Sleepwalking Parents Likely to Have Somnambulant Children

Sleepwalkers have good chances of birthing somnambulant offspring, according to an article recently published in Time.com. The report revealed that more than 60 percent of somnambulant kids have a set of sleepwalker parents. These findings were published in JAMA Pediatric.

Researchers distributed questionnaires to 1,940 kids. The participants shared their sleepwalking symptoms and frequency of such in the questionnaires. The responses revealed that kids who have at least one parent who had sleepwalked in the past were three times more likely to become somnambulant themselves. Meanwhile, findings indicated that kids with both parents who sleepwalked were seven times at risk of becoming somnambulants.

Kids between the ages of 2.5 to 13 years old have 29.1 percent chance of becoming sleepwalkers themselves, while the percentage for sleepwalkers for kids aged 1.5 to 13 stands at 56.2 percent.

The responses also suggested that kids who have had sleep terrors are likely to sleepwalk than those who did not.

"These findings point to a strong genetic influence on sleepwalking and, to a lesser degree, sleep terrors," wrote the researchers who conducted the survey regarding their assessment on the responses in these statements.

They added, "This effect may occur through polymorphisms in the genes involved in slow-wave sleep generation or sleep depth. Parents who have been sleepwalkers in the past, particularly in cases where both parents have been sleepwalkers, can expect their children to sleepwalk and thus should prepare adequately."

Kids show signs of sleepwalking at an average age of three or four, according to Todaysparent.com.

"Ten percent of children younger than six sleepwalk," said Shelly Weiss, a neurologist from Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. "As long as it's happening infrequently, and usually during the first third of the night, they'll probably outgrow it by age seven."

Weiss said that safety remains a top concern for anybody who sleepwalks. "Everyone who sleepwalks, children and adults alike, are in some danger," she said. "They're not awake, so they don't know what's safe or unsafe."

Jennifer Garden, a Vancouver-based occupational therapist, lets parents in on what happens after kids sleepwalk. "Kids won't remember it, and they might get anxious when they try to sleep the next night," she explained.

Look out for these actions that may be associated with sleep walking, as posted in Mayo Clinic:

-Walks out and about after getting out of bed

-Maintains a dazed expression while sitting up

-Have a glazed, glassy-eyed expression

-Non-communication initiatives despite seemingly awake

-Prompt return to sleep

-Inability to remember what had taken place after having awakened in the morning