Sleep disorders keep many people from getting a good night's rest. Neurologist Dr. Guy Leschziner to talk about sleepwalking and why some people find themselves driving, eating or cooking in their sleep. His new book is called, 鈥淭he Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep.鈥�
Leschziner says sleepwalking is exceedingly common in children. When it persists into adulthood, it may be linked to genetics.
"People have an underlying genetic predisposition to a brain state whereby part of their brain is awake, and part of their brain is in very deep sleep," Leschziner says. "What we know happens is that during this state, the part of the brain called the frontal lobes, which is really the seat of our rational thinking... remains in very deep sleep...."
Leschziner says there is some truth to the common perception that it's best not to wake a sleepwalker.
What you want to try and avoid particularly in adults... is try not to wake somebody up who's been sleepwalking because that might be dangerous to them," he says. "Occasionally, [we see] what has been described as people becoming violent or aggressive when they've been woken up, so gently guiding them back to sleep and back to the bed is probably the best way of dealing with them."
