The Neuroscience of Sleepwalking

Did you know that sleepwalking happens when your brain is both asleep and awake at the same time? It’s one of the most fascinating examples of how the mind and body can operate on separate tracks.

What’s going on in the brain?

Sleepwalking usually occurs during deep slow-wave sleep (NREM stage 3).

During this phase:

• The motor cortex (movement) and brainstem (basic actions like walking) are active

• The prefrontal cortex (responsible for decision-making, awareness, and self-control) remains “asleep”

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This means your body can perform actions (walking, talking, even complex tasks) without your conscious awareness guiding it.

Why does it happen?

Sleepwalking reflects a dissociation between brain systems:

• Movement and routine behaviors “switch on”

• Conscious awareness and rational thinking “switch off”

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This explains why sleepwalkers can navigate rooms, open doors, or even perform activities like cooking, emailing, or sometimes driving, without “being there” mentally.

Who is most affected?

• Children, whose brains spend more time in deep sleep

• People with sleep deprivation, high stress, fever, or certain genetic predispositions

  
  

Interesting facts:

• Sleepwalkers rarely remember these episodes because the hippocampus (memory center) is offline

• Despite the lack of conscious awareness, their brains can process the environment—avoiding obstacles, moving through familiar spaces

• Sleepwalking shows that consciousness is not all-or-nothing; it’s more like a dimmer switch, with some circuits awake while others remain offline

• Episodes usually last a few minutes, but in rare cases can extend longer, especially if triggered by stress or illness

  
  

#neuroscience #psychology #sleepwalking #mentalhealthawareness