Readerzzz share their experiences sleepwalking and sleep-talking and sleep-shopping and sleep-arguing and sleep-eating . . . 

In the summer of 1981, a Scottsdale, Arizona, man named Steven Steinberg grabbed a knife from his kitchen and proceeded to stab his wife 26 times, killing her.

Steinberg was promptly charged with murder, but when it came time for his trial, an odd thing happened. Steinberg told the court he had no recollection of killing his wife. He had gone to bed and the next thing he knew, his wife was dead on the floor of their home and police were banging on the door.

Steinberg had been sleepwalking, you see, or at least that was his story. He stuck to the story, too, and ultimately a jury believed him. In 1982, Steinberg was acquitted on the murder charge. If he had been asleep when the killing occurred, the jury reasoned, how could he be held responsible?

Five years later, in Toronto, Kenneth Parks drove to the home of his wife’s parents and proceeded to slash both of them with a kitchen knife. The mom died, the dad survived and Parks insisted he remembered none of it. He had been sleepwalking, you see, and couldn’t be blamed.

A jury believed him and, like Steinberg before him, Parks walked free.

There have been more than five dozen recorded cases of “homicidal somnambulism,” or murderous sleepwalking, if you prefer. It’s all very alarming. If the mere act of sleeping can cause a person to completely abandon his or her ethical beliefs and love for other people, couldn’t it happen to any of us on any given night?

PERCHANCE TO DREAM

Dr. Ralph Harder, the famed sleep doctor, is not so sure about the ethical side of things. One thing is clear, though. Just because a person is technically asleep doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t hang on to the dexterity to perform a variety of tasks.

“There are variants of sleepwalking in which complex motor activities are carried out while the brain is in a sleep state,” says Harder, the now retired director at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center’s Sleep Clinic in Lewiston.

For instance, “sleep-related eating disorder is a well described condition where the person, while asleep, can take food out of the refrigerator, eat large quantities, go back to bed and have no recall of the events when confronted by evidence,” says Harder. “Inappropriate sexual activity during sleep – sleep-sex – has been described. So yes, one does not have to be awake to accurately perform some motor activities – and in the case of household chores, maybe it’s better if you are not?”

Our readers, who passed along tales of sleepwalking, sleep-eating, sleep-cooking and, of course, sleep-peeing, among other things, certainly attest to this.

As long as humans have dozed, they have been inclined to occasionally both talk in their sleep and get up for a walkabout. But where does the phenomenon come from? Why doesn’t the sleeping brain grasp that it is asleep and therefore direct the body to be still, lest trouble (and occasional hilarity) arise from nightly wanderings?

“The cause of sleepwalking and sleep-talking is unknown,” says Harder. “Sleep-talking is common. In some people it may have a genetic component. It doesn’t usually cause problems for the person talking; only in the movies when the talker inadvertently reveals some secret.

“Sleepwalking is more common in children than adults and may also have a genetic predisposition,” he says. “Unlike sleep-talking, it can cause harm if during the episode the individual falls down the stairs or walks out into traffic, for example.”

Or worse. For some pretty grim sleepwalking horror stories, click here.

HOLLYWOOD BUNK AND OLD WIVE’S TALES

How is it that some sleeping people can make and eat extravagantly crafted sandwiches while others tumble down stairs and bump into walls? 

“There are multiple theories about what is going on in the brain of someone who is sleepwalking,” says Harder. “Basically, brain scientists used to think that one was either asleep or awake. Current evidence is that these are not exclusive states. Elements of wakefulness like motor activity – running or walking – can exist when the brain waves measured by EEG, for example, indicate a sleep state. This may be due to disordered signaling in the brain of the sleepwalker so that certain patterns of behavior residing in or controlled by other parts of the brain are mistakenly released or activated during sleep.

“The reverse has also been documented,” Harder explains. “People whose brain wave patterns correspond to an awake state can act like they are asleep. There are definitely things that seem to make the brain more susceptible to these signaling errors.”

According to the National Sleep Foundation, up to 15 percent of the general population may be prone to sleepwalking. No wonder the act is so popular in the movies, in cartoons and in a variety of old wives’ tales.

Remember that old bit about how it’s dangerous to wake a sleepwalker? Turns out that one just might be true.

“There is evidence that some sleepwalkers, when aroused by attempts to awaken them, could become violent or frightened in a way that they might do something to harm themselves or others,” says Harder.

“Recommendations are to pay attention to safety of the walker when there are repetitive episodes of sleepwalking – bedroom on the first floor if possible, doors to the outside and windows secure, try to gently guide them back to bed – all while a search for a trigger is ongoing. For severe cases a medication trial may be warranted.”

In cartoons, and in some cheesy sitcoms, the sleepwalker is easily identified as he or she walks through the night with arms outstretched. In reality, it doesn’t work that way. In the real world, the sleeper ambles through his or her nightly adventures very much the same as they would in a waking state.

Except for, you know. Bizarre and often comical behavior.

Our readers don’t know what causes sleepwalking, either, but they were kind enough to pass on their own stories of somnambulism-gone-amok. There’s a little bit of everything here, and one thing is for sure: Reading these stories won’t put you to sleep.

It’s probably for the best.

URINE FOR A SURPRISE

I had a college friend that lived down the hall in the dorm. He was a sleepwalker. His roommate said that he had the habit of sleepwalking. And on occasion had been caught peeing in their fridge. I didn’t take her words too seriously.

I caught him walking to my fridge once, I realized that he was sleepwalking. There was no waking him up to stop. The roommate’s statement wasn’t a joke

Ewwwwww!

The poor pasta salad was defiled . . . along with everything else on the bottom shelf of the fridge.

WORST SLEEPWALKING STORY EVER!

Erika Jordan, Auburn

HUSSEY’S OR BUST (BRA-COVERED) 

I sleep-talk and sleepwalk. I’ve tried leaving the house in my bra, underwear and purse. I’ve tried to pee out a second-story window, and sometimes I wake up to find things from the pantry in the fridge and vice versa. Apparently I’m also a bizarrely fascinating conversationalist as well. My family even has a code word for it – taco.

Once, in high school, I came down the stairs fully dressed with my backpack to go to school. My parents put the kibosh on that one pretty quickly; it was midnight. I think it does in fact follow you through adulthood, but I’ve found as I get older it only comes out under times of stress – or if you’re extremely tired or extremely intoxicated.

Probably the most epic sleepwalk was when I came strolling out of the bedroom in my bra and underwear while my husband was watching TV in the living room, grabbed my purse and headed for the stairs. Of course he stopped me and asked me what exactly I thought I was doing, and apparently I thought he was pretty stupid for not knowing that – DUH – I had to go to Hussey’s (General Store in Windsor).

He laughed and said, “OK then, you go ahead and prance right off to Hussey’s like that,” and instead I proceeded into the bathroom, where I stood there with my purse over my arm and stared at the wall for several minutes.

“Honey,” he said, “you are taco. GO TO BED.” To which I answered, “You know what? You’re really annoying me right now.”

After a few minutes more, I turned around, walked past him (and he snagged my purse as I went) and went back down the hallway into the bedroom and shut the door. He waited about 15 minutes and went in to check on me and I was out like a light.

Megan Morrell, Windsor

A WALKING NIGHTMARE

Only use my first name please as this is true and a bit weird. Between ages 3 and about 11 or 12 I used to have nightmares and participate in them as if I were stuck between two different realms of reality. I would walk around the house, climb up and down stairs, have conversations with people in my dreams. My parents used to watch me do it. They would try to put me back to bed and I would end up getting up and continuing my journey. I remember being terrified most of the time.

One night around 11 or 12 I was having a nightmare and was in my mother’s room and was screaming at her. I remember grabbing a coat hanger, raising it above my head as if I was going to hit her. I saw the fear in her eyes and could see the whole scene playing out like I was a spectator. When I saw the fear in my mom’s eyes I took control of the nightmare. I felt myself stand up inside my own body and woke up. Apologized and went to my room.

From that day on I’ve been able to ride out a nightmare like a carnival ride. When they get too scary I just say enough and open my eyes.

I would have a recurring conversation with the same person in my dreams for years. I think the fear of him would send me on my way about the house. Now, as a 53-year-old man, I remember to this day what he looked like: head shaped like a light bulb, big eyes, long spindly arms and fingers.

Dave, Lewiston

SLEEPLESS IN LEWISTON

Oh, I hate to admit to this affliction. But, I do both! I have cooked food, folded laundry, fallen down the basement stairs (thought I was headed for the Fryeburg Fair, apparently), mixed drinks for a pool party (that wasn’t happening) and the list goes on! None of which are safe when you take all matters into account!

Sue Mathieu Carr, Lewiston

A FISTFUL NIGHT’S SLEEP

I once beat the crap out of my ex-husband Joel in my sleep! We were staying with his sister-in-law Holly, and I hadn’t been sleeping very well. There was a lot of tension in the air and a fight broke out (not between us), after which we all went to bed. Apparently I was upset at the person who started it. I sat up, yelled something profane, then started punching.

Funnier still, there happened to be an “America’s Most Wanted” playing the next evening . . . about people who claimed to have killed someone in their sleep. “Do YOU believe this kind of thing could really happen, America?” I jumped up “YES! Yes I do!”

He was not amused.

Michelle R. Tetrault, Westbrook

A CEREAL SLEEP-TALKER

Oh, the stuff my mom does in her sleep is legendary in our family, lol! One memory from when I was a kid: Went to wake her up one morning and she told me to “Be careful.”

I asked why.

She said, “There’s golf balls in the Cheerios . . .”

For one, no one in the family plays golf, AND I didn’t eat Cheerios regularly. But anyway – that one was mild compared to one of her more recent!

Lori D’Amico, Lewiston

SNOOZY KNOW-IT-ALL

According to my husband, I argue with him in my sleep.

Crystal Donlon, Lewiston

ASLEEP(WALKING) AT THE WHEEL

I once ate four ham and cheese sandwiches in my sleep. Didn’t that set the (person) I was living with off? Don’t get me started about the driving I guess I did in my sleep!

Mike Cordice, New Gloucester

A LIGHT SLEEPER

I awoke one morning when I was 15 with my bed covered with every light bulb in the house on my bed. I vaguely remembered dreaming about removing one in my room, but I apparently was far more busy that night. One of my sons used to “sleep-pee” when he was 4 or 5 — once in the oven and once under the tablecloth on his sister’s bedside table. He must remain nameless because he now “sleep-eats” in his 50s.

Diana Pratt, Rumford

SLEEP-TALKS THE TALK

When I was in college, I hung out with the international club. I was at a sleepover with friends from several countries. One guy who was very shy and had a strong accent when he spoke English was sleeping on the floor. I heard him speak in perfect English. No accent. He was quoting lines from movies and in his sleep-talk he was able to sound like the actor.

Brenda Akers, Lewiston

ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH

My son used to walk in his sleep. He would get up, turn on every light in the house and go back to bed. I once even caught him going outside in the middle of the night. That was scary.

Katie Thompson, Poland

SLUMBERS AND TUMBLERS

My oldest son used to walk in his sleep. One night when we were visiting my parents my father woke me and told me to go in the kitchen. My 3-year-old son was standing on the sideboard and had taken every glass out of the cupboard, setting them all around him on the sideboard. One wrong move, or any (move) at that point, would have had glasses falling like dominoes. I plucked him off the sideboard and put him back to bed. He was sound asleep throughout the whole thing.

Carolyn Tucker, Minot

“His roommate said that he had the habit of sleepwalking. And on occasion had been caught peeing in their fridge. I didn’t take her words too seriously . . .”

— Erica Jordan, Auburn

“Probably the most epic sleepwalk was when I came strolling out of the bedroom in my bra and underwear while my husband was watching TV in the living room, grabbed my purse and headed for the stairs.”

— Megan Morrell, Windsor

“I remember grabbing a coat hanger, raising it above my head as if I was going to hit her. I saw the fear in her eyes and could see the whole scene playing out like I was a spectator. When I saw the fear in my mom’s eyes . . .”

— Dave, Lewiston

“I awoke one morning when I was 15 with my bed covered with every light bulb in the house on my bed. “

— Diana Pratt, Rumford

“My 3-year-old son was standing on the sideboard and had taken every glass out of the cupboard, setting them all around him on the sideboard.” 

— Carolyn Tucker, Minot

Track your sleepy-time activities

There is no shortage of apps on the market that can track all of your nightly doings. By utilizing your device’s accelerometer and microphone, these programs can monitor your tossing and turning, record and track your breathing and, of course, record anything you might say from the fathoms of sleep. Be warned, though. Creepy things have been known to happen in that place where sleep meets technology.

Sleep as Android: For Android phones. This app monitors every facet of your sleep experience and provides a multitude of options for waking in the morning. I don’t use it anymore, but when I did, I was clearly impressed. Here’s the review I wrote for Sleep as Android in 2013: “I’d been using another sleep tracker and I was fairly impressed with that one. Sleep as Android, though, is in a league of its own. The charts are far more detailed. The ability to tag is awesome and the sound quality? That alone blows away the competition. Tiny mumbles indecipherable in other programs are suddenly clear in this one. You can hear all the creaks and groans around your bed, which may provide clues as to what’s waking you up night after night. A real useful app and brilliantly designed. The REM and snore charts are illuminating. The support literature and the forums are extensive — a great way to navigate through the initially confusing settings. Top-notch app. Makes me want to go to sleep this very moment.”

Sleep Better with Runtime: As described in the Google Play store: “Track your sleep cycles, monitor your dreams, improve your bedtime habits and wake up better with the free Sleep Better sleep tracker app from Runtastic! Whether you struggle to fall asleep, want to learn how your daytime activities influence your sleep clock, or simply want some new sleep alarm clock sounds to help you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to seize the day – this is your ideal sleep tracker! Gain insights with your sleep tracker, track moon phases, keep a dream diary and more using this preferred sleep app on your Android device!”

Sleep Cycle (IOS): As described in the Apple store: “Sleep Cycle takes the scientific approach to waking you up after a good night’s rest. Using the iPhone’s accelerometer to record your sleeping habits, the app uses sleep cycle theory and aims to wake you at just the right time to ensure optimal rest. Users set a window of time (say a 30-minute stretch) instead of a traditional pinpoint alarm time, and when the app judges that your sleep movement is just right, it will ring the alarm to wake you. In addition to the smart alarm, Sleep Cycle records your sleeping habits for tracking sleep quality over time.”

SleepBot: As described in the Google Play store: “SleepBot is a free sleep-tracking app for Android and iOS that tracks your sleep activity in order to help you get a good night’s rest and wake you up at just the right time. SleepBot uses your device’s accelerometer and can even be set to record sounds. The app’s smart alarm lets you set a range of time to be woken up, with the app deciding to trigger the alarm based on your sleep activity. Besides the smart alarm, SleepBot includes an array of sleep-tracking metrics (such as a sleep debt log) and a detailed knowledge base to help you learn about smart sleeping habits.”

For a top 10 list of sleep apps for your device, check out Tom’s Guide.

— Mark LaFlamme, Sun Journal Staff Writer

The many faces of Pavor noctrunus (sleep terror)

Bogeyman: Lives under your bed, or possibly in your closet, and waits for you to fall asleep. You and I know the Bogeyman is real, but Wikipedia claims otherwise: “A common allusion to a mythical creature in many cultures used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. This monster has no specific appearance, and conceptions about it can vary drastically from household to household within the same community; in many cases, he has no set appearance in the mind of an adult or child, but is simply a non-specific embodiment of terror.”

Incubus: According to folklore dating back centuries, a male demon who seeks to have sexual relations with women in their sleep in order to father children. An incubus visitation is typically described as a hellish experience that can result in a dramatic deterioration of health over time, or even death.

Succubus: A demon in female form who comes in the night to seduce men, usually through sexual activity. The succubus is typically depicted as a terrifying entity, although modern interpretations present her as a highly attractive seductress or enchantress. Do we get to pick which succubus comes to us in the night? Not sure. Will research.

The Night Hag: My personal bete noire, Wikipedia describes her as “a fantasy creature from the folklore of various peoples which is used to explain the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. It is a phenomenon during which a person feels a presence of a supernatural malevolent being which immobilizes the person as if sitting on his or her chest or the foot of his or her bed.”

Freddy Krueger: A completely made-up movie villain who’s totally not real and we shouldn’t even talk about him at all. Please? Not this close to bedtime.

— Mark LaFlamme, Sun  Journal Staff Writer

Ambien made me do it

There are stories all over the place about the weird things people have reportedly done under the influence of the hypnotic sleep aid zolpidem, whose brand names include Ambien.

In 2009, a 45-year-old man who opened fire in a nursing home claimed that he was under the influence of Ambien at the time and couldn’t be blamed. The jury did not agree and the sleepy killer was sentenced to 179 years in prison.

People have been also known to prepare and eat lavish meals, drive their cars clear across town, take baths, make phone calls and engage in romantic interludes, all while under the influence of the world’s most popular sleeping pill.

There’s plenty of evidence that prescription drugs can cause sleepwalking. Alcohol, on the other hand, is off the hook in that regard, after being used to explain so many bizarre behaviors.

“There is quit a bit of evidence now,” says retired sleep doctor Ralph Harder, “that drinking alcohol does not trigger sleepwalking.”

Go figure. But you can’t blame Ambien for everything. As it turns out, any time you tinker with the brain and its ability to sleep, freaky things can happen.

“There are multiple medications,” says Harder, “that have been implicated as triggers – multiple psychiatric medications and some medications prescribed to help one fall asleep. Alteration in one’s normal sleep habits or cycle could trigger episodes of sleepwalking; i.e. sleep deprivation or changing time zones. Other sleep disorders, like obstructive sleep apnea or medical illnesses that cause awakenings during sleep, could trigger sleepwalking.”