Raina Heverin, 44, was left with a brain injury after plunging 40 feet from a balcony while sleepwalking on holiday in Paris. She suffered a bleed on the brain, a punctured lung, and a broken hip, arm and ribs, and spent three weeks in a coma.

This August 2026 Parisian case, and multiple reports filed on the National Library of Medicine since at least 2012, underscores how devastating sleepwalking can be. Sometimes called Elpenor syndrome, such falls are the primary way sleepwalking causes brain injury. Impaired perception during sleepwalking episodes can, for example, lead to falls from staircases and balconies. A meta-analysis of 51 studies found the estimated lifetime prevalence of sleepwalking was 6.9%, with current adult prevalence around 1.5%. (Though this meta-analysis was published, and made available on the NLM database, in November 2016, the findings remain notable.)

Traumatic brain injury can also precipitate devastating sleep disorders. Sleep disturbances overall affect 30% – 70% of persons after traumatic brain injury, in the forms of insomnia, fatigue, narcolepsy (with or without cataplexy), sleep apnea (obstructive and/or central), periodic limb movement disorder, and parasomnias. [In rehabilitation centers, parasomnias were the presenting complaint in 25% of patients with brain trauma.]

For prevention, doctors recommend brain injured patients create a safe sleep environment: remove sharp objects, lock doors and windows, install safety gates on staircases, and use door alarms. Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule that includes an hour before bed to mentally decompress is also important. Those with brain injury may want to consult with a sleep specialist, since these parasomnias frequently go underrecognized.