EAST TEXAS (KYTX) - Noel Shank started sleepwalking when she was about 4-years-old. "I would go into the refrigerator and open the door. I would come out and wander around."
Sleepwalking is most common in children ages 4 to 8, and usually doesn't require treatment. Most, like Shank, 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.
If your parents were sleepwalkers, chances are you're 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.
