Sleepwalking and stress

Dec 14 2008 Sunday Sun

SOME people just don’t have any luck or at least that’s what the Liverpool hotel receptionist must have thought when he discovered a naked male sleepwalker making love to a vending machine.

It might be the stuff of nightmares, but occurrences like that are actually on the rise.

In this age of redundancy, reminder bills, repossession and crunchy Christmas credit, sleepwalking — naked or not — has increased nearly four-fold since 2007, with 23 per cent of Brits sleepwalking on more than one occasion each week.

Travelodge, which carried out the research for its 2008 sleepwalking audit, is full of stories of hotel guests wandering zombie-like in corridors, locked out of their rooms in pyjamas, in the buff, in bondage gear . . . or passed out on reception floors.

And the increase in sleepwalking is actually a sign of a nation too stressed out to have a good night's rest.

Travelodge sleep director Leigh McCarron explained: “The credit crunch is not just depriving us of cash, it's also debiting our sleep bank account. In 2007, there were three million sleepwalkers in the UK, but now this has risen to over 11 million . . . a phenomenal increase.”

But just what is sleepwalking? Put simply, it’s a sleep disorder that affects people before they reach REM sleep, characterised by the sufferer’s engagement in activities — such as walking, cleaning or moving about — that makes them seem awake when, in fact, they are asleep.

The disorder is most common in children and usually passes, says Sammy Margo, sleep expert and author of The Good Sleep Guide, but stress, alcohol and sleep deprivation all play a major part in its re-occurrence in adults.

Sammy said: “We don’t really understand the reasons for sleepwalking, but its big triggers are stress and sleep deprivation.

“If we’re more stressed with the credit crunch, debt, liquidity and unemployment, we’ll be worried and, because we’re worried, we’ll find it harder to sleep.”

Margo warns that the “sedative/stimulant” cycle most of us operate on — where we drink lots of coffee in the day to stay awake and then have a glass or two of alcohol at night to induce sleep — isn’t helping either.

She said: “A glass of alcohol at night is fine, but when you start having two, three, four, the alcohol stops you getting into the deepest, most restorative stage of sleep.

“So, then what happens is you wake up the next day, drink more coffee to wake up more, drink more wine in the evening, and start the whole cycle again!”

People who have never sleepwalked before aren’t likely to take up the habit any time soon, Margo said, but those who did as children, have a sleepwalking family member or are very highly stressed could find themselves suffering from it once more.

EIGHT TOP KIP TIPS

HERE are some simple tips that might help you get into a deep sleep . . .

:: Have time out before getting to bed. Write your diary, take a bath, or read, but avoid the TV and computer as these can over-stimulate the brain.

:: Try to stay regular. Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day, even on weekends, to get into a rhythm.

:: Exercise during the day. At least 30 minutes activity a day — such as brisk walking — will help get you exposed to sunlight and get you to sleep.

:: Keep a pen and paper nearby. That way, if you’re thinking about things to do the next day, you can write them down and forget about it.

:: Lower your alcohol and caffeine intake. Give yourself three to eight hours’ break from both before hitting the sack.

:: Stay cool. Try to make your room no warmer than 21C (70F) and as dark as possible.

:: Choose snooze foods such as bananas, chamomile tea, warm milk, honey, almonds, oatmeal, turkey and Marmite.

:: Wear socks. Research has shown that if you get cold feet it can wake you up during the night.