History Main / NeverWakeUpASleepwalker

* Downplayed example in a book in TheBabysittersClub that featured a giant sleepover as a reward for a fundraiser; one of the kids starts sleepwalking and one of the supervisors follows him around until he goes back to sleep. All in all, it was one of the less annoying things that happened during the event.

* In ''Webcomic/GirlsNextDoor'', [[ThePhantomOfTheOpera Erik]] advises [[Film/{{Labyrinth}} Sarah]] not to wake Christine when she finds her sleepwalking toward his room for some late-night music lessons. Sarah dryly informs him that modern science has disproved that notion, then makes him promise to forget the potential trauma and just [[BrickJoke dump a bucket of cold water on her]] if he ever finds her sleepwalking toward Jareth's room.

* The 90's platformer ''{{Sleepwalker}}'' would have been far, far shorter if this wasn't in effect. Ralph the dog has to lead around his sleepwalking master Lee without the latter getting fatally hurt or waking up. If Lee wakes up, he ''dies''.

To add insult to injury, the sleepwalker will often walk right into bed, and wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed while their companion collapsed from exhaustion.

* Inverted with another old wives' tale regarding sleep--sleeping while suffering a concussion. Many folks claim that if you suffer a concussion, you have to stay awake because falling asleep will cause you to slip into a coma. In reality, sleep (or rest in general) is actually one of the best treatments for a concussion; being too active will only strain your brain and make the condition worse, resting your brain will help speed up recovery.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has Dexter's dad wandering into his secret lab which was filled with dangerous machines and experiments. The most amusing part is that his dad claims he is a light sleeper yet all the machinery and lasers don't wake him up - a simple thing like Dexter shutting a door does.

* Averted on an episode of GilligansIsland. The Professor has no problem snapping his fingers to wake up a sleepwalking Gilligan despite Skipper's protests. Gilligan wakes up only slightly disoriented, which is practically normal [[TheDitz for Gilligan.]]

* One ''[[ArchieComics Archie]]'' comic has Jughead, for some unexplained reason, sleepwalk through almost all of his entire school day. To avoid waking him up, the teachers give all of their students tests. During lunch, Jughead stays asleep but eats the food off of everyone's trays. He eventually wakes up when the school bell rings, suffering from no ill effects. The other students aren't very happy.

* In ''Film/StepBrothers'', both lead ManChild characters are mischievous, almost sentient, sleepwalkers. Nancy warns Robert to not wake them up, but after their sleepwalking gets out of hand on Christmas Eve (including bring the tree in their parents' bedroom), Robert finally tries to shake them awake; they promptly beat him up, carry him, and toss him down the hallway stairs.

* This was the main plot point of the ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'' episode "[[Recap/TheAngryBeaversE26FoodOfTheClods Food of the Clods]]".

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLab'' has Dexter's dad wandering into his secret lab which was filled with dangerous machines and experiments. The most amusing part is that his dad claims he is a light sleeper yet all the machinery and lasers don't wake him up - a simple thing like Dexter shutting a door does.

** Another had Daisy forced to lead him around away from dangers and support his dream that he was on a cruise, ultimately getting him to settle into bed (thinking it was a deck chair). Just as she's leaving to go home, Donald wakes up, believes that ''Daisy'' is sleepwalking, and (completely averting this trope) shouts at her to wake up and insults her in the process. He then goes back to sleep... courtesy of a well-deserved beating.

* This was the main plot point of the ''TheAngryBeavers'' episode "[[Recap/TheAngryBeaversE26FoodOfTheClods Food of the Clods]]".

* Once in a [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII postwar]] comic, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck had a case of sleepwalking happen, in a revisit of his previous brush with it before the war. This time around, his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie tried to wake him up with firecrackers. Donald awakes to the loud noises, mistakes the firecrackers for a Japanese-laid minefield, and has a [[ShellShockedVeteran violent episode]], forcing his nephews to flee to the garden.

* In ''PowerPack'', the children bring Franklin back to Avengers Mansion after witnessing the Morlock Massacre. When the adults find out about this, Franklin claims he was sleepwalking, and the other children say that they didn't wake him because it would be dangerous.

* In ''Webcomic/GirlsNextDoor'', [[ThePhantomOfTheOpera Erik]] advises [[{{Labyrinth}} Sarah]] not to wake Christine when she finds her sleepwalking toward his room for some late-night music lessons. Sarah dryly informs him that modern science has disproved that notion, then makes him promise to forget the potential trauma and just [[BrickJoke dump a bucket of cold water on her]] if he ever finds her sleepwalking toward Jareth's room.

* One of the play modes in the old NES game ''Gyromite'' involves moving pistons up and down to protect a sleepwalking scientist.

* Averted in ''DesperateHousewives'': Susan finds Orson standing on her front lawn naked and muttering to himself. Once she figures out he's sleepwalking, she slaps him awake.

But nope. It's too dangerous.

* In ''ElChavoDelOcho'', Doña Clotilde and Doña Florida are seen sleepwalking and Don Ramon refused to wake them up or even disturb them recalling that it'd be bad for them. El Chavo later abuses this by pretending to sleepwalk in Kiko's house to take some bread.

* In RealLife, the myth originally began from the belief that soul separates from the body during sleep, and awoken sleepwalker would wake up separate from their soul, potentially with all kinds of horrible results. While the myth has been debunked in practice several times over, it does still apply in situations where a sleepwalker ends up in dangerous locations, like an edge of the roof, in which case the shock may well end up killing them, albeit indirectly, as they stumble in panic.