通常,旁人很難叫醒睡眠機能紊亂患者,因為他們正處于深度睡眠狀態.除了常見的"夢游"外,他們也可能突然從床上坐起,在房內打轉,離開住所,甚至開車出行.
"I dealt with a patient recently who was going on a cruise but was a sleepwalker," Dr Maree Barnes, Sleep Physician and President of the Australasian Sleep Association told news.com.au.
瑪麗·巴恩斯博士是一名睡眠治療師,也是澳洲睡眠協會會長.她告訴澳大利亞新聞在線："我最近接收了一個夢游病人,那人在夢游時乘船出行."
"So I gave him sedatives so he was very sound asleep while on the ship.
"于是我給他開了鎮定劑,好讓他在船上睡得安穩些."
"Some other patients are compulsive eaters, sleep walkers and talkers, or even people who get behind the wheel of a car while asleep.
"我也有過不少其他病人,有的會在睡眠時進食,有的會夢游,有的會發夢囈,還有人甚至邊睡覺邊開車."
"Basically these are people who have deep rooted psychological issues that are being played out during the night. It's a matter of keeping people safe until the behaviour ceases to occur, and usually it always is dealt with through psychology and time."
其實這些人都患有根深蒂固的心理疾病, 各種癥狀會在睡夢中表現出來. 治療的首要準則是確保他們的安全, 直至癥狀消失. 通常來說, 這需要通過心理誘導,更需要耐心.
Sleep Health Foundation of Australia suggests that around three children in 100 sleepwalk often, and approximately five in 100 children sleepwalk sometimes.
澳大利亞睡眠健康協會稱,約3%的兒童經常夢游,約5%的兒童偶爾夢游.
In adults, this figure is lower, with only four in every 1000 people still sleepwalking. Statistics indicate that if you sleepwalk or talk as a child, you're less than a quarter likely to do that as an adult.
成人夢游的比率要低得多.只有4‰的成人深受夢游之苦.同時,數據顯示,哪怕一個人在兒童時期夢游或發夢囈,此概率在成年后會驟降七成多.
"Most people will grow out of it," Dr Barnes said.
"這些癥狀一般在成年后都會消失."巴恩斯博士說.
