About 7% of people sleepwalk at least once during their lifetime, making it one of the more common sleep disorders. At any given point, roughly 1.5% of adults and 5% of children have sleepwalked within the past year. Those numbers mean sleepwalking is far from rare, though most people eventually stop on their own.
Prevalence in Children vs. Adults
Sleepwalking is overwhelmingly a childhood phenomenon. Between 10% and 30% of children sleepwalk at least occasionally, with the peak years falling between ages 4 and 6. Frequent or persistent sleepwalking (happening regularly rather than just once or twice) affects about 1% to 6% of children in that age range.
Most kids grow out of it during adolescence. By adulthood, the numbers drop significantly. A large meta-analysis published in PLOS ONE found that the current prevalence in adults, meaning at least one episode in the past 12 months, is about 1.5%. A Stanford Medicine study looking specifically at the U.S. population put the figure slightly higher at 3.6%, suggesting adult sleepwalking may be underreported. About 3% of adults sleepwalk at least occasionally, while only around 1% or fewer do so on a regular basis.
Why Some People Are More Prone
Genetics play a major role. Sleepwalking runs strongly in families, and population-based twin studies published in the journal Neurology have confirmed a significant hereditary component. If one or both of your parents sleepwalked, your chances of doing so are substantially higher than average. The disorder appears to involve how the brain transitions between deep sleep stages, and the tendency toward incomplete arousal from deep sleep seems to be inherited.
Beyond genetics, several external factors can trigger episodes in people who are already predisposed. Sleep deprivation is one of the most reliable triggers, because it increases the amount of deep sleep the brain demands, creating more opportunities for partial awakenings. Stress, fever, alcohol, and a full bladder also increase risk.
Certain medications can provoke sleepwalking as well. A systematic review identified 29 drugs across four main categories that may trigger episodes: sleep aids that act on the brain’s calming pathways, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and beta-blockers used for blood pressure and heart conditions. The strongest evidence pointed to common prescription sleep medications, particularly zolpidem (widely known by the brand name Ambien). There are even case reports of patients injuring themselves during medication-triggered episodes, including a documented case of a fractured leg during sleepwalking linked to propranolol, a beta-blocker.
What Sleepwalking Actually Looks Like
Sleepwalking happens during the deepest stages of non-REM sleep, typically in the first third of the night. It is classified as a non-REM sleep arousal disorder, the same family that includes sleep terrors. During an episode, a person may sit up, walk around, or perform surprisingly complex actions like opening doors or rearranging objects, all while remaining in a state of partial sleep. Their eyes are usually open but have a glassy, unfocused look.
Episodes typically last a few minutes, though they can stretch longer. The person is difficult to wake and will have little or no memory of what happened the next morning. Contrary to popular belief, waking a sleepwalker is not dangerous to them, though it can be disorienting and confusing.
Links to Other Sleep Problems
Sleepwalking rarely exists in a vacuum. Adults who sleepwalk are more likely to also experience other sleep disturbances, including insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a particularly interesting connection because the repeated breathing interruptions it causes fragment deep sleep, creating exactly the kind of partial arousals that trigger sleepwalking. Treating the underlying sleep apnea often reduces or eliminates sleepwalking episodes entirely.
Sleep deprivation from any cause, whether it’s a newborn in the house, shift work, or chronic insomnia, can tip someone with a genetic predisposition into active sleepwalking. This is why some adults who haven’t sleepwalked since childhood suddenly start again during periods of high stress or poor sleep.
When Sleepwalking Becomes a Problem
For most children, sleepwalking is a harmless phase that resolves without any intervention. It becomes a concern when episodes are frequent, when they lead to injury risk (falling down stairs, leaving the house), or when they persist into adulthood. Adults who sleepwalk regularly often report daytime fatigue and impaired sleep quality, even if they don’t remember the episodes themselves.
The primary risk is physical injury. Sleepwalkers can navigate their environment with surprising coordination but lack judgment, so they may walk into furniture, attempt to go outside, or interact with dangerous objects like kitchen knives or stoves. Securing the sleep environment, sleeping on a ground floor, and locking exterior doors are straightforward steps that reduce injury risk considerably.
For adults with persistent or worsening sleepwalking, a sleep study can help identify whether an underlying condition like sleep apnea is fueling the episodes. In many cases, addressing the trigger resolves the sleepwalking without the need for specific treatment.