I Was Sleepwalking Through My House and Didn’t Even Know It

I had one of the strangest experiences in my life last night. It's not unusual for me to dream. In fact, most of my dreams are vivid and I can usually describe them in suprising detail the following morning.

Unfortunately, it's not unusual for me to have nightmares or intense dreams. That's what was happening to me last night.

What Happened During the Dream

I was dreaming that my family was being held against our will in my bedroom. We obediently stayed in there for a while, until I lost my patience and said "enough is enough."

I got up and went out to confront our captors. After all, this was OUR house, and I was not going to stand for someone terrorizing my family. I got up, and started heading for the door.

The first thing I noticed was that my legs were like jelly. I was having a hard time standing. When I walked, it felt like I was Frankenstein, my knees weren't bending.

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I opened the door and didn't see anyone, so I walked past the stairs and made my way down the hallway to my daughter's room. No one.

How My Family Reacted

Struggling to stay upright, I walked like a drunk leaving The Last Round at 2am, past the stairs again, past my room, and into my college aged son's room. He was awake and playing video games. "Dad! Dad! What are you doing???" He seemed confused, almost concerned.

That's when I realized I was sleepwalking. It was the strangest feeling I've ever felt. My wife met me at my son's door. "What's going on?" she asked. "I'm sleepwalking," I calmly told her, drifting in and out of consciousness. She said I was a zombie as I headed back to our room.

I didn't remember the episode the next morning until my wife reminded me. My son told me how disturbing it was to watch me scan his room with my eyes closed.

What We Did to Prevent It From Happening Again

We all agreed that it could have been tragic had I lost my balance while I was walking with my eyes closed in the hallway and fell down the flight of stairs.

My son installed a hook and eye on the inside of my door so that it would be harder for me to make it out of my room if it happened again.

How Common is Sleepwalking?

According to Stanford Medicine, over 8.4 million Americans sleepwalk.  Nearly 1 in 3 sleepwalkers have a family history of the disorder.