For the past week, my brother(which is 10 years old) has been having what I call, sleeping attacks. He'd go to sleep at his regular time and then a half an hour later he would run around the house screaming, moaning and saying the most weirdest things such as "help me, please don't do this!" "I'm gonna die!", "the company bounced back!", "I don't want there to be four!" etc. I'm guessing all those weird things he says are from what he is dreaming, but the weird thing is, if I talk to him he answers properly and he can count the number of fingers on my hand. But then other times he continues to panick for no reason and seems as if he can't hear me. When this happens, he is sweating, shaking, gagging(which really scares me) and mentions that he wants to faint. He is like half dreaming and half awake, but also panicking and not knowing what to do with himself
After about 20 mins he would eventually go back to sleep feeling fine. And in the morning I would ask him about what happened and he would either say "I can't remember" or "I don't know what happened" and he did not remember himself gagging even though it was very clear of me to see.
I'm not sure what to do, he's fine during the day and everyday this week this has happened and its really started to scare me
Should I get my brother checked out to see a doctor or someone that specializes with sleeping? Does anyone have any idea of what my brother is going through and if this is normal or not? Has this happened to you or anyone you know, if so what did you do about it?
Thanks!
-Cassandra.

He is probably sleep walking. Pesons who sleep walk can interact with total and perfect clarity with other persons who can do not know they are sleep walking. The dangerous thing is that they can do things like drive and use knives, cook and many other things.

One of my friends and co-workers who is an RN has bee sleep walking for the better part of 40 years.

Do NOT attempt to wake your brother, allow him to do his thing.

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"Do NOT attempt to wake your brother, allow him to do his thing."

Not only is there little danger in awakening a sleepwalker, there is danger in allowing one to "do his own thing." Ideally, sleepwalkers should be guided back to their own beds. However, if that isn't possible, gently waking them will usually end the episode. Care must be taken, however, because the sleepwalker will be disoriented when first awakened. This is preferable to allowing them to walk around, not really seeing and not really knowing what they are doing. There is at least one documented case of a sleepwalker killing someone while asleep, and many cases of sleepwalkers harming themselves. One recently was found on top of a construction crane, sound asleep. Sleep walkers often fall, bump into things (which could break bones), and can place themselves in dangerous situations.

I have cooked, walked around, showered, shaved, gotten dressed, and driven while sleepwalking. (Yes, I am very lucky not to have killed someone or myself.) I often carried on a conversation with those present. (Or so I am told.) My son also used to sleepwalk. Both of us seem to have "grown out of it."

I'm a sleep walker... it can be dangerous. Best thing is to lead the sleep walker back to bed. It's usually pretty easy because the slightest amount of confusion is exhausting to the sleep walker. Fortunately I'm usually just a funny sleep walker but once I ended up locked out on the street in the middle of the night and I had to throw rocks at my roommates window to get let in... for some reason ideas like ringing the door bell don't occur to me when I'm sleep walking. I would not have known about the incident at all if my roommate had not commented on letting me in a week later.

It sounds like your brother has something serious going on and it wouldn't be a bad idea to contact a doctor. Having sleep walking/talking happen every night all the sudden is quite odd in my opinion. I have had to have EEG's done while I sleep a couple times in my life due to my sleep walking/talking and night terrors. I don't know exactly why I had to have EEG's but I know one thing they were checking for was epilepsy. It wouldn't hurt for your brother to be checked out.

I have observed some serious violence done to persons who have woken a sleep walking person. You can monitor a person and try to redirect them and, if necessary to prevent injury, actually stop them, but to waken them... it isn't recommended.

Of COURSE, I am not advocating ignoring very dangerous or illegal behavior. I am talking about the more mild behaviors.

What about the dreams? They're full of anxiety. Everyone has nightmares once and a while, but these seem extreme.

There is a myth that it is dangerous to wake a sleepwalker. This is not true. It may be difficult to wake a sleepwalker, but it is not dangerous. - University of Iowa Health Care

A common myth surrounding this disorder is that one should never wake sleepwalkers while they are engaged in the activity. In truth, there is no implicit danger in waking sleepwalkers, though the subjects may be disoriented or embarrassed when awakened. The danger lies not in the fact that something might happen to the sleepwalker, but to the individual doing the waking, as occasionally the sleepwalkers get aggressive when interrupted. Although the majority of the time, nothing happens, it is not unheard of for assaults or even homicide to occur (though the latter is extremely rare). However sleepwalkers are much more likely to endanger themselves than anyone else. - Wikipedia.org

Although it's more than a bit starting when you first see your child sleepwalk, there's no reason to be overly concerned, says Dr. Gerald Rosen, a sleep specialist with the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center a Hennepin Medical Center in Minneapolis. Sleepwalking is not considered a disease nor is it a sign of mental illness. "The only reason to be alarmed is that kids can put themselves in harm's way," he says.

It's a myth that waking a sleepwalker is dangerous, but she may become confused of frightened if you jolt her back to reality. - Better Homes & Gardens, Jan, 2004

Here are some common and not-so-common myths -- and the truth behind them, according to CNN.com.

Myth 1: It's dangerous to wake up a sleepwalker.
Fact: Actually, it's just the opposite. Waking a sleepwalker isn't harmful, but not waking one can be, says Dr. Jay Brooks of the Ochsner Clinic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Many sleepwalkers cause injury to themselves by running into walls or objects -- or yes, cars. "If a person is sleepwalking and is going to hurt him or herself you certainly want to wake them up," says Brooks. Just be gentle and then lead him or her back to bed. - LifeStyles

Sleepwalking typically will occur during the first few hours of sleep when the person is in the deepest stages of sleep (Stages 3 and 4). Because it occurs when people are in this very deep point in sleep, it is difficult to awaken a person at this time, athough, despite the myth, this is not a dangerous thing to do. -
Chapter 2 of Sleep Better! A Guide to Improving Sleep for Children with Special Needs, by V. Mark Durand, Ph.D.

I was at a seminar two weekends ago and we covered sleepwalking a little. I myself am not a professional, however, the psychotherapist that taught the seminar did say that sleepwalking is most common in children and they usually grow out of it. She also said that the popular myth that you should not wake someone that is sleepwalking is not true. She said that you should gently wake the person and escort them back to their bed. If you do have stairs or something of that nature as to cause immediate danger then you should block of these areas using doors and blocking out these areas with creative ideas. - SleepNet.com

Norman Swan: Two things that people often say, or wonder, about that situation. One is whether people can do themselves harm. In other words, are you awake enough to be able to protect yourself against falling off the precipice or falling down the stairs? And the second one is that you never wake somebody up in that situation.

Mark Mahowald: Okay, I'll take the second one first. That comes from an old myth, from primitive cultures. Many primitive cultures felt that during sleep our soul left the body. And the reason for not awakening a sleepwalker would be that that individual would then be a body without a soul. And that obviously is without basis in reality.

The other issue, of injuring oneself during sleepwalking or sleep terrors, is a very real one. It's uncommon - and I think people should realise that almost all children have sleepwalking, and it shouldn't be felt that they have psychiatric or psychological problems and they just need reassurance that this is part of the human condition. Many, many people sleepwalk. However, some of them do perform acts that are injurious. We have people who have gone out of second storey windows as a consequence or as part of their sleepwalking. We've had people drive automobiles in their sleep... - The Health Report, abc.net.au

It’s a common belief that you should not wake someone who's sleep-walking for fear of startling them to the point of a heart attack. Is this true? (And what causes sleepwalking anyway?)

This week's medical mystery asks if waking a sleepwalker can give him a heart attack.

According to sleep experts, it's highly unlikely that waking a sleep walker can startle him into cardiac arrest. - Indiana University School of Medicine

A common myth surrounding this disorder is that one should never wake a sleepwalker while they are engaged in the activity, Exception Handler: No article summary found.In truth, Exception Handler: No article summary found.there is no implicit danger in waking a sleepwalker, Exception Handler: No article summary found.though the subject may be disoriented or embarrassed when awakened, Exception Handler: No article summary found.In fact, Exception Handler: No article summary found.in some situations such as when the sleepwalker is a danger to themselves or others, Exception Handler: No article summary found.for example, Exception Handler: No article summary found.going up or down steps, Exception Handler: No article summary found.trying to use a stove or a knife, Exception Handler: No article summary found.etc, Exception Handler: No article summary found.it is better to risk mythical danger from waking them than to let them hurt themselves. - AbsoluteAstronomyReference

It is a common misconception that a sleepwalker should not be awakened. In fact, it can be quite dangerous not to wake a sleepwalker. - SleepFoundation.org

Last night my husband told me I was nuts in his sleep. We have lots of conversations while he's asleep. Once he got all worked up because "they're only flat on the bottom." What are, you ask? "The tires!!" Well, he was right.
A co-worker of mine's husband has cleaned their gutters while sleepwalking. Now that's scary stuff. They ended up getting an alarm that goes off if he gets out of bed, and wakes him up before he can get anywhere. That might be an idea for you...