my daughter has been sleep walking for about a year, but recently it has really increased in frequency. she is two, and we have a baby gate at the top of the stairs and close the bathroom doors at night,so we aren't afraid for her safety. it mainly happens during her nap. she wakes up in the corner, behing her rocker, even in her closet. it is scaring her to death, and she wakes up sobbing, which is not like her at all. does anyone know what might cause this, or how we might help her through this?
My son use to have what they call night tirers. I found out if I didn't let him eat or drink an hour before bedtime he stopped having them. Might try that.
My daughter started doing that at about the same age. But it never ended in tears - she would fall asleep in the recliner or on the sofa or with us. I don't have a clue about your daughter's situation, but wanted to let you know that I will be keeping y'all in my prayers. I think I would consult my pediatrician though, just to rule out a physiological cause. If she is in daycare, there may be something going on there that might contribute to this.
My kids have slept walk as long as i can remember. I already see my 1.5 yr old starting to do it too. It can be scarey but I just make sure everything in their room is safe incase they bumb into it, I also take them to the bathroom if I hear them up wandering, sometimes it has been that they just had to go to the bathroom and couldnt figure out where it was thus standing in the corner or wandering the downstairs,lol. Then they went right back to sleep until morning. My son is the only one it affects at nap time and I just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesnt get hurt. I have never gotten professional help just went with my gut, so far it has worked. good luck
Because of our history with thyroid, hormones, etc, I know too much about it. Problems with thyroid, pituitary, adrenals, and etc., can cause sleepwalking with kids. Also, sleep apnea--whwere they don't get enough oxygen when they sleep...she would likley sweat a lot of she has this.
Have her checked out, though. My oldest daughter had this, and we never did know what it was--I wasn't as informed then...
But I do know that I constantly had nightmares before I began taking natural thyroid hormone... and afterward, it stopped.
Blesings,
H.
I slept walk really bad when I was a kid. I literally got into my parents car and had it started. I walked into the woods, went behind the couch, my parents had to call the cops cause they thought I was missing. I was the same way as your daughter, I always woke up scared to death, because that was not where I fell asleep. My suggestion is to put a lock on her closet door (one of those you just flip back and forth (depending on when she is alseep). Also you will want to do this when she is big enough to unlock and open doors on her own (my parents had to do this). I haven't slept walk in years, and I just did it for the first time since I was 12, the other night. Scared me to death! Good luck!
There are lots of different causes of sleepwalking, and "the" cause in any one person can be tricky to track down. I am still a sleepwalker. It's... well, it's interesting, to say the least. Two nights ago, I woke my husband up as I was making him into the bed and frantically folding the laundry from the hamper. He spent several minutes trying to figure out what was going on, asked me if I was awake (I snapped "Of course!"), and then just laughed at me for a few minutes before getting the top sheet (from the bed, that I had apparently jerked off of him) away from me, unfolding it and putting it back on the bed. Apparently I got back in bed quietly after that. The scariest was the night I woke up outside in the snow. Thankfully, I had the sense to put a coat on, but it was still bizarre; I couldn't figure out how to work the screen door to get back inside!
From my research, most people who sleepwalk start it between 18 months and four years of age and stop before age 10. I'm just a freak, apparently, but anyone who knows me could have told you that :)
Just keep her environment safe, and remember that most sleepwalkers actually have a surprising sense of self-preservation. If you can, make a light joke of it when she wakes up, like "Oh! You might have been dreaming of playing hide and seek! Look, I found you!" to remind her that you will always find her. Knowing that she's not "lost" may help make the transition easier. You might also try to check in on her more often during sleep, so if she is wandering, you can get to her before she wakes up. Waking up in mommy's arms is so much less scary than waking up in a "WHERE AM I!?" kind of place.
Good luck. She'll probably outgrow it as fast as she grew into it. Hang in there!!
My son, 8, has been sleepwalking for several years now. The only common factor we can find to his episodes is the amount of light, or dark, when he is sleeping. If we leave the hall light on, or he falls asleep with his bedroom light on he is likely to sleep walk. Could you make her room any darker at nap time and see if that helps?
Two of my children sleep walk. I spoke to the pediatrician and she said that about 10% of children do it (the pediatrician was a sleep walker as a child). Usually, they grow out of it. My oldest is 8 years old and I find the frequency of her sleep walking increases when she is over tired or stressed. She will almost always do it during the first week of school or if she goes to bed upset about something. Another factor seems to be light. All of my kids like to go to sleep with the hall light on. If I don't turn if off within about an hour of them going to sleep, the oldest usually starts walking and wimpering. My six year old only sleep walks when she needs to go to the bathroom. She cannot completely wake up so she either comes to our room or wanders the house (we found her crying and coming up the stairs --we all sleep upstairs) in the middle of the night. We set the alarm, so we know she didn't make it outside. Without fail, we put her on the potty and she obviously needs to go badly and then we put her back to bed. She doesn't get up the rest of the night. Neither child remembers the events of the night. Sometimes it is hard to calm them and get them back to bed (especially the older one). We have found that comforting them without much talking works the best -- they cannot rationalize in this state. Within the past year, the frequency has diminished. You may want to put a monitor in your daughter's room so you can hear her stirring and gently guide her back to bed. I hope it improves soon.
