Sleepwalking: They Are Not Awake, Do Not Argue
Written by the Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center therapy team — our Speech & Language Therapist, psychology and ABA staff. Clinical reviewer for this site: Dr Muhammad Suffyan, MB BS (GMC 8023727) · Updated August 2026; this page has changed since our last clinical review.
Sleepwalking is getting up and moving around during deep sleep. Eyes may be open. They may toilet in the wrong place, try a door, or stand in the corridor. In the morning they remember nothing, or only a scrap. You cannot have a conversation with them that they will keep.
It belongs to the same family as night terrors: events in deep, non-dream sleep, usually in the first third of the night. A nightmare is a dream later in the night; they wake, they want you, they can tell you. Night waking — coming to your bed, fully awake — is a different page: night waking.
What to do in the moment
- Steer, do not interrogate. Guide them back to bed with few words. Do not ask what they are doing. They are not available for a chat.
- Do not shake them “awake” to teach them a lesson. Sudden waking from deep sleep leaves them frightened and confused. The same rule as night terrors.
- Safety before psychology. Bolts on outer doors, stair gates, no keys in locks they can turn, balcony doors locked, bathroom lights if they toilet in their sleep. Pakistani houses with roof access and open stairs need this more than a leaflet written for a carpeted bungalow.
- In the morning, do not quiz. They did not choose it. Shame makes the next night worse and does nothing for the walking.
What makes it more likely
Tiredness, a later bedtime, fever, a full bladder, and a family history of sleepwalking or night terrors. Anything that fragments deep sleep can stir it — including snoring and mouth breathing. If they snore, pause, or sleep with the mouth open, that is a doctor, not a lock on the bedroom door.
It is commoner in school-age children than in babies, and many grow out of it. That is not permission to ignore a child who has already reached a roof or a road.
When it is not “just sleepwalking”
- They leave the house, or you cannot keep them safe on this layout
- It is new in a teenager, or it is violent
- They wet, shake, or seem unaware in a way that could be a seizure — that is medical the same week, not a sleep tip
- Daytime is falling apart: inattention, headaches, growth, or they are exhausted
- You are so frightened you cannot sleep, which then makes their nights worse
We are not a sleep laboratory and we do not prescribe melatonin — that page is melatonin. We can look at routines, anxiety, and whether the “walking” is actually night waking or a night terror you have been misnaming. If the body is the story, a paediatrician or ENT leads.
Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center, Model Town, Multan. A consultation is Rs 1,500 and lasts up to 50 minutes. Tell us what time it happens, whether they remember, and whether they snore. Those three facts sort the map.
Frequently asked questions
Is sleepwalking the same as a night terror?
Same family of deep-sleep events, different picture. Night terrors are screaming, sweating, looking through you, usually in bed. Sleepwalking is moving around. Both: do not shake them awake to talk. Nightmares are later, they wake properly, and they remember. See night terrors.
Should I wake a sleepwalking child?
Steer them back to bed with few words. Do not shake, shout, or demand an explanation. Waking from deep sleep leaves them frightened and does not teach them not to walk tomorrow.
Will they grow out of it?
Many school-age children do. That is not a reason to skip safety — stairs, roof access, outer doors — or to skip a doctor if it is new, violent, or they snore and pause at night.
Could it be a seizure?
Sometimes a doctor has to rule that out, especially if it is new, rhythmic, very stereotyped, or they are not themselves afterwards. We cannot tell from a description. If you are unsure, a paediatrician the same week, not a wait-and-see.
They come to my bed every night but they talk to me. Is that sleepwalking?
If they are fully awake, talking, and remember in the morning, that is night waking, not sleepwalking. Different plan: night waking and sleep.
Does autism make sleepwalking more likely?
Autistic children have more sleep problems overall. Sleepwalking still needs the same safety and the same look at tiredness, fever, and night breathing. Do not treat walking as “autistic behaviour” to ignore.