Surprising ‘fight or flight’ discovery in sleepwalkers paves way to new understanding of phenomenon
By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Image: New Africa/Shutterstock.com New research published in the open access journal Frontiers investigating the biological mysteries of sleepwalking found the levels of ‘fight or flight’ response in those who wander at night is surprisingly lower than those who sleep soundly. Somnambulism – otherwise known as sleepwalking – is a phenomenon which has fascinated the public and neurologists for decades, but a lot of what causes it remains a mystery. Affecting up to 4% of adults, sleepwalking is a non-rapid-eye movement (NREM) sleep parasomnia that not only gives someone a poor night’s sleep, but also puts them at serious risk of injury and, in some cases, lead to unintended violence against others. The following day can also prove challenging as the sleepwalker will feel unrested and a strong desire to fall asleep (somnolence). Unfortunately for those predisposed to sleepwalking episodes, prolonged sleep deprivation increases both their frequency and complexity, making it harder for them to achieve the deep sleep the body needs to function healthily. Now, in a paper published to Frontiers in Neurology, researchers at the University of Montréal and Montréal Sacred Heart Hospital, Canada aimed to further investigate the hypothesis that sleepwalking is […]