Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Nocturnal Wandering

Parasomnias are conditions that disrupt sleep and include arousals with abnormal motor, behavioral, or sensory phenomena. Sonambulism (sleep walking) arises mainly out of slow-wave sleep and usually occurs in the first third of the night, when more slow-wave sleep is seen. Other sleep disorders such as nocturnal epilepsy, confusional arousals, and sleep terrors can be accompanied by episodes of nocturnal wandering (NW). To estimate the prevalence of NW in the U.S. population and to identify risk factors, researchers conducted a cross-sectional telephone interview study. Out of 19,136 potential interviewees from 15 states chosen to represent the U.S. population based on number of inhabitants and geographic area, 15,929 completed the intervie…