when does sleepwalking occur
During the stage called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the eyes move quickly and vivid dreaming is most common. Each night, people go through several cycles of non-REM and REM sleep. Sleepwalking (somnambulism) most often occurs during deep, non-REM sleep (called N3 sleep) early in the night. When physical movements such as kicking, flailing, or getting out of bed occur during REM sleep, it is part of REM behavior disorder and tends to happen near morning. As people age, they have less N3 sleep. This is why sleepwalking is much more common in children and young adults.