Sleep Deprivation Leads to Sleepwalking

Midnight stroll? Maybe if you're not getting enough sleep.

Sleep deprivation increases the likelihood of sleepwalking, according to LiveScience, and especially if you’re prone to zombie-like meandering in the first place. Canadian researchers kept tabs on 40 alleged sleepwalkers while they snoozed. While half of them demonstrated suspect behavior—like trying to break out of bed—during normal sleep, 90 percent displayed such behavior while sleeping after being kept awake for 25 hours.

Sleep disruptions—like sleep apnea—and genetics also have something to do with it. But, the real reasons behind why some are prone to sleep jaunts and others aren’t remains relatively mysterious. To stay in the sack, doctors suggest maintaining a regular bedtime and avoiding alcohol and caffeine at night.

For more advice on how to avoid waking up in your neighbor’s lawn, check out Outside’s guide to sleep in our July issue—on newsstands tomorrow.

-Claire Napier Galofaro

Comments

[Audrey]

Sleep deprivation is also a problem with many of today’s teens. Another problem is that “insufficient sleep among children has been linked to obesity and to learning issues such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.” Check out my blog to learn more.