Sleepwalking tends to occur during deep sleep rather than during dreaming stages.

The longer version

Episodes arise from slow-wave sleep, when the body can act while the cortex is not fully conscious and memory formation is minimal. That explains why a walker's eyes may be open, movements are clumsy, and recall afterwards is absent. The behaviour ranges from sitting up in bed to walking through rooms, and the face often looks blank.

Because it emerges from deep sleep, sleepwalking is more common in childhood, when slow-wave sleep is abundant, and tends to lessen with age. It also runs in families. Sleep terrors share the same stage and the same lack of any dream story. Waking a sleepwalker is generally unhelpful but not dangerous, contrary to a widely repeated claim.

Where this entry sits

This collection gathers curious details about sleeping and dreaming, from nightly brain stages and body clocks to naps, yawns and unusual animal habits. It also covers how bedtime customs have changed across centuries, without offering any advice. The full list sits on the Sleep and Dreams page, where every entry is listed in order.