Sleepwalking and Genetics

Sleepwalking tends to run in families. Children whose parent(s) sleepwalked in childhood are more likely to do so. A study published in the British Journal of Psychology concluded that a first-degree relative of a sleepwalker is ten times more likely to sleepwalk than the rest of the population. A separate study published in the journal Neurology concluded that twins are more likely to sleepwalk. Reportedly, a twin is five times more likely to experience episodes of sleepwalking if the other twin sleepwalks. One study has linked sleepwalking with a mutated gene (located somewhere on chromosome 20) that can be passed from parent to child. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine reported that those with the mutated gene reportedly have a 50% chance of passing it to the next generation.