42 years old Essex resident Kelly suffered from sleepwalking for many years, but at one point harmless night walks turned into serious financial problems for her. A woman made online purchases in her sleep without realizing her actions, which led to the accumulation of huge debts. This is reported by gazeta.ru with reference to the Daily Mail.
Kelly's first signs of sleepwalking appeared in 2006, after the birth of her first child. Kelly began shopping in her sleep. She woke up one day to find she had ordered a 100 pounds sterling “ground basketball set-up”. Other questionable purchases included Haribo sweets, paint cans, self-help books, cookware sets, playhouses, refrigerators and even tables.
Without realizing her actions, Kelly also gave her personal details to the scammers, resulting in her losing 250 pounds sterling.
“I accumulated debts everywhere. I have had to cancel cards several times and many people have tried to withdraw money from my account. It’s very frustrating and annoying to go to bed thinking: “I don’t know what this night will lead to”, - Kelly says bitterly.
In 2018, she was diagnosed with parasomnia, a rare sleep disorder involving abnormal movements, actions and speech during sleep. The doctor suggested that the cause of the disorder was stress caused by the birth of three disabled children.
Over time, Kelly's sleepwalking became so severe that she required hospitalization. Doctors prescribed her a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine to treat obstructive sleep apnea, which is believed to be the cause of the night awakenings.
Kelly is now learning to live with the characteristics of her disorder and trying to focus on caring for her children.