Sleepwalking: Difference between revisions

Somnambulism, commonly known as '''sleepwalking''', is the phenomenon where a person, while sleeping, performs physical activities, often with their eyes open but unresponsive to the world. Within the real world, the sleepwalker will typically have their eyes open and will move as normal, if sometimes a bit slower as if tired. Any complex action that is performed while awake may be replicated while sleepwalking, including unlocking of doors, catching trains, driving cars, even sex and murder. The sleepwalker typically avoids obstacles, but still may be injured by non-routine events such as tripping hazards or closed doors. The disorder is common in children, but is typically grown out of. It is rarer in adults and consistent bouts of sleepwalking may indicate various psychological or brain disorders. Because sleepwalking typically occurs outside of REM sleep, dreams very seldom correlate with the actions while sleepwalking --contrast [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/discussion.php?id=o1jgcov19175vn495nrolo9y Dream Action Leak].

Likely symptoms include:

* Eyes open during sleep

* May have blank look on face

* May sit up and appear awake during sleep

* [[Captain Obvious|Walking during sleep]]

* Performing other detailed activity of any type during sleep

* Not remembering the sleepwalking episode when they wake up

* Acting confused or disoriented when they wake up

* Rarely, aggressive behavior when they are awakened by someone else

* [[Talking in Your Sleep|Sleep talking that does not make sense]]

In fiction, sleepwalking is generally portrayed with the sleepwalker [[Zombie Gait|having both arms extended in front of them]] and eyes closed (and in some extreme cases, blindfolded). The sleepwalker will again perform complex actions, but will almost always have an uncanny ability to avoid dangers in their world that they really shouldn't be aware of.

Folklore regarding sleepwalking states that [[Never Wake Up a Sleepwalker|waking a sleepwalker is dangerous]], but in reality, the worst that may happen is confusion as they awake in a strange place.

* Asuka attempting to kiss Shinji in his sleep in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anime)|Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' .

* Fam from ''[[Last Exile: Fam, theThe Silver Wing (Anime)|Last Exile Fam the Silver Wing]]'' has a pretty bad case, especially since she's a [[Sky Pirate]]. The first scene of the entire show is her [[Innocent Fanservice Girl|stripping off]], opening the hanger door of their airship and walking out, saved only by a rope with a bell on it tied to her leg. Episode 4 also shows that there's a mat placed below the entrance to her loft bedroom to cushion her inevitable falls.

* ''[[Ranma ½ (Manga)|Ranma One Half]]'': Akane takes this a step further. She ''fights'' in her sleep.

* The [[Marvel Comics]] character [[Sleepwalker]], whose body is taken over by an alien being at night when he's asleep.

* One of [[Venom (Comic Book)|Venom]]'s early appearances -- asappearances—as the symbiote rather than as just clothes, and before he was separated from [[Spider-Man]] -- had—had him take Peter Parker out for a swing while Parker was completely asleep. Parker later wonders why he's so tired.

* In [[Marvel Star Wars (Comic Book)|Marvel Star Wars]], Luke once goes into a [[Adventures in Coma Land|Force-induced coma]] where he has to fight a Vader-shaped manifestation of his own fear. Meanwhile, he gets captured, [[Shirtless Scene|stripped]], and [[Strapped to An Operating Table]]. As he starts to win, his eyes open, he breaks free of the table, and he fights off a horde of guards while still fighting in the dream. He's rather surprised when he wakes up.

* [[Trope Maker]] for the "arms extended in front" pose is ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Film)|The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]]''.

* [[Frankenstein]]'s Monster and zombies are usually portrayed as walking like this, with hands outstretched. While they're not ''technically'' asleep, they are resurrected dead -- deathdead—death often being compared metaphorically to a permanent sleep. In the original Universal film series Frankenstein's Monster only did this after an incompatible brain transplant, making him blind. And arguably, making him no longer the same character. It was then [[Bela Lugosi|Ygor]]'s brain in the monster's body. Most parodies of the Universal Frankenstein use this pose though, without bothering with the reason ''why''.

* In ''[[The Bobbsey Twins]]'', Freddie suffers a bout of [[Sleepwalking]] where he gets up and stands in front of Flossie's bed, making her think there's a ghost.

* In ''[[Heidi (Literature)|Heidi]]'', Heidi starts sleepwalking in Frankfurt as her health fails due to homesickness.

* In ''[[Dracula (Literaturenovel)|Dracula]]'', Lucy is a chronic sleepwalker who sleepwalks all the way across Whitby to the cemetery overlook the night she's first bitten by the eponymous vampire.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* On ''[[ANTA.N.T. Farm]]'', Olive does this during a slumber party. While sleepwalking she makes rooster noises, plays golf and sleep-knits, and isn't aware that she sleepwalks.

* ''[[The Drew Carey Show (TV)|The Drew Carey Show]]'' had the title character sleep-eating.

* In ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', one of House's clinic patients was a women who got pregnant because she had sex with her ex-boyfriend while sleepwalking.

** Another patient was a sleepwalker who went as far as to buy cocaine in his sleep.

* An episode of ''[[Law and Order: Criminal Intent]]'' had a sleepwalking cop as a suspect. {{spoiler|His neighbour had deliberately hidden his condition from him so she could use him as a fall guy.}}

* In ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'', Orson's guilt over {{spoiler|having run over Mike which indirectly led to his painkiller addiction}} eventually causes him to sleepwalk while muttering apologies. For added embarrassment, he sleeps in the nude...

* [[They Might Be Giants (Musicband)|They Might Be Giants]] has the song "[http://www.rhapsody.com/they-might-be-giants/no/sleepwalkers/lyrics.html Sleepwalkers]", which is about, well, what you'd expect, and references the "arms held out, eyes closed" thing.

* Two moves in ''[[Pokémon (Franchise)|Pokémon]]'', Snore and Sleep Talk, both of which allow thea Pokémon to attack while under the "Asleep" [[Standard Status Effects|status effect]].

* Amos from ''[[Dragon Quest VI (Video Game)|Dragon Quest VI]]'' turns into an enormous monster while sleeping, and doesn't know about it.

* ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy (Animation)|Ed, Edd n Eddy]]'': one episode had Ed sleepwalking ''and'' sleepeating.

* There was an episode of ''[[Rugrats (Animation)|Rugrats]]'' where Stu sleepwalks and the babies believe he is a robot.

* An episode of ''[[Hey Arnold (Animation)|Hey Arnold!]]'' dealt with Phoebe trying to stop Helga from sleepwalking to Arnold's house.

* In one episode of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls (Animation)|The Powerpuff Girls]]'', Professor Utonium, after being overworked in the lab, starts sleep-''shoplifting''.

* Wilhemina Packard from Disney's ''[[Atlantis: theThe Lost Empire (Disney)|Atlantis the Lost Empire]]'' is said to sleepwalk, though we don't see her do it. The fact that she [[Fan Disservice|sleeps in the nude]] probably has something to do with it. The other characters wear sleep masks because of this.

* In ''[[Rocko's Modern Life (Animation)|Rocko's Modern Life]]'', Ed Bighead experienced his childhood trauma of pirates when watching a play. He begins sleepwalking on his roof as a pirate in search of a treasure map.

* On ''[[Family Guy (Animation)|Family Guy]]'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX-tEBYZOvU Stewie observes Joe sleep-dragging.]

* [[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|Homer Simpson]] starts sleepwalking under the effects of sleeping medication Nappien. Bart takes advantage of the situation and uses Homer as his personal "zombie".

== [[Real Life]] ==

* Homicidal somnambulism -- ansomnambulism—an extreme form where a sleepwalker commits murder while asleep.