Аннотация
Sleep and dreams have always fascinated mankind, walking by our side like a couple of enigmatic companions.
In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the god of sleep. He lived in a dark cave by the river of forgetfulness, and his son Morpheus – the god of dreams – watched over him while he slept.
Nowadays, science recognises two key phases of sleep: deep sleep and REM sleep. During the deep sleep phase, the electrical waves in the cerebral cortex are long and slow. Several times a night, however, the waves become shorter and more frequent, resembling those seen in waking people. This phase is known as REM sleep because of the rapid eye movements behind the sleeper’s closed eyelids.
Parasomnia is the umbrella term for a group of disorders in which the brain is partially asleep and partially awake.
The well-documented disorder of sleepwalking, or somnambulism, occurs in roughly five per cent of all children, but it is much less common among adults.
As with the majority of parasomnias, almost all sleepwalking occurs during the deep sleep phase, and only lasts a few minutes, but there are also those who sleepwalk during REM sleep. For them, it is their dreams that trigger physical activities such as getting dressed, unlocking the door and leaving the house.
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