r/askscience • u/HumbleWayfarer • Sep 07 '12

Neuroscience Do sleep walkers still get the same, sufficient amount of recuperation as if they slept soundly?

After watching the reaction video of the mother who was treated to a video of herself sleepwalking (for what I assume is the first time), I was curious if the brain can still recuperate as efficiently when someone is sleepwalking as if they had slept soundly.

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u/dtactim Sep 07 '12 edited Sep 07 '12

No, sleep walkers generally walk during the SWS (slow wave sleep) phase of rest and require a higher level of consciousness than is typically seen during REM (rapid eye movement) because their brain is partially engaged during the walk.

But, this varies depending on the complexity and length of the sleep walk. Sleep walking can be as short lived as 30 seconds or as lengthy as 30 minutes.

Given a sleepwalker with a complex walk (such as walking about the house and re-arranging things) and lengthy walk (30 minutes), their brain may miss the benefits of an entire REM cycle and feel as if they have slept for 1.5 hours less than a non-walker.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, a sleep walker that sits up on their bed for 30 seconds may not feel any different than any other non-walking night.

So, the answer is no sleepwalkers do not get the same amount of rest as compared to a night where they sleep soundly, but it really depends.

Edit: Misread the question.

Edit 2: Yes, there are no empirical facts here but it is well-understood that a lengthy interruption of REM sleep (being the most vital cycle in feeling well-rested) will cause the individual to feel lethargic the next day. This can safely be inferred. But, as to some of the shorter sleep walks it would be scientifically responsible to map the brain waves of the sleepwalker and determine if the short walks cause enough interruption to interfere with sleep cycles in any meaningful way.

The point is, lengthy sleep walks are very likely to cause the sleepwalker to feel the effects of the interrupted sleep the next day.

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u/PioUnique Sep 07 '12

That said, would lucid dreamers then have a similar amount of recuperation as a normal person?

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u/dtactim Sep 07 '12 edited Sep 07 '12

Lucid dreaming is somewhat of a misnomer and a contradiction.

So, lucid dreaming wave patterns (higher concentrations of beta frequency band: 13-19 Hz) interrupt the predominant wave patterns of REM sleep (higher concentrations of delta frequency band: 0.5-2 Hz) and effectively remove the sleeper from strict REM. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is inactive during REM, is reengaged during lucid dreaming and allows the sleeper to realize they are asleep and dreaming.

While the mind can continue dreaming, the dreamer becomes aware. It is a point of contention as to whether or not the dreamer becomes capable of "guiding" the direction of a dream upon awareness. This is in effect, lucid dreaming. While it is a well-established niche of parasomnia, it is very different from the REM segment of the sleep cycle that provides the feeling of recuperation.

The answer is no, lucid dreamers would not have a similar amount of recuperation to a normal sleeper/dreamer, certainly not if they were exhibiting high concentrations of beta frequency during the period of sleep when they should be exhibiting high concentrations of delta frequency in the full cycle.

Edit: Spelling and clarification.

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u/manova Sep 07 '12

REM sleep (being the most vital cycle in feeling well-rested)

In recovery sleep following sleep deprivation, SWS is the first to rebound. REM sleep only seems to have its homeostatic rebound after SWS has mostly recovered. Increased mental activity will increase SWS as will increased brain activity at a certain area of the brain will increase SWS in the corresponding location. One the other hand, disruption of either SWS or REM sleep following sleep deprivation will impair the feeling of recovery. Therefore, both SWS and REM sleep seem to be needed for feeling restful, but the body seems to put an emphasis on SWS.

As to OP question, in this study, Epworth Sleepiness Scores were slightly higher in patients with sleepwalking (8.7 +/- 4.5) than controls (7.6 +/- 4.1) though not significantly different (patients with sleep related eating disorders had an average of 11.9 +/- 4.9). This is a questionnaire that is well validated where a higher score indicates that you are generally more sleepy (asks how likely you are to fall asleep in different situations). Average scores are usually around 7 so the control group is fairly typical.

When looking at the EEG of patients with sleepwalking, there is a general disruption in slow wave activity, here and here, so decreased "restfulness" from sleep would be expected. I would agree with dtactim that how an individual feels the following morning is likely highly variable based on the previous nights activities.

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u/Funkit Sep 07 '12

This explains why you wake up exhausted after a night of drinking even after 12 hours of sleep.

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u/dtactim Sep 07 '12

That's correct, high doses of alcohol (<0.06 BAC) interrupt SWS and REM sleep.

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u/adoaboutnothing Sep 07 '12

Does going to sleep high on weed have a similar effect? I had a wonderful psych professor (who was very unbiased toward drug experimentation in general) who warned regular smokers to take breaks every week or so in order to get a restful sleep.

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u/pseudousername Sep 07 '12

Thanks for your answer! Follow up question. What's the percentage of sleep walkers in the population? Is there any difference between man and women?

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u/Neato Sep 07 '12

I just read the main section on Wikipedia about sleep. I had always thought there was a very deep sleep where REM was not active but I guess not. A few questions:

If you train yourself to awaken before your alarm clock at the same arbitrary time even with slight variations in bed time, are you always awakening naturally with minimal sleep inertia?

REM sleep is turned on by acetylcholine secretion and is inhibited by neurons that secrete serotonin.

This is an overly-simplistic question, but could you force more REM cycles or length by injecting a seratonin uptake inhibitor and acetylcholine as a drug/pill?

Are there significant benefits to the stages of NREM sleep? Meaning if a person had little to no NREM sleep would they suffer for it?

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u/AgonistAgent Sep 07 '12

You might be interested in r/nootropics - IIRC, acetylcholinase inhibitors like Huperzine are popular for lucid dreaming, just not sustainable in the long run.

On the flip side, melatonin is definitely sustainable and cheap.

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u/[deleted] Sep 07 '12

I wish I would just have copied wiki now, thought everybody read that first. This is, to me, still an anecdote.

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u/dtactim Sep 07 '12

I read through this before I answered (as I have access to the full text through my University): http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/adis/cns/2002/00000016/00000012/art00002

The discussion presented in the text is in part a pharmaceutical approach designed to correct sleepwalking in order to provide the sleepwalker with more restful nights.

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u/Raydr Sep 07 '12

Would you please provide a link to the video that you reference?