When I was a child, I thought that sleepwalking was a condition that only existed in books and movies. A condition conjured up by authors, Hollywood and creators of fairy tales.
Only when I was studying overseas did I experience it first hand. It was then that I learnt that this condition is not a joke nor a story but is rather serious. My housemate, here dubbed Jessie, was a sleepwalker. She was my direct neighbour (room is directly next to me).
Jessie had several sleeping disorders and went through sleep studies as part of her treatment/diagnosis. She had bad snoring problems which she later rectified with surgery. I could literally hear her snores through the walls while I worked. LOL
Unlike me, Jessie had already finished her studies and was working. I was working on my final year thesis then. I slept during the day and worked on my thesis from mid-afternoon till about dawn. Yes… Dawn as in sunrise. Jessie worked so she kept normal human hours.
One night, I thought I heard someone walking up and down the corridor. I went out of my room to check but saw no one. This went on for a while and progressed to me hearing someone playing with the light switches in the bathroom. (Both our rooms were in front of the bathroom which was separated by a corridor.) Not only that! I heard someone going in and out of Jessie’s room. This normally occured between 3-5am.
After establishing the time pattern, I would kept alert at these times. When I am certain that I hear those sounds, I’d slowly open my door and peep. Every time I caught Jessie sleepwalking, she’d be doing something different. She’d always be barefoot in her pyjamas with her eyes closed whilst wearing a sleeping expression on her face. She’d sometimes still be snoring while sleepwalking.
Episode 1 – Jessie playing with the bathroom light switches.
Episode 2 - Jessie walking up and down the corridor with her eyes closed.
Episode 3 – Jessie opening her room door, stepping into her room and closing the door. Subsequently, opening her room door again, stepping out into the corridor and closing the door. The action would be repetitive like a .gif clip.
Episode 4 – I open the door and she’s standing in front of my room door. Static. When she does this, I’d let out a scared yelp which wakes her up. She’d wonder why she’s in the corridor.
Episode 5 – Similar to Episode 3 but with the bathroom door.
Episode 6 – She’d walk around the house, opening and closing all the doors in the house.
When I spoke to her of what I saw, she confirmed that she had sleepwalking problems. Adding that she had not been sleepwalking in a long while. Jessie has no recollection of her nightly rendezvous except she’ll feel really tired in the morning. Her mom, Mrs K told me that if I were to see her sleepwalking again, I was to tell Jessie to go back to sleep in a firm but calm voice. So I became Jessie’s night guardian. I’d say,”Jessie go back to bed.” when I saw her sleepwalking. She did go back to her room to sleep.
Mrs K later revealed to me that her own uncle was also a sleepwalker but a very different sort. He’d walk about and shout at ppl. Its hilarious to imagine a middle-aged man trodding around in his PJs and shouting at ppl he comes across. 
Recently, I read an article that a man had sleepwalked off a balcony and almost killed himself. He’s still hospitalised with severe injuries. No one knows exactly how sleepwalking occurs. There are only theories. My house-mate stopped sleepwalking after a while coz she sought help from professionals. So if you or someone you know sleepwalks, pls get checked up by doctors as it could be dangerous.
4 Comments | In: Lizzy's life, Of life and of people | tags: sleep disorders, sleepwalker, sleepwalking.
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