Unusual manifestations of somnambulism (8 photos)

They are also called sleepwalkers. But there is a difference: an ordinary sleepwalker can simply walk around the room, but a somnambulist can cause real harm to himself or others. This, of course, is a very rare case, but, nevertheless, it happens.





An episode of somnambulism usually lasts from a few seconds to forty minutes. And it all starts with waking up in the stage of deep slow sleep. It is known that there are two stages of sleep: slow and fast sleep. Slow sleep, in turn, is divided into phases - falling asleep, shallow sleep and deep sleep. If it is suddenly disrupted, it becomes difficult for a person to behave adequately and perceive the world around him. This is also called “sleep intoxication syndrome” and this condition can lead to quite complex behavior.



Children's somnambulism occurs more often than in adults (about 15%). When they grow up, the walks stop on their own. But, unfortunately, not everyone, some can entertain and frighten their loved ones all their lives.





In 1987, a truly unique case in criminology occurred when a man killed another man, then went to the police, confessed to the crime and was unanimously acquitted at trial.

Kenneth Parks was a wonderful husband, father and son-in-law. He had some problems with gambling addiction, but this did not affect his internal relationships with his family in any way - he was loved and he loved in return. One day he fell asleep in his house, sitting in front of the TV. Then he suddenly got up, got into the car, drove to his wife’s parents, where he stabbed his mother-in-law, severely beat his father-in-law and also tried to kill him. Their relationship was always excellent and he had no benefit from their death.

After which he came to the police station and said in confusion: “I think I killed someone.” His behavior was very strange and the police suspected him of drug intoxication or psychosis: Kenneth was inhibited, spoke at times incoherently and was amazed that he was in the police station, because he did not remember how he ended up there.



Kenneth and his wife leave the courthouse

The man was immediately sent for examination, which confirmed not only the absence of drugs and alcohol in his blood, but also that he suffered from somnambulism and it turned out that he could not be held responsible for his actions. The electroencephalogram data was confirmed by Kenneth’s relatives, who said that since childhood he had often wandered around the house in his sleep. Once he almost went out the window, but his brother managed to grab him at the last moment. The jury deliberated for 9 hours and, in the end, Kenneth was acquitted. The further fate of the “sleepy killer” was very prosperous. By the way, before everything that happened, Kenneth had been suffering from panic attacks and constant anxiety for quite some time, to which he was led by gambling addiction and problems associated with it.



Jules Lowe committed a crime while in a state of somnambulism: he once went out into the street and his target was a girl whom he raped. He was facing prison, but all the research showed that he really didn't know what he was doing. One can only imagine what it was like for him to realize that he had committed such a terrible crime while he was sleeping. By the way, Jules' father also suffered from sleepwalking.



James Currence would periodically get up and wander around the house. The family got so used to his behavior that they even stopped attaching importance to it. But then one day he disappeared. It became clear that the route of his walk had become further than the local area. They found the poor fellow knee-deep in a swamp, where he was fighting off crocodiles with a club. James was lucky - they managed to find him and save him. Unlike Timothy Bruggman, who left home in a deep sleep stage and he froze to death in a snowdrift near the house.



The girl Leslie Cooper's somnambulism manifests itself in a very funny way. Women often try not to eat at night, but Leslie can calmly get up at night and not just grab the first thing she comes across from the refrigerator shelf, but whip up something tasty for herself. She lights the gas, cuts up food, has a snack and goes to bed.



In France in the 19th century there was such a famous detective Robert Ledru. And one day he had to investigate the murder of a man.

Footprints and a bullet in the victim's body were found at the crime scene. Plaster casts of the tracks and the bullet were given to Ledru for study. And the detective noticed that one of the footprints was missing a big toe... Not yet fully understanding what was happening, he took off his shoe and showed the police his foot, where the big toe was missing, and the bullet was fired from the weapon that the detective was wearing with me. The drum was checked. One bullet was missing. The cast matched his legs perfectly.

Yes. Being a somnambulist, he killed a man, and then began to investigate his own crime. The shocked detective immediately surrendered to the police and they, also not believing what was happening, decided to conduct something like an experiment. They locked him in a cell at the station for the night and gave him a pistol. At night, Robert got up, grabbed a weapon and began firing at the guards with all his might. The police concluded that he was not responsible for his crime, but the detective was dangerous to society.

He was sent to live on a farm, in the company of a guard and a nurse, where he remained until the end of his days.

Do you know anyone who suffers from this nighttime illness?