In which stage of sleep is sleepwalking most likely to occur?

Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, is most likely to occur during NREM sleep, particularly in the deep sleep stage, which includes N3. NREM sleep is characterized by slow-wave sleep (SWS), where the body is in a restorative state, and this is where sleep disorders like sleepwalking are most prevalent. During N3, individuals are in the deepest stage of sleep, making it a time when brain activity is significantly reduced, and normal processing of waking activities does not occur. In this state, a person may rise and engage in activities such as walking around, often with little to no memory of the events afterward.

While other stages of sleep like REM and lighter NREM sleep (N2) can exhibit different sleep phenomena, such as vivid dreams or night terrors, sleepwalking is specifically associated with the deeper NREM stages, highlighting the body's complex functioning during sleep.