Walking in your sleep? It runs in the family

SLEEPWALKING could run in the family, researchers claim.

A study found children are seven times more l i kely to walk in their sleep if both parents had a history of doing the same.

More than 60 per cent of children developed sleepwalking when both parents were sleepwalkers, a study of 1,940 youngsters in Quebec, Canada, found.

It is common in children but usually disappears in adolescence, although it can persist or even appear in adulthood.

Sleep terrors are another early childhood sleep disorder often characterised by a scream, fear and prolonged inconsolability.

Researchers say the two disorders – also known as parasomnias – share many of the same characteristics and arise mainly from slow-wave sleep.

The study, published in journal JAMA Pediatrics, also found that

‘Strong genetic

influence’

children with one parent who was a sleepwalker were three times as likely to sleepwalk as those whose parents did not.

The study found the prevalence of sleepwalking was 22.5 per cent among children without a parental history of doing so, while 47.4 per cent of children with one parent who was a sleepwalker developed the tendency; and 61.5 per cent of children developed sleepwalking when both parents were sleepwalkers.

Researcher Dr Jacques Montplaisir said: ‘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.’