Sleepeating is sometimes a danger, which stems from sleepwalking. A person who suffers attacks of sleepwalking (somnambulism) typically sits up, gets out of bed, and moves about in an uncoordinated manner. Less often, he may dress, open doors, eat, or go to the bathroom without incident. Sometimes, however, a sleepwalker may injure himself by stumbling against furniture, falling through a window, or tumbling downstairs.

The dangers of sleepwalking are related to lack of waking judgment. One woman made her way to the kitchen, opened a refrigerator, and then prepared and ate a “snack” of buttered cigarettes and cat food sandwiches. Another woman awoke while struggling to open a bottle of ammonia cleaning fluid, which she had planned to drink. A fourteen-year-old boy got up, walked to the refrigerator, and then stepped out the door—of the family camper, which was going fifty miles per hour on the San Diego Freeway. The sleepwalker is notoriously hard to arouse. One patient went so far as to tie one end of a rope around his waist and the other end to his bed, hoping that the weight of the bed would tug him awake if he began to wander. Instead, he sleepwalked anyway, laboriously towing the bed behind him.

Sleepwalkers may rearrange the furniture, press against a wall as if to hold it up, or gather dirty clothes, which they carefully place in the oven. They also may engage in totally inappropriate behavior, such as urinating in a closet. Many have driven themselves around the neighborhood while asleep.

Sleepwalkers are not acting out their dreams; sleepwalking is distinct from dreaming. An adult sleepwalker often becomes extremely angry when frustrated and directs his anger outward. The typical sleepwalking episode begins about three hours after the individual has fallen asleep and lasts for five to fifteen minutes. The sleepwalker’s eyes generally are held extremely wide open and staring, and the pupils are dilated.

Sleepwalking is most frequent in children between the ages of four and eight. Forty percent of the children sleepwalk at some time, but children generally outgrow the tendency by the time they reach adolescence. Among adults, men and women are equally affected. The condition seems to afflict between one and two percent of our population. In adults, sleepwalking may indicate a personality disturbance. The condition seems to be, at least in part, hereditary. Stress, getting too little sleep, or a fever may bring on an episode. Many sleepwalkers suffer from depression.