Is it dangerous to wake a sleepwalker?

If someone in your family is a sleepwalker, you’ve probably felt anxiety for their safety and wondered whether you should wake them. Contrary to a widespread myth, waking a sleepwalker will not cause the person to have a heart attack or other medical emergency. But because it may cause disorientation, the best medical advice is to gently guide the sleepwalker back to bed. Sleep medicine specialist Dr. Raghu Reddy says, “Sleepwalking itself is not a health problem, but it does raise safety concerns if the sleepwalker leaves the house, tries to jump out of a window, uses sharp objects, or bumps into things.”