【Local Medical】Elderly sleepwalking with Parkinson’s disease should not be underestimated

[ad_1]

Text Liang Yingxiu

Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, refers to getting up and moving around while asleep.

Sleepwalking is more common in children than adults and usually stops before the teens.

Occasional sleepwalking episodes usually do not signal any serious problem or need for treatment. However, repeated sleepwalking may have underlying sleep disturbances.

(Kuala Lumpur News) Sleepwalking (somnambulism) refers to a person unconsciously walking around or making other unconscious behaviors during sleep. Neuroscience (neuroscience) regards it as one of the sleep disorders, and its symptoms are that the patient is completely unconscious. Sleep, start to move unconsciously, or get up and walk around, but sleepwalking is not just “walking”, sometimes you will sit up from the bed, or kick your hands and feet, or even talk to yourself.

By the time teenage sleepwalking disappears

Dr. Tan Wee Yong, consultant neurologist, pointed out that sleepwalking can occur at different ages, and patients can be children, adults, or the elderly. Among them, the proportion of sleepwalking in the elderly is higher than that in adults.

It is worth noting that when an elderly person has symptoms of sleepwalking, special attention should be paid to check whether Parkinson’s disease (Parkinson’s disease) occurs at the same time.

“Sleepwalking symptoms in childhood usually disappear gradually in adolescence, and sleepwalking usually does not indicate serious problems or need treatment, etc., but if sleepwalking occurs repeatedly, it may mean that there are some latent sleep disorders. As for adults Having sleepwalking, often accompanied by other sleep disorders or even medical conditions, has a higher chance of being confused or co-existing.”

As I said before, sleepwalking is usually not a serious problem or urgent treatment, in other words it is not very dangerous, so when someone in the family sleepwalks, it is the most important to protect him from harm caused by sleepwalking, because many patients I don’t know that I have sleepwalking, and unnecessary accidents may occur if I accidentally touch a sharp object, open the door and walk to the terrace or the road.

He said that generally, sleepwalking occurs in the middle of the night, that is, one or two hours after the patient falls asleep. On the contrary, it is unlikely to appear in a light sleep state or during a nap. Once it occurs, it will be frequent and sustainable. Minutes or more, at which point they may get up and walk around, sit on the edge of the bed, open their eyes, look dazed, not respond or talk to others, have difficulty waking up, become disoriented or confused for a short time after waking , I don’t remember the plot of sleepwalking.

Occasionally sleepwalking don’t need to pay too much attention

He pointed out that there are also some patients who will carry out daily activities such as putting on clothes, talking to themselves or eating, and some will leave the house where they live, drive a car, etc. These are rare cases, while other more abnormal behaviors are These include urinating in a closet, engaging in sexual activity without awareness, and some patients may be injured by falling down stairs or jumping out of windows.

“There are also patients who become disorganized and violent for a period of time after waking up, or while sleepwalking.”

In many cases, sleepwalking causes patients to suffer from poor sleep quality, so that they cannot concentrate on work, study or driving during the day, and may even have accidents due to this, and in the vicious cycle, the temper will become more and more irritable. These are the causes of sleepwalking. damage caused.

Does sleepwalking need no treatment? He said that occasionally sleepwalking should not be overly concerned, because it will disappear on its own. Taking the outpatient clinic he has contacted as an example, some family members will bring CCTV records at home, and then tell patients who should be sleeping soundly in the bedroom that they suddenly appear. Now in the living room, he will ask the patient about his daily life and the frequency of sleepwalking, such as how many times a week.

“Furthermore, in-depth research is required, whether the patient has caused dangerous behavior or injury to himself or others, or caused serious sleep disruption to family members or patients, resulting in excessive sleepiness or dysfunctional symptoms during the day, and whether the patient is the first A sleepwalk.”

It is worth noting that genetic factors also include issues such as family history.

Night terrors and sleepwalking can co-occur

“In medicine, sleepwalking is classified as insomnia,

Adverse behavior or experience during sleep,

It’s an arousal disorder,

rapid eye movement

(Rapid Eye Movement, REM)

Sleep is physiologically very different from other sleep stages,

Sleep stages other than REM are therefore called non-rapid eye movement

(Non Rapid Eye Movement, NREM). “

During sleep, the brain repeatedly cycles through the four different stages of REM and NREM sleep, and there are different changes in the first half and the second half of sleep. There are about four or five sleep cycles in one night. The time spent in the REM phase becomes longer and the time spent in the rest of sleep becomes shorter.

NREM is also the stage where sleep talking and sleepwalking are most likely to occur. Nightmares and night terrors are also sleep phenomena at this time. Commonly known as night terrors or sleep terrors, it usually occurs in children. Children will sit on the bed and scream during sleep. But it can also co-occur with sleepwalking.

Including lack of sleep, stress, taking psychiatric drugs to induce sleepwalking

Sleepwalking can be attributed to many factors, including lack of sleep, stress, fever, interruptions to sleep schedules, travel or sleep disruptions, and sometimes sleepwalking can be triggered by an underlying condition that interferes with sleep, such as a sleep-disordered breathing such as obstructive sleep apnea.

Then taking certain drugs, such as sleeping pills, sedatives or certain drugs for mental illness, alcohol, etc. can also cause sleepwalking.

As for Parkinson’s disease, which may occur together with sleepwalking in the elderly, it is a chronic brain degenerative disease. It occurs in men and women aged 50 to 60. Because the substantia nigra cells in the patient’s brain degenerate and die, nerve conduction Substances of dopamine appear to decrease and the onset.

sleepwalking

Clinically, the manifestations of Parkinson’s disease include motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms. The former is resting tremor and bradykinesia, while the latter is sleep disturbance, olfactory disturbance and mental symptoms, among which the most common sleep disturbance is sleepwalking.

Family members with sleepwalking should see a doctor

Question 1. If the patient has sleepwalking, should he go to the doctor immediately? What checks are needed?

Answer 1.Yes, family members around you should take the sleepwalker to see a doctor, and the doctor will help him do examinations, including scans and brain wave (EEG) examinations. Since Parkinson’s disease can also cause sleepwalking, the family members of the patient must be special about this. Notice.

Parents have a history of sleepwalking will be inherited

Q2. What is the reason for sleepwalking?

Answer 2.It is related to genetics. If one of the parents of the patient has a history of sleepwalking, or both parents have a history of this disease, it will be very common. Then there is age. Children sleepwalk more often than adults. If they are older, sleepwalking may be related to other underlying diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.

sleepwalkers may harm themselves

Q3. What are the complications of sleepwalking?

Answer 3.Sleepwalking is not necessarily a problem in itself, but sleepwalkers can harm themselves, especially during sleepwalking, walking near the stairs unintentionally, experiencing prolonged sleep interruptions, which can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness and disturbed sleep in others, but Rarely harms others nearby.

Regular exercise and rest to help relieve

Q4. Can life intervention relieve sleepwalking?

Answer 4.Do not take caffeine or nicotine-containing drugs or food, especially 4 to 6 hours before going to bed; exercise regularly every day; do gentle and relaxing activities before going to bed, such as taking a hot bath, etc. Remember not to do strenuous activities before going to bed ; Again, do not drink alcoholic beverages at night. Although alcohol can help nervous people fall asleep, it will make people wake up easily in the second half of the night; regular rest, going to bed on time and maintaining a comfortable sleeping environment will help sleepwalking.

[ad_2]

Source link