Ask the Sleep Doctor: To Wake or Not to Wake? (A Sleepwalker)

I recently read a great quick question and answer section on the Scientific American website (April: this shows you how far behind I am with my reading!) about sleepwalking.

As I have been asked this question before, I thought it may be worthwhile to address it:

“Should you wake a sleepwalker?”

...and the usual follow-up,

"If you wake a sleepwalker can they die?"

First of all, the answer is a resounding YES, you should wake a sleep walker... and a resounding NO, they will not die.

The reason you will want to wake a sleepwalker is that you are possibly avoiding the fact that they may hurt themselves or others. However, you will want to be quite careful, since when you wake them you should expect them to be quite disoriented, and in some cases possibly angry. This is rare, though; we see most sleepwalkers upon waking are simply confused.

Sleepwalking is quite common in children and adolescents (about 15-20% will have at least one episode). We see the rate of incidence increase in adults with sleep deprivation, and with alcohol use.

It should be known that sleepwalking occurs in the deepest stages of Non-REM Sleep (stages 3 and 4) and can involve some very complex behaviors: walking, talking, dressing, undressing, preparing food, having sex, driving, and in one rare case, committing homicide!

This is why it is oftentimes best to gently wake someone and lead them back to bed. The following evening you may want them to go to bed a bit earlier, reduce their caffeine and alcohol, and sleep on the lower level of their home (to avoid the stairs!).