There is an endless supply of stories about sleepwalkers. Persons have been said to climb on roofs， solve mathematical problems， compose music， walk through windows， and commit murder in their sleep.
In Revere， Massachusetts， a hundred policemen searched for a lost boy who left his home in his sleep and woke up five hours later on a strange sofa in a strange living room， with no idea how he had got there.
At the University of Iowa， a student was reported to have the habit of getting up in the middle of the night and walking three-quarters of a mile to the Iowa River. He would take a swim and then go back to his room to bed.
An expert on sleep in America claims that he has never seen a sleepwalker. He is said to know more about sleep than any other living man， and during the last thirty-five years has lost a lot of sleep watching people sleep. Says he， “of course， I know that there are sleepwalkers because I have read about them in the newspapers. But none of my sleepers ever walked， and if I were to advertise for sleepwalkers for an experiment. I doubt that I’d get many takers.”
Sleepwalking， nevertheless， is a scientific reality. It is one of those strange phenomena① that sometimes border on the fantastic. What is certain about sleepwalking is that it is a symptom of emotional disturbance②， and that the only way to cure it is to remove the worries and anxieties that cause it. Doctors say that sleepwalking is much more common than is generally supposed. Many sleepwalkers do not seek help and so are never put on record， which means that an accurate count can never be made.
The question is： Is the sleepwalker actually awake or asleep？ Scientists have decided that he is about half-and-half. Dr. Zelda Teplitz， who made a ten-year study of the subject， says， “The sleepwalker is awake in the muscular area， partially asleep in the sensory③ area.” In other words， a person can walk in his sleep， move around， and do other things， but he does not think about what he is doing.
What are the chances of a sleepwalker committing a murder or doing something else extraordinary in his sleep？ Dr. Teplitz says， “Most people have such great inhibitions against murder or violence that they would awaken if someone didn’t wake them up.” In general， authorities on sleepwalking agree with her. They think that people will not do anything in their sleep that is against their own moral standard. As for the publicized cases， Dr. Teplitz points out， “Sleepwalking itself is dramatic， sleepwalkers can always find an audience. I think that some of their tall tales get exaggerated in the telling.” In her own records of case histories， there is not one sleepwalker who ever got beyond his own front door.
To protect themselves， some sleepwalkers have been known to tie themselves in bed， lock their doors， hide the keys， bolt the window， and take all sorts of measures to wake themselves if they should get out of bed. Curiously enough， they have an unusual way of avoiding their own traps when they sleepwalk， so none of their tricks seem to work very well. Some sleepwalkers talk in their sleep loudly enough to wake someone else in the family who can then shake them back to their senses.
Children who walk in their sleep usually outgrow the habit. In many adults， too， the condition is more or less temporary④. If it happens often， however， the sleepwalker should seek help. Although sleepwalking itself is nothing to become alarmed about， the problems that cause the sleepwalking may be very serious.
① phenomena(phenomenon的复数) n. 现象；稀有的事，奇迹
② disturbancen. 扰乱；打扰；骚扰，混乱；不安；烦恼；忧虑
③ sensoryadj. 知觉的；感觉的；感觉中枢的
④ temporaryadj. 临时的；暂时的，一时的 n. 临时事物；临时房屋
梦游
关于梦游的人，有说不完的事：据说有些人在梦游中爬上了屋顶、解出了一些数学题、作了曲，从窗户走出去了，杀了人。
在美国马萨诸塞州的里维尔市，一百名警察在搜找一个失踪了的男孩，这个男孩在睡眠中离开了家，5个小时以后在一间陌生的客厅中的一个陌生的长沙发上醒来了，他竟然一点也不知道他是怎么到了那儿。
在美国艾奥瓦州立大学，据报导说，有个学生有个习惯，老是在半夜里起床然后步行0.75英里路走到艾奥瓦河，他习惯于游一会泳，然后才回到他的房间上床就寝。
美国有位研究睡眠问题的专家说，他从来也没见过正在梦游的人。据说他在睡眠问题方面的知识在世界上比任何人都懂得多，据说最近35年他放弃了很多睡眠时间去观察人们的睡眠状况。他说，“当然，我知道有些人会梦游，因为我在报纸上看到过。但是我所观察过的睡眠中的人没有任何人会在睡眠中起来走路，倘使我真的登广告招聘有梦游经历的人前来参加我的实验的话，我看我就未必能招聘到很多人来参加实验。”
然而，从科学的角度讲，梦游确是真有其事的。梦游是那种有时近似于奇异怪诞的不可思议的现象之一。关于梦游症所能肯定的两点就是梦游是情绪紊乱的一种症状，要治好梦游症的唯一的办法就是去掉导致焦虑和担忧的病因。医生们都说，梦游症要比人们通常认为的情况更加普遍得多。许多梦游症患者不前来就医，因而也就永远也不能记录在案，这就意味着永远也没办法作出精确的统计。
问题是：正在梦游的人是清醒的呢，还是依然在睡梦中？科学家们断定梦游患者是处于半醒半睡的状态中。泽尔达·泰普丽兹医生对梦游这一课题进行了十年的仔细观察和研究之后说，“梦游的人控制肌肉的那一部分大脑是清醒的，而控制感官的那一部分仍在睡梦中。”换句话说，一个人可以在睡梦中走路，到处乱走，或作其他一些事情，但这个人并没仔细考虑过他或她在干什么。
一个在睡梦中正在梦游的人干出杀人或某种别的令人震惊的事是可能性有多大？泰普丽兹医生说：“大多数人都有非常强大的抑制去伤人或去从事暴行的能力，以致如果别人若不把他们唤醒的话，他们自己也会醒来。”一般来讲，研究梦游问题的一些学术权威都同意她的说法。他们认为人们在睡梦中不会干出任何违背他们自己的道德准则的事情来。至于谈到传闻中那些梦游的故事，泰普丽兹医生指出：“梦游本身就是带有戏剧色彩的事情，总会有些听众愿意去听梦游者的故事。我认为他们的一些本来就是言过其实的故事在传讲的过程中被添枝加叶地夸大了。”在她记录的病例档案中，没有任何一个在梦游的人曾经走出过自己家的前门。
众所周知，有些患有梦游症的人，为了保护自己把自己捆绑在床上，锁上自己的门，把钥匙藏起来，把窗户都栓死，若是万一自己起了床去梦游，他们采取了各种各样的措施以便把自己弄清醒过来。说来这事也真够怪的，在他们起来梦游时，总能用一些不一般的手段避开自己清醒时所设下的那些防范的措施，所以他们那些防范的招数都不能很好地起作用。有些患梦游症的人在梦游时会大声说话，以便把家庭中其他人吵醒，然后让家人把他们摇回清醒状态。
凡是患有梦游症的儿童长大以后通常都能改掉梦游的习惯。许多成年人也会改掉梦游的习惯，梦游的状态多多少少都具有暂时性。可是，如果经常发生梦游，那梦游患者就该去就医。尽管梦游这种现象本身根本就不值得大惊小怪的，但是导致梦游的种种问题却很可能是非常严重的。
