Sleepwalking: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

Somnambulism, commonly known as '''sleepwalking''', is the phenomenon where a person, while sleeping, performs physical activities, often with their eyes open but unresponsive to the world. Within the real world, the sleepwalker will typically have their eyes open and will move as normal, if sometimes a bit slower as if tired. Any complex action that is performed while awake may be replicated while sleepwalking, including unlocking of doors, catching trains, driving cars, even sex and murder. The sleepwalker typically avoids obstacles, but still may be injured by non-routine events such as tripping hazards or closed doors. The disorder is common in children, but is typically grown out of. It is rarer in adults and consistent bouts of sleepwalking may indicate various psychological or brain disorders. Because sleepwalking typically occurs outside of REM sleep, dreams very seldom correlate with the actions while sleepwalking.

 

 

See also [[Talking in Your Sleep]], a related phenomenon, and [[Escort Mission]] or [[Badly-Battered Babysitter]] for the frequent trope involving other characters trying to shepherd the sleepwalking character past danger without waking them due to the old wives' tale.

 

== [[Advertising]] ==

* In one old commercial for Post Fruity Pebbles, Barney pretends he's sleepwalking to get Fred's Pebbles; Fred doesn't wake him up, [[Never Wake Up a Sleepwalker|afraid that it's dangerous]], but when he's upset that Barney's eating his Pebbles, Barney tells him there's more in the cupboard... and blows his cover as a result.

* Fam from ''[[Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing|Last Exile Fam the Silver Wing]]'' has a pretty bad case, especially since she's a [[Sky Pirate]]. The first scene of the entire show is her [[Innocent Fanservice Girl|stripping off]], opening the hanger door of their airship and walking out, saved only by a rope with a bell on it tied to her leg. Episode 4 also shows that there's a mat placed below the entrance to her loft bedroom to cushion her inevitable falls.

* ''[[Ranma ½|Ranma One Half]]'': Akane takes this a step further. She ''fights'' in her sleep.

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* In ''[[Dracula (novel)|Dracula]]'', Lucy is a chronic sleepwalker who sleepwalks all the way across Whitby to the cemetery overlook the night she's first bitten by the eponymous vampire.

 

* On ''[[A.N.T. Farm]]'', Olive does this during a slumber party. While sleepwalking she makes rooster noises, plays golf and sleep-knits, and isn't aware that she sleepwalks.

* ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'' had the title character sleep-eating.

== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==

* In one ''[[Garfield]]'' comic, he notices Odie is asleep on his back, his legs in the motion of running; Garfield thinks he's dreaming he's chasing something. So, he turns him over and says, "Let's see if he catches it." Odie zooms off panel and there's a loud "CRASH!" "Yep," said Garfield, "he caught the heat register."

 

== [[Video Games]] ==