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Sleepwalking

Started by October 26, 2013 01:32 PM
16 comments, last by L. Spiro 11 years ago
Sleepwalking can be interesting, but also very dangerous. One typically gets it from his or her parent(s), and I got it from my mother, who once sleepwalked, grabbed a gun, and started shooting at our animals. Luckily she is a bad shot in her sleep. To me, it is amazing the sound of the blast did not awaken her, but in my own experience, a sleepwalker simply cannot be awakened.

Some surmise it is dangerous to do so, but I doubt it is mentally dangerous, only physically dangerous due to how much force would be needed, because I know sound alone won’t do it. At least not in my family.


Yesterday I helped a Japanese with an interview she would have to do in English and after we had enough I gave her the listening part of the exam which somehow got into sleepwalking. I assured her it s very rare for me, especially these days. And then it happened last night. I have come to share my stories and to allow others to share theirs.


Today I awakened to find my microphone plugged in—something I would only do for a Skype call. And indeed Skype was blinking orange with a new message. I checked it to find that I had had a very long conversation with the woman I love. She was offline or not responding, so it was only me “talking”. Here is a small excerpt.

[4:31:34 AM] L. Spiro: IMSasASas
[4:33:35 AM] L. Spiro: My Japanese is not working.
[4:34:30 AM] L. Spiro: I can't yu[e Japanese.
[4:34:36 AM] L. Spiro: Type.
[5:11:22 AM] L. Spiro: Are yuu hsppy rghit now?
[5:30:19 AM] L. Spiro: Thiia was nor part ofthwen of yht yld\.
[5:31:15 AM] L. Spiro: Irara.
[5:31:45 AM] L. Spiro: I sincerelh asologivr.
[5:33:02 AM] L. Spiro: I sm very glad it is you;
[5:35:45 AM] L. Spiro: What i yoyr replay?
[5:39:17 AM] L. Spiro: Yoyu
[5:39:44 AM] L. Spiro: Your replay is what?

SKIP A LOT

[7:51:07 AM] L. Spiro: SUR{RISE ga arimasu
[7:52:58 AM] L. Spiro: ????????


I almost managed to type “???????”, off by only one letter.
Even in my drunkest of drunkest states I do not type that poorly. This “conversation” lasted until 7:52 and had a few failed attempts at voice chat (for the best I would assume—I’m not even sure if I would have been able to speak English or Japanese).
I also found that all of my browser tabs were closed. I tried to get them back via checking my history and found links to sites I had visited during the time covered by the Skype log.
The main one was this:
http://icanhas.cheezburger.com/
That’s right. I sleepwalked in order to talk to my love and to look at cats.
I apparently also snacked on popcorn, as there was a mess of it all around my room.
My PlayStation 3 controller had moved quite far from where I keep it, indicating I may have also attempted to play BlazBlue: Chronophantasma.

I have already checked this site and thankfully found that I did not post during that time, but I am still going through my various e-mail accounts and chat programs etc. to make sure I did not do anything else retarded.

This case is interesting to me because it is the first time there is a timestamp on my events. It may have started prior to the Skype conversation and lasted beyond it, but the Skype timestamps confirm it lasted at least from 4:31 to 7:52 in this morning. According to Wikipedia this is exceptional, as they say it lasts only between 30 seconds and 30 minutes. Mine was no less than several hours.


Last month I awakened to find things in my room moved around and some things missing. My door was also unlocked, leading me to believe I may have been robbed in my sleep, although I was sure there was a 0% chance I had left my door unlocked. I never do, not even while I am home.
I was just about to call the police when someone rang my doorbell. The postwoman was delivering things to another room and on the stairs she found some things and a postcard with my room number on it. She asked if it was mine and I confirmed. She said there were more things over there and there. I looked out and found the things missing from my room.
Apparently I had sleepwalked and for whatever reason I had taken things out of my room and placed them on the public balcony leading to each room on my floor.
What. The. Hell.
Thank Todd for whatever reason I put a postcard on the things I left on the stairs and she just randomly happened to be taking the stairs to deliver her goods.


In this year I have awakened to find my PlayStation 3 broken, my headphones broken, and my foot bloody with a large inch-wide hole in it, with some of that blood in my carpet (since replaced).


When I was 5, I went to sleep on Friday and awakened on Saturday to watch my cartoons.
My step-dad and mother came from their bedroom and just stood there. He held a hatpin about 2 inches long and asked, “L. Spiro, did you stick this into my ear last night?”
I was completely confused and of course I denied.
My mother asked in a more serious tone, telling me I had better tell the truth.
I denied.
Then they threatened me that if I did not tell the truth I would get a beating.
In a kid’s way, I basically said, “What the fuck already I told you I did not stick that fucking in your ear, so get the fuck off.”

They retreated to their rooms to have a private discussion.

Years later my mother told me I did indeed stick it into his ear.
He awakened because of it and asked me what I was doing. I apparently continued to try and he kept asking until my mother awakened.
She yelled my name with no result.
Finally she screamed my name, and to her account my eyes got as big as plates, I screamed, and ran out of their room (I assume back to bed).

Creepy. She did not awaken from the shotgun blasts in her sleepwalking and I did not awaken (though I reacted) after her screams. Indeed I doubt sleepwalkers truly can be awakened, at least in some families.


Sleepwalking can be harmful or even fatal. I somehow put a hole in my foot and to this day I wonder how.
But I once mentioned here that I have discovered a body.
A short time before leaving America I was riding my bike home at about 1 AM when I crossed a bridge and saw a car parked next to it. The interior lights were on and a small dog was inside, and the door was open. No one inside the car.
I looked around until I came close to the bridge and looked over. A white figure was down below.
I went down to find a young woman in her nightgown dead on the rocks and ice. It was about -10 degrees.
At the time I did not know how or why (and I did have to speak to the police about it, but there was nothing I could tell them except that I found her) but about a week later my mother told me she had read in the paper about the body I found, and they said she was sleepwalking. She had a history.
For whatever reason not even she would know, she scooped up the family pet, got into her car, drove over to our bridge (I call it “our” bridge because it is near where we lived), and in -10-degree weather, no shoes, no coat, just got out of her car and walked off it.


Sleepwalking.
How many of you do it?
What do you think about it?
If you do it, what have you done while sleepwalking?


L. Spiro

I restore Nintendo 64 video-game OST’s into HD! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCtX_wedtZ5BoyQBXEhnVZw/playlists?view=1&sort=lad&flow=grid

Hi there. wink.png

I've never noticed myself in sleep walking, though sometimes my parents get angry at me for some reason the next morning (It might be that something was left on, tv, or something else), and all I do is look confused at them while I am certain that I didn't have anything to do with it (Or do I?), and they start getting angry.

But that's just a small occasion, nothing serious, on the other side, your case seems very serious, and as you said, it's really dangerous, so I hope that you find some kind of solution unsure.png (If possible).

Sleep walking is actually a very interesting topic, your body is active but studies show that the brain activity is at the minimum though we are able to to so many things, eating, driving, shooting, etc... Some people think that it's the moment where you do what you couldn't do in your active state of mind because of your emotional (or something else) restrictions, whether this is true or it's nonsense isn't proven anywhere.

Sleep walking is actually kind of weird.

-MIGI0027

FastCall22: "I want to make the distinction that my laptop is a whore-box that connects to different network"

Blog about... stuff (GDNet, WordPress): www.gamedev.net/blog/1882-the-cuboid-zone/, cuboidzone.wordpress.com/

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That is why I find it interesting.
I just now also noticed that a screw I kept on top of my computer case after changing my CPU/motherboard (I started a topic on that long ago) was missing.
I found it inside my computer case.
But I also kept a USB link to an iPad 3 at the same location. It was also gone.
I found it after starting this reply. In a very very weird location, completely opposite of the screw I had lost.

In other words, I want to believe that I waved my hand over my PC and cast these objects in a certain direction, but in reality both objects were close and the screw went left while the USB connector went right. I know I did this in my sleep, but I have no idea what I did.


I also just learned that it happens to only 15% of all people.
I thought it was much more than that.

Replies welcome.


L. Spiro

I restore Nintendo 64 video-game OST’s into HD! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCtX_wedtZ5BoyQBXEhnVZw/playlists?view=1&sort=lad&flow=grid

Don't sleepwalk, worst i've done is been woken up by someone, moved somewhere, go back to bed, and had no memory of it. I've also apparantly been woken up to answer questions, which i had no memory of later.

L. Spiro, not sure what your capable of while sleeping, but might want to consider perhaps installing a more complicated unlocking mechanism for your door? I'd be scared as all hell knowing that i end up outside while asleep.
Check out https://www.facebook.com/LiquidGames for some great games made by me on the Playstation Mobile market.

L. Spiro, not sure what your capable of while sleeping, but might want to consider perhaps installing a more complicated unlocking mechanism for your door? I'd be scared as all hell knowing that i end up outside while asleep.

But when you are in this state of sleep walking, half asleep brain wise and your body fully woken, you will be capable of doing almost anything.
Look at the case of L. Spiro, sleepwalking, messing with computers, hardware wise. So unfortunately I don't think a lock will be enough, as you will know where the key or what is required is hidden or what needs to be done.
I'm afraid you don't have the same kind of common sense whilst you sleepwalk, which opens for a whole new range of things which you can do while in that state, shooting, hardware, eating, driving (When driving your mind is quite concentrated from what I've heard [I don't have a car...]).
So it might work for a while, but I do believe that the brain will find a way around it.
EDIT:

Don't sleepwalk

How do you suggest that we do that, it's not like it's voluntary? biggrin.png

-MIGI0027

FastCall22: "I want to make the distinction that my laptop is a whore-box that connects to different network"

Blog about... stuff (GDNet, WordPress): www.gamedev.net/blog/1882-the-cuboid-zone/, cuboidzone.wordpress.com/

One of my friend received a Music CD he didn't remember having ordered. His reaction when he received the package : "Not bad sleep-walking me". Apparently even in his sleep he has good musical taste.

In my case, I'm not sleep-walking (just snoring very loudly). At least, not that I remember.

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My kids do this. They were worse when they were young, but now they're almost adults it's scarier. They got it from their mother.

Stephen M. Webb
Professional Free Software Developer

Nope, no sleepwalking. I will wake up from the sound of a towel hitting the floor, or a single beam of light hitting my window. Infiltrators do not stand a chance.

I do know someone who sleepwalked and if he was having a particularly dangerous hallucination he got thrown into a cold shower with all his clothes on. That's how you wake somebody up with force.

I've read about the idea guy. It's a serious misnomer. You really want to avoid the lazy team.

Trust me I don’t know anyone who awakens with so little effort as myself. Even jet-lagged I awakened on the hour every hour at last year’s SIGGRAPH.

That’s why it is so amazing to me that I can’t awaken from sleepwalking.
And I just don’t think it is possible at least in some cases. The slightest noise will awaken me, yet I can do all of these things while sleepwalking.


L. Spiro

I restore Nintendo 64 video-game OST’s into HD! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCtX_wedtZ5BoyQBXEhnVZw/playlists?view=1&sort=lad&flow=grid

My sister used to be afraid of me when we where kids, cause I would walk around, say some nonsense/"not really words" stuff, and go back to bed (we slept in the same room). I have no memories of those events, but it used to call lots of attention. Nobody in my family have had that.

Some of the remarkable events include peeing in the wood truck toy I had, nobody really saw that, we just found it full of pee in the morning. We didnt have any pets.

I remember once awakening in the kitchen, believe me, I was peeing in the trash bin..xDDD. It was really funny moment, cause after holding my pee (kinda hard after you already started) I couldn't stop laughing at what I was doing. I didnt even managed to sleep because I couldnt stop laughing.

That recover of senses was exactly like when you drink too much, all of sudden youre "awake", except you was not sleeping, and you dont have idea how you got there.

I dont know why I awakened, probably because the sound of the pee hitting the plastic bag didnt make any sense.

It used to happen when I was really young, it stopped after ~12, if I remember correctly.

Something ppl would notice is that I used to move my feet a LOT when sleeping, you know, like scratching a foot in the other, like if you were really afflicted. I dont remember this, ppl tells me that (maybe I was just needing to take a piss lol).

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