Sleepwalking can happen to anyone, thanks to the availability of Ambien for those with insomnia. It can also happen because of a condition that 3.6% of the population has. Common incidents might involve talking, walking around, preparing and eating food.
However, sometimes even people who’ve lived with insomnia their whole lives have experiences that make them afraid to fall asleep. Any of the following might have you handcuffing yourself to the bed before lights out at night.
See Ya Later, Alligator
Septuagenarian James Currens experienced a bout of sleepwalking that led him out of his house in the middle of the night and straight into a pond. He awoke chest deep in water to discover his feet stuck in the mud. Moments later in his struggle to free himself, he noticed the alligators. Some of the reptiles were over three-feet long, and curious about Currens. Luckily, he brought his walking cane with him. With only the cane to defend himself, he pushed the alligators back while yelling for help. A neighbor spotted him, called 911 and police rescued him with only minor cuts and bruises. source
Making Friends
A Reddit contributor, mrcoldplay, posted about his story. He made it outside of his apartment while asleep and invited in a complete stranger. The next day when he woke up he noticed that both his wallet and laptop were missing. While it was the first time he’d wandered outside, he says that almost everyone in the neighborhood already knew he was a sleepwalker. It was a neighbor who witnessed the exchange that connected the dots for him. “Almost had a heart attack when my neighbor said: “I thought she was your friend.” source
Asleep at a Great Height
An eagle-eyed passerby managed to spot the curled up body of a teenage girl high atop a crane at 2am. When police entered the construction site and scaled the crane, they discovered she was asleep. However, they worried if they woke her she might startle and accidentally plummet to her death. Instead, they had one of her relatives call her and wake her up that way. She awoke and descended the crane using a hydraulic ladder without further incident. source
Woken in the Bath
Eleanor was a sleepwalker her whole life and mostly found the incidents humorous rather than harmful. As a child, her mother would find her asleep in her closet covered with clothes in the morning. However, things took a turn for the upsetting when Eleanor turned 21. One night she woke up in a bathtub, a razor in her hand. She had already shaved part of one leg while asleep. It was that incident that made her realize she could have died to her sleepwalking, “I woke up and started panicking and hyperventilating––it was pretty scary.” source
Asleep at the Wheel
Stacie relayed her story to a magazine. The incident happened while she was on Ambien for insomnia. Over the course of two years, she’d wake up to bizarre but ultimately harmless results from sleepwalking episodes. Some instances she’d awake with food in her bed. Other times, her social media feed showed posts that she didn’t recall making. Finally, the sleepwalking got out of hand and genuinely scared her. She became lucid while driving her car and crying. She immediately recognized her surroundings, but had no memory of how she got there. After pulling over and collecting herself, she drove home. She admits that she didn’t stop taking the Ambien immediately after that episode, but once her doctor found out, he cancelled her prescription. source