Your child has been asleep for two or three hours, but then you hear footsteps. They walk into the living room, blank-eyed and not responding as you call their name. Then they turn around and go back to bed.
It can be unsettling—even alarming—to see your child sleepwalking, but it’s not a sign that anything is wrong. About 7 percent of people sleepwalk at least once in their lives, most of the time in childhood.
“Sleepwalking in and of itself is not harmful, and kids outgrow it,” says UNC Health neurologist and sleep medicine physician Nathan Walker, MD.
Here’s what you need to know if someone in your home is sleepwalking.
What is Sleepwalking?
Sleepwalking, more formally known as somnambulism, is part of a group of sleep disorders called parasomnias. Parasomnias, or unwanted behaviors during sleep, can happen during the cycle of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM), which is when dreams occur and the brain is more active, or one of the non-REM stages, which take you from light sleep to deep sleep.
Sleepwalking is a non-REM parasomnia and happens in deep sleep.
“It’s what’s described in the name—walking somewhere with no purpose,” Dr. Walker says. “They might be talking, but if you ask what they’re doing, they may not respond. Their behaviors will seem to have no rhyme or reason, and they’ll have no memory of the event.”
Dr. Walker says that episodes of sleepwalking tend to be short, lasting just a few minutes, and that for most children, it happens only occasionally.
“There’s no impact on sleep because it’s so brief,” he says. “If nothing else is disrupting their sleep, like sleep apnea, then it shouldn’t affect how well-rested they feel the next day.”
Causes of Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking is an arousal disorder, which means the person is not waking up all the way from sleep.
“It’s a mix of wake and sleep, so some things in the brain are online—they can see, but they’re not making memories. They’re wandering but not aware of what’s going on,” Dr. Walker says.
It’s often not clear why a child sleepwalks, but there’s likely a genetic component, Dr. Walker says. If you had a sleepwalking episode as a child, your child may too.
Children tend to sleep very deeply, so it may be harder for them to fully wake up if something disturbs their sleep, like a noise in the night.
If an adult sleepwalks, though, there tends to be a clearer cause.
“Adults get less of that deep sleep, and they tend to be more easily awakened,” Dr. Walker says. “So if an adult is not waking up completely, we’d look at whether there is something that’s making it hard to wake up, or something that’s preventing them from staying completely asleep.”
Two common culprits: medications and sleep apnea. Sedatives and hypnotics used for insomnia or pain and some antidepressants and beta-blockers can impair your brain’s ability to fully wake you from sleep. Sleep apnea, or pauses in breathing during sleep, may cause you to wake up—but not all the way—during deep sleep. Addressing these causes should resolve the sleepwalking.
Sleep deprivation also can lead to sleepwalking.
Don’t Wake Someone Who is Sleepwalking
Most children don’t need treatment for sleepwalking, unless it’s happening almost every night, which Dr. Walker says is rare. They might, however, need some safety measures put in place.
“What’s dangerous about sleepwalking is that they can hurt themselves,” Dr. Walker says. “People have locked themselves outside in inclement weather, or they might open a window and fall out. So lock the doors and windows, and make sure they can’t get outside.”
For younger children, baby gates and a monitor can help. But don’t try to wake someone who is sleepwalking.
“Keep someone safe, but when you forcibly wake someone who is sleepwalking, they can become confused and even combative,” Dr. Walker says. “Keep an eye on them for anything that’s unsafe. You can redirect them back to bed, and they will lie back down to sleep.”
Children tend to stop sleepwalking by puberty, but if you’re concerned, particularly about the possibility of apnea, talk to your child’s doctor.
You can also make sure you’re giving your children—and yourself—the best chance to get a good night’s sleep by sticking to a sleep schedule and practicing good sleep hygiene.
Start with a bedroom that’s cool, dark and quiet, Dr. Walker says. “If there’s nothing obvious triggering the sleepwalking, be reassured that this will happen less and less over time, and then stop. They won’t sleepwalk forever.”
If your child is struggling with sleep, talk to their doctor. If you need a doctor, find one near you.