How to tell if a child is sleepwalking or just wandering around

[meggie]

We've suspected that Digby is a sleepwalker. We've found him multiple times sleeping in the laundry pile in the hallway. He is most definitely a sleep talker. He has had very common occurrences of what we think are night terrors. I had always thought they were allergy related as he'd be screaming his head off and itching all over like crazy. And they've practically disappeared since we cut gluten and dairy. And they would usually occur between 12-3am, not shortly after he went to bed, so I'm not actually sure if they were night terrors or something else.

 

There was one incident where I heard him close the bedroom door and wander around in the hallway. I went out and found him asleep in the laundry. There was one time when he was talking to me from his bed while I was trying to calm a crying Chuck (they all sleep in the same room). I could have sworn he was asleep, but he was talking to me.

 

Last night we caught him peeing on his bedroom door. For now, I'm just going to assume this means he really is a sleep walker. When DH opened the door, Digby ran back to his bed and sat. I got him and took him to the toilet to finish. That whole time his eyes were opened and he kept saying, "Mommy" over and over again. I kept saying, "What? Yes? etc" but only got "Mommy?"

 

I'm just going to assume he is a sleep walker. My question is, how do I tell the difference between sleepwalking and being awake if his eyes are opened both times? He does frequently come in my room and ask to sleep in our bed. He comes in to tell me that Chuck needs me. The other night he asked to sleep on the top bunk with Pigby and at some point decided to get down. He's only three and asking him if he remembers certain things that happened the night before isn't met with very reliable answers.

[Jean in Newcastle]

My eyes are open when I sleepwalk. So are my children's. My children will also talk but their responses to me do not make sense. Night terrors are related to sleep walking - both are disruptions in the sleep cycle.

[meggie]

My eyes are open when I sleepwalk. So are my children's. My children will also talk but their responses to me do not make sense. Night terrors are related to sleep walking - both are disruptions in the sleep cycle.

 

How do you go about "catching" them if they're sleepwalking? Last night happened to be an issue of DH being in the right place at the right time, but we've never actually seen him do it before. Do they always respond if you talk to them? He's always been my worst sleeper (waking 5-7x/night his first year), I'd always just blamed his eczema for bothering him. I wonder if it's possible that it's carried over? Or just genetic? Extended family members are sleepwalkers. Do you do anything to keep everyone safe? The door has a chain, so he won't be able to escape. I'm thinking of putting a bell on their door so I will wake up and be able to keep tabs on him. I do worry about him turning on the stove or something.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Our house arrangement happens to be where they pass my open door and I wake up. Ds15 is a noisy sleepwalker (and sometimes sleeprunner). He is always in a panic when he's sleepwalking and is calling out about some disaster or another. I just stop him and tell him over and over to "Go back to bed". He won't respond to what I said verbally but he will physically go back to bed if I say it enough times! With dd I will often tell her "go to the bathroom" and will lead her in there first because she will often need to go. I outgrew it myself around college.

[TravelingChris]

I had one who was a sleep walker and had night terrors. She outgrew it about age 15. I did what Jean said, just kept repeating go back to bed and try to lead her back. It was very obvious- she was not making sense at all. She would have open eyes and a panicked look. Like Jean's son, hers were always something bad happening.

[Slartibartfast]

Sleep walking and night terrors happen at the same stage of sleep and there are some similarities. The eyes are open and unfocused and there is rarely any memory of the incident.

 

My dd would sleep walk when she was having growth spurts.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I would put a bell or some kind of alarm on the door so that you can be alerted if he starts wandering. The only thing to do for sleepwalking is to gently guide him back to bed.

[Laura in STL]

I completely agree with what has been said about not making any sense when responding to a question. Also my dd11 has her eyes opened but not looking at anything - kind of like someone who is drugged. When my ds had night terrors as a toddler it was very different - his eyes were very wide open and unblinking. The two are similar in that it's impossible to wake the person, at least in our cases. I would definitely consider a bell or alarm on the door if you don't wake every time. My dd once went into the bathroom and got into a freezing cold shower while sleepwalking. And I would say the top bunk is probably not a safe place for a sleepwalker, although they do seem strangely coordinated somehow. She tends to sleepwalk when overtired or preoccupied.

[redsquirrel]

and sometimes it is a combination of the two. A sleepwalker can find themselves peeing on the bathroom door and sort of, almost kind of know it is wrong but things are so hazy and dreamy that maybe they should just carry on peeing.

 

I have seen my kids go from sleepwalking to sort of awake but not really understanding what is going on.

[meggie]

I would put a bell or some kind of alarm on the door so that you can be alerted if he starts wandering. The only thing to do for sleepwalking is to gently guide him back to bed.

 

 

A bell is what I was thinking. Our door is right next to his and always open. His door even drags on the carpet, yet there are times I don't hear him. I need something that will wake me up without waking the other two.

 

I completely agree with what has been said about not making any sense when responding to a question. Also my dd11 has her eyes opened but not looking at anything - kind of like someone who is drugged. When my ds had night terrors as a toddler it was very different - his eyes were very wide open and unblinking. The two are similar in that it's impossible to wake the person, at least in our cases. I would definitely consider a bell or alarm on the door if you don't wake every time. My dd once went into the bathroom and got into a freezing cold shower while sleepwalking. And I would say the top bunk is probably not a safe place for a sleepwalker, although they do seem strangely coordinated somehow. She tends to sleepwalk when overtired or preoccupied.

 

 

Is it possible to have night terrors without their eyes being open? I'm really trying to remember what they're like. Most of the time, they seemed to be closed because he was just crying and crying and crying and completely unresponsive to any help.

 

and sometimes it is a combination of the two. A sleepwalker can find themselves peeing on the bathroom door and sort of, almost kind of know it is wrong but things are so hazy and dreamy that maybe they should just carry on peeing.

 

I have seen my kids go from sleepwalking to sort of awake but not really understanding what is going on.

 

 

That seems to be what happened. At least what I think. DH opened the door and he ran because he knew something was wrong, but was so out of it he really seemed unaware of what was going on.

 

Thank you everyone. I'm going to try to pay better attention and see if I can see a difference.

[Melissa in Australia]

my brother was a sleepwalker. from memory he was mostly needing to go tot eh toilet and would end up wondering all over the place. I am a sleep talker and have been all y life. I have no idea what I say, Sometimes DH will tell me and sometimes I have woken myself up by yelling. I also have nightmares where I am falling. Apparently I always end that nightmare with a huge body jerk, which wakes DH up.

[Mom in High Heels]

Indy is a sleepwalker/sleep talker. We know he's not awake, because he's just not "there." His eyes are blank and you can tell he's not really seeing anything. We can ask him questions if he's in bed and just talking and sometimes he makes sense, but if we talk to him while he's sleepwalking, he rarely makes sense. It's kind of weird. When my mom visited, she slept on the trundle bed in his room, and said twice she woke up to find him sitting up staring at her, with his eyes blank. She said it freaked her out to no end, but she convinced him to lay back down and he closed his went back to normal sleep.

[stripe]

and sometimes it is a combination of the two. A sleepwalker can find themselves peeing on the bathroom door and sort of, almost kind of know it is wrong but things are so hazy and dreamy that maybe they should just carry on peeing.

Not to mention, once one starts peeing, it's usually hard to suddenly stop.