Do sleepwalking and sleep talking creep you out?

I was known to sleepwalk frequently as a kid, though I don't believe I've ever seen someone else do it. What I have witnessed are people like my wife talking in their sleep.

I find it creepy when people do normal things in their sleep -- talk about their job, throw something in the garbage -- that give others the impression they're wide awake when they're really not. These people later have no recollection of what they did or said.

I've always viewed this as one's mind and body operating on their own -- outside of conscious awareness. I've always heard the worst thing you can do to a sleep talker or sleep walker is alarm or upset them.

It's scary to think that people might open the front door and sleep walk their way out of the house and into oncoming traffic. Even if they don't leave the house, they could still sustain injuries by bumping into a wall or falling down a flight of stairs. I think it's crucial to have safeguards in place (e.g. extra locks on doors) in the event that you live with a chronic sleep walker.

As for sleep talkers, always take what they say with a grain of salt; they're likely to mumble things that don't make much sense. For example, if you witness your partner say "I cheated," don't freak out. The person could merely be having a dream in which he or she cheated, but that doesn't mean it really happened.

Does watching someone sleepwalk/sleep talk give you the heebie-jeebies?

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