You might have heard about sleepwalking, but have ever come across a person who does shoping while sleeping
In today's fast-paced world, many people are having sedentary lifestyle while consuming unhealthy foods and facing overwhelming stress, which are affecting their sleep cycle. To cope up with the work load, we often sacrifice our most important thing, i.e. sleep or resting hours. In this article, we will discuss about a strange sleep related problem which became talk of town and surprised everyone. Let's find out about it.
Sleep Shopping, a type of Parasomnia is an issue where people perform online shopping while being in sleep. Usually, it is more common for children than adults.
About the Patient: Recently, Kelly Knipes, a 42-year-old UK lady confessed that she performs shopping during her sleep because of parasomnia.
As per New York Post: “A rare disorder has caused her to spend more than 3,000 pounds (Rs 3.2 lakh) on shopping while sleeping.”
“It's really upsetting and frustrating going to bed thinking, I don't know what the night is going to lead to,” Ms Knipes revealed in a recent interview.
Kelly’s Painful Journey with Parasomnia: She started showing symptoms of Parasomnia long time ago. After giving birth to her first kid in 2006, she started sleepwalking regularly. Till now, she has ended up purchasing full-sized plastic basketball court, fridges, children's playhouse, and so on.
She explained: “I couldn't refund any food purchases, like the Haribos. I kept the tins of paint, and the Wendy house because when that arrived and my kids saw it I felt I couldn't return it.”
Due to this issue, in March 2024, she became a victim of online fraud and lost a lot of money while sleeping.
Mostly caused due to excessive stress, trauma, anxiety, or continued sleed deprivation, there are several symptoms that families should look out. The symptoms include: waking up confused, not remembering certain activities after waking up, having difficulty in sleeping throughout the night, feeling daytime sleepiness, and so on.
If you have any of these symptoms or experiencing the same for any family members, do consult with an expert.
Fortunately, you can get advice from sleep doctors to improve your sleeping patterns. Usually, the experts explore the underlying causes and formulate the best treatment ways. Generally, it includes regular exercise, healthy diet, yoga, embracing positive thoughts, hot bath before sleep, listening to sleep-inducing music and so on. By making some effective change in the lifestyle, the problem can be reversed.
Always remember, Parasomnia is a serious medical condition. People are not suffering from it intentionally. Caregivers need to be patient enough while staying with such patients. The patient needs love, care and support. The caregivers must ensure proper dose of medication, caffeine intake, and maintaining a proper sleep routine.
The founder of the New Zealand-wide Sleep Well Clinic, Dr Alex Bartle said: “They tend to happen in the first part of the night when you're in your non-REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. When you're in REM sleep at the end of the night you're paralysed, so you're not going to be able to do all these things.”
While parasomnias don't get the required restful sleep, this behavior might also affect the sleep of other people in the house.
Parasomnia can make quality sleep affected in a worst way. Sometimes, it can enhance the risks of accidents and other health problems. However, parasomnia can treated effectively with lot of care.
