Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder that occurs when people walk or do another activity while still asleep. It can happen at any age, but sleepwalking occurs most often in children aged five to twelve, and seems to be hereditary.
Currently, an increase of this disorder is being detected in children, and the presence of computer elements in children's rooms could be one of the causes according to the president of the Spanish Sleep Association (Asenarco) and coordinator of the Pediatrics unit from Hospital Quirón Valencia, Dr. Gonzalo Pin.
The most common causes that are related to sleepwalking They are as follows:
Background of this problem in the family: the tendency to sleepwalking can be inherited, since it has been shown that 80% of children with sleepwalking have a family member with this problem.
Immature development of the brain: sleepwalking may reflect stages of development in which our brain is still immature and that is why the child has difficulty getting out of sleep very deeply or waking up, producing an incomplete awakening.
Fever and certain medications can increase the phases of deep sleep making them even deeper, which may help sleepwalking episodes.
Lack of sleep or having irregular sleep schedules can cause the phases of deep sleep to be even deeper and again can help episodes of sleepwalking.
Precisely this last factor (in combination with a trigger base) would be related to the presence of computers in the room, since they would cause the child to lie down later and suffer from fatigue and "chronic sleep", not simply because they are in the room, but because they are used at night.
Fortunately sleepwalking episodes They usually disappear over time, and what can be done to treat them is to improve sleep.
In this sense, good habits are aimed at avoiding lack of sleep, avoid taking sleeping pills, do not ingest exciting substances or perform violent activities or games (computer, movies ...) that leave the child nervous. On the contrary, you have to look for a relaxing environment.
I think it's a matter of logic. If adults are affected by a scary, violent movie or an action game before bedtime, if they recommend that you have to "disconnect" the technology a while before going to sleep in order to prepare for rest, the same happens with the children.
And, regardless of the use of computers can increase cases of sleepwalking in childrenThere are many other reasons not to let children stand in front of a screen for a long time, even before bedtime.
