• A parasomnia characterized by a partial arousal that occurs during stage IV of non-REM sleep. Affected individuals exhibit semipurposeful behaviors such as ambulation and are difficult to fully awaken. Children are primarily affected, with a peak age range of 4-6 years.
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• Ambulation or other complex motor behaviors may occur after getting out of bed in a sleep-like state. During sleepwalking episodes, the individual who is somnambulating appears confused or dazed, with their eyes usually open. They may mumble or give inappropriate answers to questions, and occasionally appear agitated.
  Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO)
  The Human Phenotype Ontology Project, 2025
• Amnestic episodes of ambulation during sleep, during which the individual may unconsciously engage in other activities.
  NICHD Pediatric Terminology
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• (sleepwalking) Repeated episodes of rising from bed and walking about during sleep; while sleepwalking, the individual has a blank stare and can be awakened only with great difficulty. On awakening, the individual has amnesia for the episode.
  NCI
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Sleepwalking.
  Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
  Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
• Parasomnias are sleep-wake disorders characterized by undesirable motor, verbal, or experiential phenomena occurring in association with sleep, specific stages of sleep, or sleep-awake transition phases. In the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), one common...
  Medscape
  WebMD, 2025
• Sleepwalking - also known as somnambulism - involves getting up and walking around while in a state of sleep. More common in children than adults, sleepwalking is usually outgrown by the teen years. Isolated incidents of sleepwalking often don't signal any serious problems or require treatment. However, recurrent sleepwalking may suggest...
  Mayo Clinic
  Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2025
• Sleepwalking, a behavioral disorder of sleep in which a person sits up and performs various motor actions, such as standing, walking about, talking, eating, screaming, dressing, going to the bathroom, or even leaving the house. The episode usually ends with the sleepwalker's returning to sleep...
  Encyclopedia Britannica
  Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2025