MEDLINEplus Health Information: Return to home page   A service of the National Library of Medicine: Go to NLM home page
Search     Advanced Search    Site Map    About MEDLINEplus    Home
Health Topics: conditions, diseases and wellness Drug Information: generic and brand name drugs Dictionaries: spellings and definitions of medical terms Directories: doctors, dentists and hospitals Other Resources: organizations, libraries, publications, MEDLINE

Medical Encyclopedia

Disease     Injury     Nutrition     Poison     Special     Surgery     Symptoms     Tests

 
Overview   Symptoms   Treatment   Prevention   

Sleep walking

Alternative names:

somnambulism; walking during sleep

Treatment:

Usually no specific treatment for sleep walking is needed.

Safety measures may be necessary to prevent injury. This may include modifying the environment by moving objects such as electrical cords or furniture to reduce tripping and falling. Stairways may need to be blocked off with a gate.

In some cases, short-acting tranquilizers have been helpful in reducing the incidence of sleep walking.

Expectations (prognosis):

Sleep walking may or may not reduce with age. It usually does not indicate a serious disorder, although it can be a symptom of other disorders.

Complications:

A complication is injury sustained during sleep activities.

Calling your health care provider:

Sleep walking usually does not require a visit to your health care provider. However, the condition should be discussed with your health care provider if:

  • sleep walking is accompanied by other symptoms.
  • sleep walking is frequent or persistent.
  • sleep walking includes potentially dangerous activities (such as driving).


Adam

The information provided herein should not be used for diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Copyright 2000 adam.com, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

Health Topics | Drug Information | Dictionaries | Directories | Other Resources