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Treatment of sleepwalking: a controlled study
American Journal of Psychotherapy
|January 1, 1981
Summary
Specialized hypnotherapy effectively treated severe sleepwalking (somnambulism) in a clinical trial. Patients experienced lasting improvements in symptoms one year after brief treatment sessions.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Psychiatry
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Sleepwalking (somnambulism) is a sleep disorder characterized by complex behaviors during sleep.
- Effective clinical treatments for severe sleepwalking require further investigation.
Observation:
- A single-blind, rater-blind, modified crossover study evaluated a hypnotherapy treatment for sleepwalking.
- Participants with severe somnambulism, without other psychiatric conditions, were enrolled.
Findings:
- Six brief sessions of specialized hypnotherapy led to significant improvements in sleepwalking symptoms.
- Both subjective and objective measures of sleepwalking showed lasting improvement at one-year follow-up.
Implications:
- Specialized hypnotherapy presents a simple, practical, and effective clinical treatment for sleepwalking.
- Findings suggest hypnotherapy can offer long-term relief for individuals suffering from severe somnambulism.