During a night, there will be several cycles of non-REM and REM sleep. It can occur during REM sleep near morning. In children, the cause is usually unknown but may also be related to fatigue, prior sleep loss, or anxiety. In the elderly, sleep walking may be a symptom of an organic brain syndrome or REM behavior disorders. The sleep walking activity may include simply sitting up and appearing awake while actually asleep, getting up and walking around, or complex activities such as moving furniture, going to the bathroom, dressing and undressing, and similar activities.
Some people even drive a car while actually asleep.
One common misconception is that a sleep walker should not be awakened. It is not dangerous to awaken a sleep walker, although it is common for the person to be confused or disoriented for a short time on awakening. Another misconception is that a person cannot be injured when sleep walking. Actually, injuries caused by such things as tripping and loss of balance are common for sleep walkers. Sleep walking occurs at any age, but it occurs most often in children aged 6 to 12 years old.