The Crazy Story of Sleepwalking K*ller | Dhruv Rathee

Hello friends. On 24th May 1987, a 23 year old man in Canada, Kenneth Parks, was sleeping on his sofa in the middle of the night. He had lost all his money in horse racing. He was completely in debt.

And he had lost his job too. A few hours ago, he had watched Saturday Night Live on TV and slept. The next day, he had planned to wake up in the morning and go to his in-laws' house to ask for money. But before dawn, at around 1.30 am, he suddenly gets up from his sofa and gets into his car. In the middle of the night, he drives 22 km on the highway and reaches his in-laws' house.

He also had a key to the house, which he used to open the gate and enter. Here, he kills his mother-in-law and severely injures his father-in-law. Not only that, he reaches the police station state of blood and reaches the police station. He goes straight to the police and tells them that he has killed two people. He had deep wounds on his hands but he was not in pain. He also told them where he had kept his murder weapon, a knife, while going to the hospital.

But the strangest thing in this story is that Kenneth Parks had no reason to kill his in-laws. During the trial, everyone was shocked to hear what his lawyers said. They said that Kenneth Parks committed this crime while sleeping. He was not conscious, so he should not be punished. Because Kenneth Parks was sleeping here. Was Kenneth Parks really sleepwalking?

Is it possible for someone to do all this while sleeping? If someone does this while sleepwalking, is he considered responsible for it or not? And the biggest question, friends, how do some people behave like this while sleeping? What is the science behind it?

Let's understand the mystery of sleepwalking in today's video. Before starting the video, I would like to tell you that there is a Diwali sale going on at Dhruv Rathee Academy. On all my courses, flat 50% off. That means my time management course, where you will learn to maximize productivity and happiness.

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Sleepwalking is medically called Somnambulism. It is a type of sleep disorder that occurs during non-REM sleep. Actually, the sleep in humans is broadly divided into two parts. One is Rapid Eye Movement Sleep, also known as REM sleep. And the other is Non-Rapid Eye Movement, also known as REM sleep, and Non-Rapid Eye Movement, or NREM sleep. As you can understand from their name, when we sleep in REM sleep, our eyes rapidly move.

Our eyes are closed, but our eyeballs move rapidly. And this is not the case in NREM sleep. So, first of all, when we go to sleep at night, we enter NREM sleep. NREM sleep has three different stages. In the first stage, we start to feel slightly sleepy and the ability to react to any sound or external activity decreases.

Then, the sleep gradually becomes deeper and NREM stage 3 is the deepest sleep. In this stage, it is very difficult to wake up a sleeping person. And even if you wake him up, he starts feeling confused and disoriented. Then, after the three stages of NREM, the person enters REM sleep and dreams come to this stage.

At this stage, our heart rate increases and the brain becomes relatively more active. Our brain starts working to consolidate memories and process emotions. This is the reason behind the dream coming. By the way, the dream coming is a very detailed and different topic. We will discuss it in another video. But let's talk about sleepwalking.

Sleepwalking is not in REM stage. Sleepwalking is the deepest sleep in stage 3 of NREM. A person who is walking in his sleep, his eyes might be open and he is reacting to the events around him. Some people might think that he is awake, he is conscious. But in reality, all his sensory perceptions are almost closed.

That means his eyes are open but he won't be able to see, smell or hear things. He can escape from things because of his habit and he can escape from things on the way. But in reality, he is not able to understand anything. Usually, sleepwalkers have their eyes facing up and inward. And they have a blank expression on their face. And the most important thing is that

the incident during sleepwalking is not remembered after waking up. If a person is awakened during sleepwalking, he remains confused and disoriented for a while. The same thing happens when you awaken someone in stage 3 sleep of NREM. Now, what happens with humans is that we sleep in sleep cycles.

In one sleep cycle, these four sleep stages come one after the other. N1, N2, N3, REM sleep, and then again N1. One sleep cycle goes on for 90 minutes to 110 minutes. When you go to sleep, in the first half of the night, the N3 part is relatively bigger in a sleep cycle.

And as the morning approaches, the REM sleep cycle part increases. To wake up in the morning, it is most comfortable when you wake up in the N1 part. If you wake up in the N1 part, you will feel in N1. In N1, if you wake up, you'll feel fresh and energetic.

But if you wake up in N3, you'll feel sleepy and drowsy. That's why you must have seen advice on social media that you should sleep at night for 7.5 or 9 hours. Because it's the end of the sleep cycle.

Because it's assumed that the sleep cycle is 1.5 hours. But in reality, it depends on the person how long the sleep cycle is. You have to see it yourself how many hours you feel fresh after sleeping.

You can guess from that whether you wake up in N1 sleep or in some other stage of sleep. If we come back to sleepwalking, the episodes of sleepwalking can be from a few minutes to many hours.

The frequency is also different. If we come back to painting, sleepwalking episodes can be from a few minutes to several hours. The frequency is also different. Some people get an episode once a month, some get several episodes in a week. The most amazing thing here is what some people do while sleepwalking. Like British-Australian artist Lee Hadwin. This guy can paint while sleepwalking.

I'm not kidding, this is a true story. When he was 15, he painted three famous Hollywood actresses while sleeping. And the strangest thing is that he can't paint while he's conscious.

He can only paint while he's asleep. is expressing this by creating artwork. It's just a really nice manifestation of what his more emotional system is doing when it's not inhibited by these frontal areas.

In the same way, in Scotland, a case of Robert Wood was seen. Who wakes up at night and starts cooking. While sleeping, he prepares dishes like omelette and pasta. Because of which he is called the sleepwalking chef. Talking about some famous Indian examples,

cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was also used to sleepwalking in the beginning of his career. Sourav Ganguly had said in an interview that in the 1990s, when he was a roommate in England, Sachin would wake up at 1.30 am and roam aimlessly in the first room.

Then sit on the chair.

We were both roommates in England. One night, I saw this guy walking around

and sitting on the chair. When Ganguly asked Sachin why he did this, he replied that he has a habit of walking in his sleep.

The next day, I told him, you're scaring me. What are you doing? No, I walk in my sleep at night.

He had this habit of walking in his walk at night. He was used to walking at night. But the unfortunate thing is that not everyone is so creative or harmless in sleepwalking. Many times people become violent and commit crimes. Like the case of Kenneth Parks in Canada. I'll talk about it in the next video. But first, let's know why sleepwalking is a thing.

There are many rumours about sleepwalking in India. Some say it's a ghost, some say it's a memory of past life. But the truth is that it has nothing to do with ghosts, past life, spirits. Sleepwalking is a purely neurological phenomenon.

It happens due to the incomplete awakening of the brain. That is, some awakening of the brain. That is, some part of the human brain is asleep and some part is awake. The exact reasoning behind this is not clear. But according to the latest scientific research, when the body is preparing to go into deep sleep,

when the N3 is preparing to go into sleep stage, then something happens that the transition is not smooth. The processes of deep sleep and awakening overlap. When someone sleeps, the part of the brain that controls the movement awakens. But the part that controls the consciousness remains asleep. This is why it is possible to do motor activities while sleeping.

People can walk, sit, stand, and some can even drive, cook and paint. This is possible because even without the involvement of higher neural structures, parts like brainstem and cerebellum can control complex emotional and motor behaviours. Our body's autonomic nervous system, you must have read about it in school, keeps breathing without our conscious will. It controls physiological functions like heart rate and digestion.

Our body doesn't need to think to do all these things. This autonomic nervous system has two branches. One is the sympathetic branch which monitors fight or flight responses. It controls the responses during a threat. And the other is the parasympathetic branch which controls the rest and digest responses.

In sleepwalkers, there was an interesting discovery about this autonomic nervous system in 2021. This research found that in sleepwalkers, during N3 sleep, the sympathetic branch is less active and the parasympathetic branch is elevated.

That is, the rest and digest responses are more activated and the fight and flight responses are less. This was a very surprising discovery because it was believed that deep sleep of sleepwalkers would have less rest and digest responses and more fight and flight responses.

And that's why they were sleepwalking. But the latest research showed the exact opposite. According to some recent studies, sleepwalking in older adults can be a sign of neurodegenerative diseases like dementia or Parkinson's disease or cognitive decline.

Another common myth here is that people who sleepwalk walk with their hands raised like zombies. But in reality sleepwalkers walk like zombies. But it's not true. Another misconception is that if sleepwalkers are awakened, they can get a heart attack or go into a coma.

It's not true but as I said, it's better not to wake them up. Because they'll feel confused and disoriented. Another question is how the people in the world have this sleep disorder? According to this meta-analysis, 6.9% of the people in their life

will sleepwalk at least once in their life. Sleepwalking is the most common among children. Sleepwalking episodes are seen the most in males between 7-15 years of age. But fortunately, in most cases, they stop when they grow up.

When kids are sleepwalking, they generally look calmer or more relaxed. But in adults, sleepwalkers make very quick movements. As if they are in a hurry. They start walking or sitting somewhere in a hurry.

Sometimes, they make very weird movements. Which can even for some people. We don't know the exact reason why there is such a difference between kids and adults. Scientists are still trying to find the reason. Whether you can sleepwalk or not,

genetics plays a big role in this. According to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, the kids whose parents have a parent's sleepwalking history, have a 47.4% chance of sleepwalking. But if both the parents have a sleepwalking history, the chances of children increasing is 61.5%.

Whereas, the chances of sleepwalking in children who have no sleepwalking in their parents is only 22.5%. Researchers have found a genetic locus of chromosome 20Q12-13.12 which can play a role in parents inheriting sleepwalking disorder in their children. But apart from genetics, there are many other things

that can trigger sleepwalking episodes in susceptible people. Like the first and the biggest reason, sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep. The body needs sufficient slow-wave sleep to wake up properly. But when sleep is not properly achieved,

the chances of a person's partial awakening and sleepwalking increase. The brain is stuck in deep sleep for a long time to achieve its sleep. And it can't smoothly transition to the next stage. Second, there can be episodes of sleepwalking due to stress. Third, obstructive sleep apnea is another important factor. It is a breathing disorder.

In which, while sleeping, the breathing can stop for a short period. If someone has severe obstructive sleep apnea, then the chances of sleepwalking increases. Fourth, medications like sedatives, antidepressants and antipsychotics, which are often given to treat heart diseases and anxiety, also increase the risk of sleepwalking. On the other hand, if you look at children, fever or any other disease can be a common trigger. Children suffering from asthma are more likely to see more cases of sleepwalking.

Asthma does not help them sleep, which triggers sleepwalking in children. But now, friends, let's come back to the first story of our video. The question is, if a person commits a crime while sleepwalking, will he be considered a criminal? This whole thing is a very big legal minefield. Because two things are important in criminal law. One, the crime that has been committed.

And the second is intent, which means a guilty mind. To be convicted for a crime, it is not necessary for a person to commit a crime alone, but the intent has to be proven as well. Why did that person want to do it? What was the reason behind this crime? And in the case of the sleepwalkers,

the body is committing the crime, but their mind is not involved in it. Meaning, the crime has happened, but there is no intent. In the case of Kenneth Parks, his lawyers presented the same argument in court. That Kenneth cannot be held responsible for a crime because he did not do it of his own will.

His body has committed the crime but his mind is not guilty. This was also testified by medical experts that Kenneth was sleepwalking during the crime. And for this reason, the jury acquitted Parks. He was not found guilty. This case became a landmark case for sleepwalking defence in the world. But the important thing to tell here is that

sleepwalking defence is not always successful. Because anyone can escape by showing the history of sleepwalking and committing a crime. In such cases, everything depends on how much the judge and jury believe in the stories of sleepwalkers. Usually, the courts are very skeptical about the defense of sleepwalking.

Because they know that many criminals will try to use this excuse to save themselves. Once a judge called it a quagmire of law. For this reason, the defense of sleepwalking

has been very controversial in the courts. In 1997, a man named Scott Fletcher killed his wife at home.

Yarmuloff later had 44 stab wounds.

He said in his defense that he was sleepwalking.

The defense tried to say that this was not Scott Fletcher acting consciously, that this was a monster.

Two experts testified that Scott was sleepwalking.

Have you reached an opinion regarding whether he was sleepwalking?

It's my strong belief that that was the case.

Do you have an opinion whether Scott Flaher was in a sleepwalking state when he stabbed his wife?

In my opinion, he was.

But after hearing all the arguments in the court, the jury didn't believe him. The murder weapon was a hunting-style knife. It was found in the spare tyre storage area of his car. It was believed that he had tried to hide his murder weapon. After this incident, Scott had also kept his clothes in a plastic bag.

And he had also hidden them and worn his pyjamas. His neighbor Greg also told the court that he had worn gloves before drowning his wife in the pool. Apart from this, it was also seen in the story that it is very unusual for a sleepwalker to do so much in just one episode. His actions were very long and very purposeful.

It's clearly impossible on the second episode of violence.

Because of which the jury did not believe that he was sleepwalking. And he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

It is ordered that the defendant be sentenced to serve the remainder of his natural life in the Department of Corrections.

In the legal history of India, the oldest and most important case of sleepwalking is of Papathi Amal. She was a young mother who had given birth to a child a few days earlier. But on the night of 28th October, 1957, she jumped into a well with her child. She was saved but her child drowned and died. The police charged Papathi with murder. But his lawyers said that he was used to sleeping.

And she jumped into the well with her child in her sleep. Because she didn't know what she was doing, she shouldn't be punished. But when this argument was presented to the Sessions Court, the court rejected it and sentenced Papathi to life imprisonment. The court said that sleepwalking is not considered unsoundness of mind under section 84 of the Indian Penal Code. In response, Papathi's lawyers appealed in Madras High Court, which did not overturn their conviction

because there was no expert examination in this case. But a revolutionary decision was made. Madras High Court said that if it is proved that a person is really sleepwalking, then under Section 84, unsoundness of mind will be considered. This became a landmark case in the legal history of India. Because it was established that sleepwalking can be a valid legal defence. But here too, it depends on how much the judge believes in what you say.

Now, hurting others is one thing, but apart from this, sleepwalkers can also hurt themselves. While sleepwalking, people often bump into walls, furniture or big objects, and can get badly injured. The biggest danger is falling down the stairs or balcony.

Especially if there are no safety grills. In June 2024, a similar case happened in Mumbai. A 19-year-old boy living on the 6th floor of a high-rise building, Mustafa Ibrahim Chunawala, reached the balcony while sleeping. There was no safety grill on this balcony.

And that's why he fell down and died. The biggest danger is when people leave the house during sleepwalking and go into the traffic. Or start driving. For women, this becomes even more dangerous. If you know someone who often leaves the house during sleepwalking

then you shouldn't take this lightly. Securing the environment is the most important thing. There shouldn't be any sharp or dangerous object. It should be easily taken lightly. Securing the environment is the most important thing. No sharp or dangerous object should be there. It should be easily reachable. Safety gates should be installed on the stairs. And safety grills on the balconies.

The windows and doors should not only be locked but child-proof latches should be installed on them so that it becomes more difficult to open them. The best thing is that those who sleepwalk should try to sleep on the ground floor. For alerts, use door alarms or motion sensors. And lock medicines and other dangerous things in a safe place.

If we look at the data, 7% of the world's population experience sleepwalking at least once in their lifetime. In adults, 3-4% of the population sleepwalk regularly. And in children, this number is more, up to 15%. That means 15% of children in the world sleepwalk at least once in their childhood.

But the good news is that occasional sleepwalking is not a big problem. And most children have this problem when they grow up. If you are a parent and you've seen your child sleepwalking, the first thing you should do is to secure the environment. Make sure there are no sharp objects in the bedroom where the child sleeps. There should be nothing on the floor that could trip the child.

Always lock the doors and windows. And if the child is small, you can buy these guardrails to put them on the side of the bed. This is a very simple safety net that can be put on all three sides of the bed, under the mattress. You can find it online in many places. Secondly, if you see your child sleepwalking at night,

you don't need to wake him up. Just take him back to his bed and put him to sleep. If you need to talk, talk to him in a calm voice to put them to sleep. But try not to wake them up. Third, if you notice that your child is sleeping at a certain time every night, then gently wake them up 15 minutes before that time.

Doing this a few times will break the cycle. And if you are an adult who suffers from sleepwalking, then focus on the risk factors of sleepwalking. You will have to bring changes in your lifestyle. You'll have to improve your sleep hygiene. It's very important to maintain a consistent sleep schedule.

Sleep at the same time at night and wake up at the same time in the morning. Try to reduce the stress you're feeling in your daily life. You can also take therapy for this. And finally, remember that sleepwalking is not a supernatural phenomenon. It shows a fascinating side of the human brain. Even though science could not explain it in a complete way,

like other mysteries, it is also a scientific and biological phenomenon. And don't forget to take advantage of the Diwali sale. All courses have a flat 50% off, AI Fiesta Gyano subscription has a 41% off. The link is in the description. If you liked this video, you'll definitely like this one too. Because I've talked about ghosts.

What is the science behind ghosts? Do ghosts and witches really exist? You can click here to watch it. You can click here to watch it. Thank you very much.