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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffMany factors can contribute to sleepwalking, including:
- Sleep deprivation
- Fatigue
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Fever
- Sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings
- Some medications, such as zolpidem (Ambien)
Sleepwalking is sometimes associated with underlying conditions that affect sleep, such as:
- Seizure disorders
- Sleep-disordered breathing — a group of disorders characterized by abnormal breathing patterns during sleep, the most common of which is obstructive sleep apnea
- Restless leg syndrome (RLS)
- Migraine headaches
- Stroke
- Head injuries or brain swelling
- Premenstrual period
In other cases, use of alcohol, illicit drugs or certain medications — including some antibiotics, antihistamines, sedatives and sleeping pills — can trigger sleepwalking episodes.
- Sleepwalking. National Sleep Foundation. Accessed May 26, 2009.
- Sleepwalking. Sleepeducation.com. http://www.sleepeducation.com/Disorder.aspx?id=14. Accessed May 26, 2009.
- Sleepwalking & sleeptalking. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. http://www.aasmnet.org./FactSheets/SleepwalkingTalking.pdf. Accessed May 26, 2009.
- National sleep disorders research plan. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. National Institutes of Health. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/sleep/res_plan/section5/section5a.html. Accessed May 27. 2009.
- Guilleminault C, et al. Sleepwalking and sleep terrors in prepubertal children: What triggers them? Pediatrics. 2003;111;e17.
