Self-reported sleepwalking in Australian senior secondary school students

H M Stallman; M Kohler; A Wilson; S Biggs; J Dollman; J Martin; D Kennedy; K Lushington

doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2016.06.024

Self-reported sleepwalking in Australian senior secondary school students

Sleep Med. 2016 Sep:25:1-3. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2016.06.024. Epub 2016 Aug 24.

Authors

H M Stallman¹, M Kohler², A Wilson³, S Biggs⁴, J Dollman³, J Martin⁵, D Kennedy⁵, K Lushington²

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Sleep Research, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Electronic address: helen.stallman@unisa.edu.au.
² Centre for Sleep Research, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
³ Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.
⁴ The Ritchie Centre, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia.
⁵ Children's Research Centre, Discipline of Paediatrics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.

PMID: 27823701
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2016.06.024

Abstract

Background: Few studies have examined self-reported sleepwalking in older adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence rates of sleepwalking in a one-month self-report period in Australian adolescents.

Methods: Participants were 532 Australian adolescents in their final two years of secondary school.

Results: The prevalence of sleepwalking in the one-month self-report period was 2.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.47-4.33) in this sample-1% reported sleepwalking at least once a week in the previous month. A significant proportion (17.5%) of the participants was unsure if they had sleepwalked.

Conclusion: The results provide data on the self-reported prevalence rate of sleepwalking in older adolescents. Compared with the population data, this rate falls within the confidence intervals of child and adult prevalence rates of sleepwalking and is consistent with a decline in sleepwalking from childhood and adulthood. Further research is needed to explore how adolescents know they sleepwalk to understand the reliability of self-report measures.

Keywords: Adolescents; Prevalence; Self-report; Sleepwalking; Somnambulism.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Australia / epidemiology
Child
Female
Humans
Male
Prevalence
Schools
Self Report*
Somnambulism / epidemiology*
Students