Sleep walking /Talking / Playing Out Nightmares

[WorldWanderer]

So hey! Been a while since i posted, things have been fairly steady, but i kinda need to leap into the fountain of knowledge for some help.
I've always been a hectic sleeper, as a child i'd sleep walk, talk and so on, that sort of phased out as i've gotten older, but i have always been a very twitchy / fidgety sleeper. I jerk when falling asleep, have spasms in the night and full body tensing, teeth grinding. The fidgety stuff and mumbling etc is very well managed by my better half, so is the jerks and spasms, he generally calms me back down and sooths me without issues.
I also wake up mid sleep / awake and things like shadows in the room look like something else eg dressing gown on the back of the bedroom door looks like a person and causes me to panic. I can't always move or make a sound during this, but i realise it's not accurate and with practice i've gotten to a point where i notice it's not real and can self sooth and wake up properly. I've seen all sorts of scary things in this state, but i've learned to work with it.
Recently i've found that i'm back to full on sleep walking, talking, acting out what i'm dreaming / nightmaring. It's almost like i'm reliving in my head, but physically dong it too. Like the nightmares are physical now too? I wake up in the night and my entire body is tensed, painfully so, but i can't move.
I don't even have to have gone to bed, i can doze off watching a film on the sofa and the same stuff happens.
Any tips on managing this?

 

[Friday]

Any tips on managing this?

Book a sleep study, so you can start working with a sleep specialist -or- new patient appointment with a sleep specialist (who will then order a sleep study). Which comes first depends on what country you’re in.

Sleep specialists are super cool doctors as a breed. Sleep clinics aren’t just docs, though, but are usually composed of docs/nurses, & PsyDs/therapists specialising in parasomnias, as well as dieticians, speech pathologists, & other useful people. The first step (after testing) is almost never medication, but patient education, coping strategies, tips/tricks, support.

ETA… My personal best “Down Girl!” If I start acting out my nightmares is an external cheat. A 5 point racing harness, in a bucket seat, that I bring indoors. (Or if I’m sleeping in my jeep, rather than bringing the seat inside? Do NOT bring the keys in with me, but hide them inside) It’s been years and years since I’ve had to resort to it, but it’s something I keep in my back pocket if/when things get bad, again.