What is somnambulism?

Somnambulism is commonly known as sleepwalking. This sleep disorder belongs to the parasomnia family (it includes all sleep disorders causing abnormal behavior, dreams, movements etc.). People suffering from somnambulism perform different activities typical of the state of consciousness while sleeping.

Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. Sleepwalkers arise from the slow wave sleep stage in a state of low consciousness and perform activities that are usually performed during a state of full consciousness. These activities can be benign (sitting up in bed, walking, cleaning, singing etc.) or dangerous (using a stove, driving, attacking and even homicide).

Although sleepwalking cases generally consist of simple, repeated behaviours, there are occasionally reports of people performing complex behaviors while asleep, although their legitimacy is often disputed. Sleepwalkers usually remember nothing after the cases. Such unconscious walks may last from several seconds to half an hour minutes and longer in some particular cases.