Sleep Walking .......... Now Sleep Eating???

[Guest guest]

Courtesy the Cleveland Clinic:

" Typically, when most folks call it a night, they lock the doors,

turn off the lights, and get ready for bed. But in some rare cases, a

few extra precautions--such as padlocking the refrigerators and

kitchen cabinets--are required. Why? The need for the additional

deterrents is due to " sleep-related eating disorder, " a condition

that causes sufferers to get up in the middle of the night and

sleepwalk to the kitchen where they consume a late-night " snack. "

These snacks are typically high-carbohydrate and high-calorie foods

and can be as unusual as whole sticks of butter and brownie batter.

Afterwards, the sleepwalker will go back to bed and remember very

little or nothing about their nocturnal feast.

" Most patients only become aware that something is happening because

a family member caught them eating in the night, or they find crumbs

and dirty dishes sitting out the next morning, " says Foldvary-

Schaefer, D.O., Head of the Section of Sleep Medicine. " Others gain

weight or develop Type 2 diabetes because of all the high-caloric

foods they have consumed.

" A patient of mine presented after a 20-pound weight gain over three

years with borderline diabetes, " recalls Dr. Foldvary-Schaefer. " Her

family reported she went to the kitchen three or four times a night

and ate things like chocolate, cheese and cereal, all while

asleep. .......................... "

Excerpted from:

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/healthextra/default.asp?index=12125

Rodney.