I started a new thread because I figured the question was different enough for it:
The other thread " Do sleep walkers really walk with their arms stiff in front of them " answered that (it was no), and also why it was dangerous to waked them up. But whats the consensus on why - from a psycological and psycotherapy standpoint?
Basically in normal sleep there is a part of your brain (can’t remember the name of it i’m afraid) that effectively paralyses your body to stop you acting out your dreams. Sleepwalking occurs when this part of your brain doesn’t do its job properly, allowing motor impulses from the dreaming part of your brain to reach your body and causing it to act out your dreams.
Some people also report sleep paralysis - which is when you can’t move immediately on waking up, and can be very scary. This is like the opposite of sleepwalking - the part of the brain responsible for suppressing motor impulses has stayed “switched on” for too long.