Sleepwalking: How Dangerous Can It Be?

Original Article

Sleepwalker

                Sleepwalking. I’ve done it, and I know many others who have as well. I did know that it could be dangerous if you stubbed your toe, or fell down the stairs, but I didn’t know you could kill people while sleepwalking, did you? This happened over 25 years ago, but the story shocked me, and I could assume that it will also shock you. A man named Kenneth James Parks was asleep at about 2 am Sunday morning in May of 1987. He would later find himself at the local police station a few hours later where he admitted to murder. He was a deep sleeper and as a child he wet the bed and sleepwalked. Sleepwalking can be dangerous if it is continued into the adult stages of life. He went, unknowingly, to his wife’s parents' house and choked his father-in-law, and stabbed his mother-in-law. He drove the 23 kilometers and even obeyed traffic lights, but was found to be sleepwalking, or would it be sleepdriving, at his 1988 court trial.

                This article interested me as I used to sleepwalk, and know many people who do. I was curious as to how sleepwalking could be dangerous, as I did not know that you could kill people while sleepwalking. I still find myself sleepwalking on those rare occasions that come about once a year. I was hoping that sleepwalking was just a stage of childhood, but I now know that you can sleepwalk, sleep-drive and sleep-kill as an adult.

                Sleepwalking and this particular article could be placed under the AOI (Areas of Interaction) of “Health and Social Education”. One of the more obvious reasons for this would be because it talks about health problems, and what you can do to prevent them.