough to drive sleep from her eyes(this may inconvenience you too,but it's the price we pay for love),don't rule out prayers too
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by Dale1(m): 9:42pm On Aug 27, 2009
OMG!!!!!!! am laughing and falling off my chair. Good thing am not at work, hehehe
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by Omowunmimi(f): 10:00pm On Aug 27, 2009
Sleepwalking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Sleepwalking (disambiguation).

Sleepwalking (also called somnambulism or noctambulism[1]) is a parasomnia or sleep disorder where the sufferer engages in activities that are normally associated with wakefulness while he or she is asleep or in a sleep-like state. Sleepwalking is usually defined by or involves the person affected apparently shifting from his or her prior sleeping position and moving around and performing normal actions as if awake (cleaning, walking and other activities).

It is inexact to assume that somnambulists are unconscious during their nocturnal sleepwalking episodes. They are simply not conscious of their actions on a level where memory of the sleepwalking episode can be recalled[citation needed], and because of this, unless the sleepwalker is awakened or aroused by someone else, this sleep disorder can go unnoticed. Sleepwalking is more commonly experienced in people with high levels of stress, anxiety or psychological factors and in people with genetic factors (family history), or sometimes a combination of both.

A common misconception is that sleepwalking is acting out the physical movements within a dream, but in fact, sleepwalking occurs earlier on in the night when rapid eye movement (REM), or the "dream stage" of sleep, has not yet occurred.[citation needed] REM behavior disorder is the proper term for the condition that occurs when a person "acts out" his dream.

Explanation

Sleepwalking can affect people of any age. It generally occurs when an individual moves during slow wave sleep or SWS (during stage 3 or 4 of slow wave sleep—deep sleep) (Horne, 1992; Kales & Kales, 1975). In children and young adults, up to 80% of the night is spent in SWS (50% in infants).[citation needed] However, this decreases as the person ages, until none can be measured in the geriatric individual.[citation needed] For this reason, children and young adults (or anyone else with a high amount of slow wave sleep [SWS]) are more likely to be woken up and, for the same reasons, they are witnessed to have many more episodes than the older individuals.[citation needed]

[edit] Statistics

According to a Finnish study published in 1997, children sleepwalk more frequently than adults. Sleepwalking was reported for 6.9% of female children and 5.7% of male children, compared to rates of 3.1% for adult women and 3.9% for adult men.[2]

[edit] Drug-related sleepwalking

The sleep aid Zolpidem (also sold under the brand name Ambien) has been associated with an increased likelihood to sleep walk,[3] including especially dangerous sleeping activities such as driving.

[edit] Activities

Activities such as eating, bathing, urinating, talking, dressing, driving cars, painting, whistling, dancing, committing murder, or [4][5][6] engaging in sexual intercourse[7] have been reported or claimed to have occurred during sleepwalking. In December 2008, reports were published of a woman who sent semi-coherent emails while sleepwalking, including one inviting a friend around for dinner and drinks.[8]

Contrary to popular belief, most cases of sleepwalking do not consist of walking around (without the conscious knowledge of the subject). Most cases of somnambulism occur when the person is awakened (something or someone disturbs their SWS); the person may sit up, look around and immediately go back to sleep. But these kinds of incidences are rarely noticed or reported unless recorded in a sleep clinic.[citation needed]

Sleepwalkers engage in their activities with their eyes open so they can navigate their surroundings, not with their eyes closed and their arms outstretched, as often parodied in cartoons and films. The subject's eyes may have a glazed or empty appearance, and if questioned, the subject will be slow to answer and may be unable to respond in an intelligible manner.[dubious – discuss]

[edit] Hazards and safety

When sleepwalkers are a danger to themselves or others (for example, when climbing up or down steps or trying to use a potentially dangerous tool such as a stove or a knife), steering them away from the danger and back to bed is advisable. It has even been reported that people have died or were injured as a result of sleepwalking.[9][10] Sleepwalking should not be confused with psychosis.

Sleepwalking has in rare cases been used as a defense (sometimes successfully) against charges of murder (see Homicidal somnambulism).

[edit] Automatism

In some rare cases, a person may enter into the behaviors consistent with sleepwalking from a state of being awake and alert. This disorder is usually diagnosed as a form of epilepsy known as automatism. An attack usually begins with little or no warning. The subject may engage in simple gestures or small movements, or less commonly, complex behaviors like cooking or driving, performing the activity as if fully alert. After the seizure ends, the subject has no memory of the event, and often feels disoriented[11].

[edit] In art and culture

The 19th-century German chemist and parapsychologist Baron Karl Ludwig von Reichenbach made extensive studies of sleepwalkers and used his discoveries to formulate his theory of the Odic force.

Sleepwalking has been found as a theme in many dramatic works. It is a major plot element in the classic silent German Expressionist film Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (English title: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth sleepwalks because of her overwhelming guilt and insanity. Sleepwalking is also central for Charles Brockden Brown's 1799 novel Edgar Huntly, Or, Memoirs of a Sleepwalker.

Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini's opera La Sonnambula is named after its heroine, a sleepwalker. In Dario Argento's Phenomena (1985), the protagonist, Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly), witnesses a murder while sleepwalking. In the film adaptation of Silent Hill, the protagonist's daughter suffers from sleepwalking. In the House episode "Role Model", a woman has sex with her ex-husband while sleepwalking and gets pregnant. In the movie Step Brothers, the main characters, Brennan and Dale, both sleepwalk to quite comic antics. In the 1947 Disney animated short Sleepy Time Donald, Donald Duck was a prolonged sleepwalker, and Daisy Duck had to steer him away from many hazards.

Dr. John William Polidori, a friend of Lord Byron's, earned his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1815 with a treatise on sleepwalking. He was present at the famous gathering at the Villa Diodati on 16 June 1816 when Byron issued a challenge to him, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin and Claire Clairmont to write a ghost story. Polidori wrote The Vampyre, the first vampire novel in English.

[edit] Legal defense




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepwalking
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by lannre(m): 10:19pm On Aug 27, 2009
Read about sleep walking online,its far away from some advise you are reading here. google it and you will be amazed. Best of luck
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by hbrednic: 2:29am On Aug 28, 2009
ol boy,you are sleeping with a time bomb.
be very very careful,otherwise take her back to her family before that 4 better 4 worse.
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by na2day2(m): 3:38am On Aug 28, 2009
Nevillexus:

Hey friends,

Please I need your help or suggestions,i recently discovered that my new girlfriend is a somnambulist, she gets up in the night and perform normal actions as if awake.  It's scaring because when she gets up she doesn't realise she did all those things.  Two nights ago she got up and washed the dishes but refused to admit in the morning.

This is serious and I need help. sad

at least u now know she is no witch but a human dishwasher grin grin
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by chic2pimp(m): 3:41am On Aug 28, 2009
na2day?:

at least u now know she is no witch but a human dishwasher grin grin
grin grin grin human dishwasher grin grin. Na2morrow u be koloboy I swear down.
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by na2day2(m): 4:17am On Aug 28, 2009
chic2pimp:

grin grin grin human dishwasher grin grin. Na2morrow u be koloboy I swear down.

man must talk the truth nau grin grin grin
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by finemocha(f): 4:39am On Aug 28, 2009
isnt it good that she's cleaning the house while u sleep
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by na2day2(m): 5:24am On Aug 28, 2009
finemocha:

isnt it good that she's cleaning the house while u sleep

i tire oo
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by finemocha(f): 5:39am On Aug 28, 2009
@na2day

a ha it's good now.
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by chic2pimp(m): 6:00am On Aug 28, 2009
finemocha:

isnt it good that she's cleaning the house while u sleep
no dey follow na2day. The bobo no well @ all tongue grin
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by na2day2(m): 7:01am On Aug 28, 2009
chic2pimp:

no dey follow na2day. The bobo no well @ all tongue grin

funny, that was the same thing my doctor said, are u guys related?
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by Nobody: 7:25am On Aug 28, 2009
this question is easy to answer,
you have to use opportunities when they come by,
since she loves washing plates,
open a plate washing firm or a hotel and make some good cash!
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by DoubleN(m): 7:26am On Aug 28, 2009
darqly:

The replies here are just giving me fits grin Nigerians, we are too damn spiritual!
There's nothing wrong with your girl; I should know, I used to stroll from time to time(In my sleep) as a little lad growing up, I miss my childhood tongue

My mother would occassionally give me what yorubas call "Abare"(hope I got de spelling correct,lol) and I'd jerk back to life and maybe find myself near the backdoor, living room or ANY other place except my bed where I alighted from.

I grew out of it eventually, though I still talk in my sleep occassionally.
Instead of you to set-up an overnite dishwasing service and make easy cash, you're listening to all the "weres" on Nairaland grin
Una dey craze well well! grin grin grin
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by kikie(f): 9:06am On Aug 28, 2009
You know it's amazing how Africans esp. Nigerians are quick to subscribe to superstitous beliefs, for every action, there must be a spiritual undertone to it. For crying out loud, this is a psychologically problem (just like in Multiple Personality Disorders) which requires the help of a qualified psychiatric doctor not just any doctor. And this help should be sought soonest cos it could actually worsen with time. There have been cases of people sleepwalking out of the house into many forms of danger. I'll advice the poster to take immediate action as regards the situation while also enganging God cos He is Omnipotent.
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by richpitt(m): 9:49am On Aug 28, 2009
As funny as it may seems I once slept and woke up without ma clothes and up till now i still blame it on the friend that passed the night with me lol, 2. Was ma big bro lol secondary school days he thot me Organic Chemistry in his sleep and up till now no one cud have done it better than he did, still talks in his sleep tho,

As for your girlfriend who does chores in her dreams i fink i would advice you go with the Poster who says You should sit her down and talk to her to own up and after that I guess you could both work on helping her situation, Prolly try to but her actions into common sense and device a means to sort her out, (Praying cos u have headache, i personally dnt fink its the right thing.) angry

A snoring friend once passed the night at ma crib and when it became alarming i gave him a hot slap(pretend as if i wz sleeping he looked arnd for a while n went bk to slip) and i swear down he didn't dare snor for the rest of the night, (I guess he was scared he might receive another slap)
wink

Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by colove: 10:09am On Aug 28, 2009
scary,bt at d same time i must advise u dis is nt d issue of going to see d doctor i will advise to seek deliverance as early she could. At d same time wisdom is needed to play along wit her.tnx
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by osazu: 10:20am On Aug 28, 2009
THERE IS HOPE FOR your GIRL!
THE SOLUTION THAT WOULD LAST AND REMAIN PERMANENT IS FOR YOUR GIRL TO GO FOR "DELIVERANCE" AT ANY BIBLE BELIEVING CHURCH,PREFARABLY AT M.F.M.
IT MAY SOUND FUNNY,BUT ITS THE TRUTH.WHAT SHE IS GOING THRU IS BEYOND THE NORMAL AND SHE NEEDS PARANORMAL PRAYERS TO GET HER OUT OF IT.SHE IS BEING CONTROLLED BY POWERS BEYOND HER REASONING,AS SHE FORGETS AND MOST TIMES DENIES WHAT SHE HAS DONE.
TAKE HER TO M.F.M AND YOU WOULD HAVE A STORY TO TELL.JESUS IS LORD


THis sound very good,as the challenge is certainly beyond the physical,but there is need for repentance before we lay claim of the blessing of God, u can be fornication and expect God in intervention.this is the bitter truth.

2cor10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by Oluschenco(m): 11:49am On Aug 28, 2009
I don't think this is a hospital matter, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and the likes should be able to do something about this.

Washing dishes grin
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by beneli(m): 1:16pm On Aug 28, 2009
Interesting comments from a lot of people, ranging from the obviously informed to the outright ridiculous!

Sleepwalking is one of those sleep disorders (parasomnias) that are supposed to be more common in children and adolescents. The younger people usually grow out of them without a lot of intervention other than informed reassurance. Its been associated with things such as the use of some types of medication, sleep deprivation, stress, head injuries etc. There may not be any clear precipitant or associated condition.

To cut a long story short, what happens in sleep walking is that the normal physiological sleep architecture and associated body response is disturbed and would need correcting.

The thinking is that once the sleep walking has persisted into adulthood there may be need for pharmacological intervention (i.e. medication), after the individual has been thoroughly investigated to rule out other conditions that may present in a similar way. Epilepsy for instance can present with nocturnal 'seizures' that leaves the person behaving in the manners described.

Once its established that it is not associated with any other condition and it is not a variant of epilepsy, then medication that normalises sleep can be prescribed. You should consider seeing your Doctor for the appropriate medication. A Psychiatrist or a Neurologist would be most advised.

Exorcism, doesn't have a role here!
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by Nevillexus: 2:03pm On Aug 28, 2009
Hi fellow Nairalanders,I'm enormously gratified with your responses,a big THANK YOU to all.I will stick on her seeing a psychiatrist and Prayers.
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by Seals(m): 5:31pm On Aug 28, 2009
ee yahaaaaa, try take her to prayer city MFM, for 70 days fasting and prayer deliverance sad
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by Nobody: 7:42pm On Aug 28, 2009
Sorry! angry undecided
Re: My Girlfriend Is A Sleep-Walker (Somnambulist) by Abeem(m): 8:34pm On Aug 28, 2009
This is culled from WebMD -
http://blogs.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/2007/01/jennifer-aniston-sleepwalking-again.html
"Consider seeing a sleep specialist and ask about the medication Klonopin". I don't know if there is a sleep specialist in Nigeria but do the net-working and find out.

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