IMPORTANT: was he sleep walking or no?

I think you should stop him from driving in his sleep, if that is the case…why don’t you just go check?

@deni I got him before he could even go in his car. He went to the bathroom on his own then I somewhat tucked him into bed.

Sure sounds like sleep walking to me!

During waking hours has he ever exhibited questionable behavior? If he hasn’t just let him know in the morning. If the answer is yes, put in a call to his doctor.

@zenvelo today he was totally fine. I’m just still worried because of how odd it was! Maybe that’s just me. I will definitely inform him in the morning. Thank you

Sounds like sleepwalking… if he routinely keeps his keys in one place, it might be a good idea to disrupt that, so he can’t find them while he’s asleep.

@glacial that sounds like a good idea to be extra safe for future times.

@kb12345 Does he take Ambien™ or any of the zolpidem based sleeping medications? They are famous for triggering episodes of sleep walking and sleep driving.

Sounds like sleep walking to me. It runs in our family, and people do all sorts of odd things in their sleep around my house. Definitely move the keys, and if it’s an ongoing problem, you may want to install an alarm on the door in case he makes it that far.

Sleep walking or some sort of confusion. Does he snore when he sleeps? Did he recently change any medications? Has he been confused during waking hours? Or, been feeling like he does not feel well rested during the day?

It could be a symptom of something else such as work related stress. I would keep the keys safe at night.

Is he taking any meds? Ask. If this is an ongoing problem you can buy a battery operated driveway announcer for $12 to $15. They take 2 minutes to install. Place the sounder near your room and the sender someplace he must pass if he is going to leave the house.
Do this with his permission of course.

It sounds like he was sleep walking. Talk to him when he is awake about the dangers.

I talked to him and he doesn’t remember it at all. Definitely sleep walking. He’s not on any medicine except a steroid for his gout problem. He thinks it happened because of how exhausted he has been this week and lack of sleep. Thanks so much everyome

What might have happened if you had not been present and alert and able to stop him? You cannot be on a nightly all-night alert. Even one missed event could have ended up tragically.

Would he be willing to have a neurological exam? Just telling him may be enough to alarm him but not nearly enough for him to control neuro impulses beyond his control.

There are, as many have suggested, mechanical devises that you can install in the home to alert you, but that puts a really heavy burden on your shoulders.

Are there any other family members in the house or any others with whom you can have a conference to help your dad.

@gailcalled I think my mother would definitely be the one to persuade him to go to the doctors and get this figured out. I just hate how he said that this was because of his tiring week when this could’ve been very tragic. It worries me! I will in the meantime to things to help prevent this happening again

If he feels tired all the time, even when he seemed to have slept an adequate time, then he might very well have trouble breathing at night. That’s why I asked if he snores or if his wife notices he isn’t breathing at times when he sleeps.