What is sleep walking?

Sleep walkers have problems with the brain stem mechanism concerned with movement. When sleep walking is caused by an imbalance of secretions, or by a poor nervous state (i.e., depression, or anxiety) the problem may be temporary. When it is due to injury of the nerve centers, the problem is permanent. Whatever the causes, we must never be impatient or act too hastily with sleep walkers. We must realize that they are sleeping and dreaming. For them, to be suddenly awoken is a great shock. They are surprised in mid action and find themselves in a situation that is difficult to understand. The right approach is to gently get the sleep walker back to bed with as little fuss as possible.