Question:

Sleep walking is seen in which stage of sleep?

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Somnambulism is a slow-wave (deep) sleep parasomnia.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
  • REM
  • Stage 1-2 NREM
  • Stage 2-3 NREM
  • Stage 3-4 NREM
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Sleep walking (somnambulism) is a parasomnia of deep slow-wave sleep. Slow-wave sleep corresponds to stages 3 and 4 of NREM sleep.

Step 2: Other disorders arising from this deep NREM phase include night terrors (pavor nocturnus), sleep-related enuresis (bed wetting), bruxism (teeth grinding) and sleep talking (somniloquy). These deep-sleep events are typically not remembered the next morning.

Step 3: Why the others are wrong: REM sleep is the phase of vivid dreaming and is linked to nightmares, narcolepsy phenomena and nocturnal penile tumescence, not sleep walking. Stages 1-2 NREM are light sleep and stage 2-3 is transitional, so neither is the deepest phase where somnambulism occurs.

Step 4: Hence sleep walking belongs to stage 3-4 NREM.
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