Sleep Walking May Be Hereditary, Study

A new study has revealed that children born to sleep walking parents were more likely to develop the condition themselves when compared to those who did not have a family history of sleep walking.

The Canadian study recently published its findings in the medical journal JAMA Paediatrics, reporting that children who had both parents with sleep walking disorders were six times more likely to develop the condition

On the other hand, in cases where one of the parents has the disorder, the children are three times more likely to become sleepwalkers themselves.

In an interview to Health Day, the authors noted, "These findings point to a strong genetic influence on sleepwalking and, to a lesser degree, sleep terrors."

"Parents who have been sleepwalkers in the past, particularly in cases where both parents have been sleepwalkers, can expect their children to sleepwalk and thus should prepare adequately."

According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleepwalking doesn't have to necessarily mean the person is walking.

 A person can still be said to be sleep walking if they can perform a complex set of tasks like wearing a dress, talking or sitting up in bed even while they continue to be in deep sleep.

The condition is more common in children than adults, though in some cases people do not outgrow it.

For the study, the researchers examined the data of 2000 children born in the Quebec province of Canada during 1997 and 1998.

Data was collected from the point the children were 2.5 years old and the scientists continued to track them for the next 11 years until they turned 13.

The parents were asked if their children were found to be sleep walking and if yes, were asked to give more details on the same. The family history of these children were also obtained during the course of the study.

The findings showed sleepwalking in children peaked at 10 years where 13.4 percent of them engaged in night time strolls. Overall, close to 29 percent of the children were found to have sleep walked at some point in time.

In families with no history of sleep walking, 22.5 percent of children were reported to have sleep walked at least once.

In households where a single parent had the sleep walking disorder, the child became 47.4 percent more vulnerable to the disorder whereas in families where both parents had the condition, the possibility of children sleep walking tripled to almost 61.5 percent.