Sleep Walking and Talking

I know that for a good part of my life, I have been an active sleeper. When I was younger I was told stories of times that I was found eating ice cream while asleep (was I asleep or just hungry?), walking up and down the stairs, preparing for soccer practice, and having long chats with my dad in the morning. Then my sleep walking went into a bit of a dormant phase. I seemed to keep pretty quiet through college and no one ever mentioned me wandering around at all hours or chatting about nonsense in my sleep.

This has drastically changed in the last 2 years. What else has changed? Oh yes, I got married and changed countries. I think this means I can blame Paul...

In case you haven't been around to enjoy some of the insane stories of my sleepwalking, let me summarize some of my best moments:

1) Paul woke me from sleeping on the couch (such a bad idea, never wake a sleeping tiger). He told me it was time to go to bed and boy was I grumpy. When I got to the bedroom I started yelling at him because he hadn't vacuumed the bed. He tried to play along and gently suggested I brush my teeth. I angrily responded that I couldn't do that. And why not, you ask? Because my toothbrush was busy. I think I eventually went to sleep with a very grumpy face, and the next morning couldn't remember a thing.

2) While sleeping in a hotel room in Ireland, my friends decided I should change rooms for the night. They came in, apologized, and took me to a different room. I apparently responded, "No problem, just get me to a bed." The next morning was very confusing when I couldn't remember why I was somewhere else. 

3) While sleeping at a hotel for my friend Tiffany's bachelorette party before her wedding, I let myself out of one hotel room, use the key card to access the elevator, went to our other room, took one chip from a bad, said "shhhh, sorry", then found my way back to my room. What the heck was I doing?

4) More recently, I was sleeping in bed and in my dream thought I saw an "ember". This "ember" turned out to be a light on our radio. I thought it might turn into a fire! I got myself out of bed and headed to the other side of the room. I turned on all the main lights to the room, waking myself (and Paul) in the process. I was standing there in complete shock and Paul yelled a few inappropriate phrases. I have to tell you it is really jarring to wake up standing up.

5) Finally (and this isn't just one instance) I talk in my sleep pretty much all time. Any time Paul comes to bed after I've been asleep for a while. We have long conversations, sometimes nonsensical. Sometimes he thinks I'm awake, and who can blame him? My eyes are wide open and I'm an active participant in these discussions. Then, I get to hear all about it the next day. I tell him to stop talking to me when I'm asleep, and he tells me to stop having my eyes open and looking awake. Touché.

Anyone else have this weird, never ending, sleep movement? Most the time I think it's hilarious, but sometimes I wonder if I'm missing out on a lot of great sleep. Who knows what adventures tonight might bring!