Home

Blogs

Forums

News

Portfolios

Projects

Tutorials

23 users logged in

New? Learn about game development.

Before posting, review our community guidelines.

Support GameDev.net with a monthly GDNet+ subscription!

Chat in the GameDev.net Discord!

Back to GDNet Lounge

Sleepwalking

L. Spiro · 2013-10-28T19:18:46

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

GDNet Lounge Community

Started by L. Spiro October 26, 2013 01:32 PM

16 comments, last by L. Spiro 10 years, 10 months ago

slicer4ever

6,773

October 27, 2013 03:40 AM

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:

[background=#fafbfc]Don't sleepwalk[/background]

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

-MIGI0027

yes, you caught onto my real intent with that statment;-). as for complicated, perhaps a digital lock on your phone, thats password protected? since it seems like activly typing text for L. Spiro was a challenge.

Check out https://www.facebook.com/LiquidGames for some great games made by me on the Playstation Mobile market.

L. Spiro

Author

25,818

October 27, 2013 02:00 PM

The inside locks on my door are actually quite complex. I didn’t even know how to lock my door from the inside for about a month after moving in, and I am 100% sure it was locked on the occasion when I took things about of my room.

In fact, guess how to unlock it and win a prize!

[attachment=18565:Door.png]

It’s muscle memory to me now but that is probably the main point.

No matter what I do, when I need to undo it while I am awake it will become muscle memory that will be easily reproducable in my sleep.

I wasn’t exactly coherent on Skype, but I knew enough that I had plugged in my USB microphone and brought my headphones over, though I did not plug them in (necessary to do a chat).

The frank fact is that part of the reason I have been single all my life is out of a little concern regarding this. My Skype “conversation” with her shows my true feelings towards her. Happiness. Joy.

But what if we just have a 1-day slight disagreement. I love her the same and I would get over it.

But if that is the night I sleepwalk and if I did something to her or her daughter there is no possible way I could ever forgive myself.

I’ve thought about how to prevent it and I don’t see any answer.

Anything I do normally becomes muscle memory that can be reproduced during sleepwalking. Keycodes won’t work, etc.

By the way, am I the only one here who sleepwalks?

I thought it was fairly common, found out it is not, but still expect someone else here does it.

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

Shane C

1,369

October 27, 2013 02:06 PM

I don't sleepwalk. With me, it's more like staying up days on end and then doing things like having 15-45 minutes where I don't remember anything - I could have fallen asleep standing up, who knows.

slicer4ever

6,773

October 27, 2013 02:31 PM

The inside locks on my door are actually quite complex. I didn’t even know how to lock my door from the inside for about a month after moving in, and I am 100% sure it was locked on the occasion when I took things about of my room.

In fact, guess how to unlock it and win a prize!
Door.png

wElp...hmmm...do you twist one or both of the circle things to be horizontal for locking, and vertical for unlocking? also, is it dual-locks?

It’s muscle memory to me now but that is probably the main point.
No matter what I do, when I need to undo it while I am awake it will become muscle memory that will be easily reproducable in my sleep.

so, you need sometype of unlocking puzzle that is random on each use, easy enough that a coherent you could solve, but not so easy you can just go through the motions. Although even if you could solve it, sleeping you might just deceide to use a window(if possible), which might be far worse if your not on ground floor.

Check out https://www.facebook.com/LiquidGames for some great games made by me on the Playstation Mobile market.

ProgrammerDX

395

October 27, 2013 09:29 PM

By any chance, did you look like this when you were a kid?

Mr13ubblezz

102

October 28, 2013 09:12 AM

I have sleepwalked before a few times, I haven't for quite a while though.

One time when I was really young(<10), my sister tried to wake me up. She told me she would wait for me if I had to go to the bathroom, when I went the wrong way(not to the bathroom, but rather the kitchen) she asked me what I was doing, and I replied "I'm going to use the pot". I tried to urinate in the cabinet where we kept the pots and pans. It was kind of funny hearing about it, but it was also kind of scary to think I would do something like that in a sleepwalking state. That was really the most remarkable sleepwalking event for me.

I did have a dream once(the memory of it is quite spotty but I remember the important parts) where moving was difficult and frustrating, like I was semi-paralyzed, and I was crawling around the floor of my room. I remember some other things happening, what exactly I don't know, but in the dream I started to hit my head off of the floor and flail around violently. When I woke up my head was throbbing. I always wondered if I had really been dreaming or if I was sleepwalking and had some recollection of it.

I would talk to your doctor about it if it's a big issue though. According to Wikipedia there are ways to help people with sleepwalking problems.

jms bc

448

October 28, 2013 07:14 PM

When I was in high school, my father went out of town on business. In the middle of the night (so the story goes), I went to my sleeping mother with a balled-up pillow (pillow fight style) and hit her with it several times, said "There." and went back to sleep in my room. Since I had a history of sleepwalking, I got a pass.

Sleepwalking is cool.

The Four Horsemen of Happiness have left.