Sleepwalking Treatments

One of the most potentially embarrassing ailments, sleepwalking affects about 18 percent of people at least once. While the condition is more common in children, if you suffer consistently as a child, it can continue to be an issue in your adult years. According to Stanford University's School of Medicine, sleepwalking episodes tend to occur rarely, usually less than once per month, but for some, it can be a nightly occurrence.

During sleepwalking episodes, you have no control over your actions, so while you might perform a regular activity, you can end up performing it in an unconventional manner. For instance, in some cases, sufferers have been found to be eating something that isn't there, urinating in unusual places, mumbling incoherently, among other strange behaviors (per the website KidsHealth.org). In other cases, it is possible for sufferers to cause themselves physical harm by walking down stairs, wandering outdoors, or trying to use a sharp or otherwise dangerous object.

With the potential for disaster, sleepwalking is a condition that is best not left untreated. The Mayo Clinic suggests different sleepwalking treatments for different causes. For occasional sleepwalking sufferers, the issue tends to be related to an environmental factor like lack of sleep or high levels of stress, dealing with that underlying problem may be all that must be done.

If, however, your condition is more frequent, and possibly genetic (relatives of sleepwalkers are ten times more likely to suffer from the condition), you may want to talk to your doctor about taking medication. In some cases, your doctor may prescribe antidepressants or muscle relaxants as a means of curbing sleepwalking.

If your sleepwalking episodes occur around the same time for every instance, you can try a practice called anticipatory awakenings. You can either set an alarm or have someone with you awaken you about 15 minutes before the anticipated time of the episode. The Mayo Clinic suggests that when practiced over a period of weeks, anticipatory awakenings may be able to reduce or eliminate episodes of sleepwalking.