They're common in children but stick... | Georgia Telehealth Therapy

You have likely seen the cartoon version of sleepwalking. Someone wandering the halls with their arms outstretched and their eyes tightly shut. But the clinical reality of what happens when the body moves without the mind is severe. We are talking about a person walking straight out their front door or waking the entire house with sudden panicked screaming and a racing heart. Culturally, we tend to write this off as someone physically acting out a nightmare. Labeling these events as dreams misrepresents the biological danger happening in the bedroom. Amnesia is the defining feature of these episodes. When the person wakes the next morning, they have no memory of the screaming or the movement. If they were acting out

a vivid dream, they would likely retain fragments of the narrative or the imagery upon waking. The lack of memory stems from a simple startling fact. These events happen outside of the dreaming state entirely. Clinicians classify these episodes as non-REM sleep arousal disorders. This chart shows the human sleep cycle. Up in the high activity peaks is REM sleep where vivid dreams happen and the body is paralyzed. But sleepwalking strikes all the way down here in the deepest dreamless stage. At this depth, the biological machinery required to format new memories is completely offline. Because the movement happens during this period of inactivity, the brain never records the event. The disorder is caused by a neurological glitch. A

partial awakening occurs where the lower brainstem and motor cortex, systems driving movement and survival, activate prematurely. Simultaneously, the brain's higher centers for logic and awareness stay dormant. This split neurological state explains exactly what observers see, a blank unblinking stare and a person who cannot be easily reached or woken. The result is a brain-body disconnect, a body operating on a primal autopilot while the centers for conscious awareness remain in a deep sleep lockout. While common in children, this biological misfire can persist into or suddenly appear during adulthood. External pressures can disrupt adult sleep, specifically severe daily stress, chronic sleep deprivation, or certain medications. These factors push the brain into a fragile restless state, making a deep

sleep arousal glitch much more likely. Since this is a biological disorder influenced by environmental factors, it is highly treatable. Clinical management includes safety planning and scheduled awakenings to preemptively stabilize the sleep cycle. This flowchart demonstrates the impact of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I. It is designed to address the underlying psychological and physical stressors that fracture the sleep cycle. Treatment focuses on stabilizing the architecture of sleep so the physical episodes stop occurring. Properly diagnosing and building a recovery plan for non-REM arousal disorders requires the expertise of a licensed clinician. Coping and healing counseling provides this care with a diverse team of licensed therapists, including clinical social workers, professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists.

Through HIPAA-compliant Teladoc, they work with across Georgia to address the root triggers of sleep disorders, including anxiety, trauma, and chronic stress. Evidence-based care can restore the mind's natural balance, allowing for a night that is both safe and restful.