Walking in sleep

There are many sleep walking tales, some absolutely untrue (no, they do not walk with their arms outstretched like in a horror movie) and some downright bizarre, like the sleepwalker in Switzerland who tried to join the army. People have fallen off stairs, opened doors, driven cars and rarely, very rarely, even committed criminal acts- all while they were sleepwalking.
Actually sleepwalking is a form of sleep disorder where a person can perform purposive or semi-purposive motor movements in their sleep without being aware of it. This means, the person can simply sit up on the bed and look confused before going back to sleep, or actually walk around and do things.
Ninety percent of sleepwalking episodes are very brief and last from five to fifteen minutes. Some people are able to do some purposive activity like open the fridge and take out food; some may even be able to avoid obstacles. Our normal sleep cycle involves rapid eye movement (REM), a phase when one is dreaming. Sleepwalking usually occurs during the non-REM phase, when one is actually in deep sleep.
Though there is no known cause why people - especially children - sleep walk, experts say fatigue, lack of sleep, anxiety or even family history could be the reasons. In adults, sleep walking could be the result of medication, drugs alcohol or in some cases, a psychiatric disorder. In most cases, sleepwalking has an onset between the ages of four to six years. While the child normally grows out of it, sometimes, sleepwalking can continue into adulthood. There can also be purely adult onset of sleepwalking. There is a difference between child sleepwalkers and adult ones. There may be an expression of fright or be wilderment on the child's face while sleepwalking.
Among children, medicines are given only when sleepwalking occurs on a frequent basis. Sleepwalkers are likely to have amnesia about any incident that occurred while they were in state of sleepwalking. It is not dangerous to wake a sleepwalker. The person may look disoriented for a while upon awakening but would rarely turn on you with an axe. They might try to shake you off. That's its. So it's best to wake them up. You could be actually saving a sleepwalker from any potential injury.
Sleepwalking may be a worrying disorder, but not one you need to be disturbed about. Never turn sleepwalking into an issue and never embarrass the child over anything he has done. It is also important to find out if sleepwalking is actually the cause behind your child's nocturnal wanderings. In some cases, some children are not sleepwalkers, but have convulsions at night, wake up in a confused state and start walking.
This difference can be figured out by the child's clinical history, any convulsive limb movements, or through a sleep study. Among adults, treatment may include long term therapy. If the factors include stress, fatigue, or emotional distress, the person could be given relaxation exercises and be required to change her/his life style.
Sleepwalking is quite a common phenomenon and not a disorder to be paranoid about. Medical reports worldwide show that about 18 percent of people are prone to sleepwalking. It happens more in children than in adults (interestingly more in boys as compare to girls) and the majority grow of it.