Sleepwalkers may have sex with strangers

You can hardly find a single person who has not heard a thing or two about sleepwalkers. Numerous stories about things people do while asleep make sleepwalking a highly popular subject in many cultures. Besides, the phenomenon has an air of mystery due to a lack of complete information on the causes of sleepwalking.

	Sleepwalking usually occurs in sufferers with increased levels of nervous tension (jupiterimages.com)
	BREAKING NEWS Russia signs billion-dollar deal with Saudi Arabia Mammoth earthquake hits China It was only the USSR that defeated Nazism
	Freak of nature: Giant jellyfish More...

The story about a Sumerian princess is probably the first documented case of sleepwalking. On several occasions the princess was seen walking in her sleep around the rooftop of a palace at night. The princess’ servants saw her standing on the very edge of the roof.

A rather amusing case of sleepwalking took place in ancient Rome. According to the official account of the events, one night a young noble lady sleepwalked straight into the bedroom of her inamorato. Needless to say, the incident could not have happened if the lady had been awake. An unintentional display of the lady’s initiative was fully appreciated by the parents of the young man: the lovers got married within a matter of days.

There is nothing new under the moon

In medical terms, sleepwalking is called somnambulism. Specialists believe the disorder usually occurs in sufferers with increased levels of nervous tension. A psychological trauma is believed to cause episodes of the so-called neurotic somnambulism. At times somnambulism is a sign of more serious disorders. For instance, paroxysmal somnambulism indicates epilepsy.

A number of recently published studies suggest that some persons may be genetically predisposed to somnambulism. Some researchers claim there is a link between the incidence rate of somnambulism and phases of the moon.

Children and young adult are witnessed to have many more episodes of somnambulism than the older individuals. In a typical case of sleepwalking, the person will rise from his bed to engage in a number of purposeful activities with his eyes open while being technically asleep. However, some cases of sleepwalking involved people were reported to navigate their surroundings with their eyes closed.

As a rule, sleepwalkers will engage in activities they normally perform when awake. The activities include walking about the house, eating, dressing, bathing, taking strolls along the street, or even driving cars. An American student was reported as frequently getting up from his bed at night and going to a nearby lake to swim while asleep. He would return to his home and get back to bed after swimming in the lake. In the morning the student would have no memories whatsoever of his nocturnal outings.

Pravda.ru forum. The place where truth hurts