Sleepwalking often results in the subject awaking to discover that
he/she has done something extremely
stupid.
Quite often, the sleepwalker will express hidden
emotions or
psychological instabilities. Other times, these
nocturnal activities can simply be a "
vent" for excess
energy,
stress, or
exhaustion.
An
example of a case where the sleepwalker perhaps was displaying either hidden emotion or mental instabilities was given by the husband of the subject:
Mr. Noonan (name changed) stated that, although the waking hours of the marriage seem fine, at night his partner seemingly begins to sleepwalk. During this time, she performs such tasks as washing dishes and playing solitaire on the family computer. When approached, she would curse at him and gesture menacingly, sometimes brandishing the nearest object as a weapon. The next morning, she would know nothing of these activities and the relationship would continue as normal.
Some examples of sleepwalking activity that can be
induced by fatigue or stress include stories many people can relate to. These occurances range from waking up in a different room to discovering you have done something
nonsensical like place your television remote control in the
refrigerator,
carrying a towel, or have put on your favorite
hat. I myself, after a particularly exhausting day, actually awoke the next morning to discover that I had removed our toilet seat (the design allows easy, tooless lift and pull removal), carried it down the
hall, and leaned it against our
couch. The strange thing is that I had a bit of a recollection of doing it, but had dismissed it as a dream until finding the seat in the living room.
Sleepwalking was once thought to be the act of
demons or the
devil. It has also been linked to
insanity. However, we now know it as being an outlet for overburdened minds and bodies.