Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Sleep Walking

I had always envisioned sleep walkers as being stiff - almost zombie like.  That is not the case.  Emma has become a sleep walker.  She is very active and fluid with her movements. I believe that her sleep walking is triggered by night terrors, but not 100% certain.  She cries, but doesn't scream like most children.  Most professionals say that night terrors are caused by being overly tired, but we give her ample time to sleep.  It has gone on for a few weeks now, almost nightly.

It is such an interesting phenomenon.  Her eyes are open, but she is not awake.  She'll talk to us, but makes no sense.  We, and the surroundings in our home, become part of her dream.  We can't wake her up, and we're told that we shouldn't even try.

It happens around the same time each night - about an 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs after she goes to sleep.  Thankfully, we are still awake to keep her safe.  We've kept her from going down stairs and climbing on our bed.  A few nights ago while we were in the basement, we came up and found her trying to get in a closet next to the front door.  I fear that she was trying to get outside.

Its getting easier, and she doesn't remember anything the next morning, but it is still heartbreaking to watch.  I hope she outgrows this soon.

1 comment:

  1. awwww :( fallyn has night terrors--so sad. doesn't sleep walk but has been crying and sitting up, eyes open, says sentences but can only make out probably 1 or 2 words, or none. sometimes has been shaking like she's so scared :( same time as emma, too...not long after going to sleep. will pray for emma, too, when i pray for fallyn! it has subsided a bit--used to be every night for a couple weeks, now it isn't as often.

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