What it means to be a sleepwalker - WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |

Undated (WXOW) - A recent study finds that as many as 1 in 3 adults say they have sleepwalked at some point in their lives.  

Sleepwalking is most common in children ages 4 to 8 and usually doesn't require treatment but most outgrow it.  

Sleepwalking can be thought of as the state halfway between being fully awake and being fully asleep. The brain is doing things that it would do in wakefulness but it would never recall them in the future.

Experts aren't exactly sure what causes it.  They do know that if parents are sleepwalkers, their child is more likely to be a sleepwalker.  

If an adult happens to start sleepwalking it's usually because of sleep deprivation, an illness, medications such as sleeping pills or alcohol.  Identifying the trigger usually stops the behavior.  

How should you handle a sleepwalker?   It's best to try to redirect a sleepwalker back to bed, than to try to shake them awake and ask them what they were doing.