summary
Non-rapid eye movement (nrem) arousal sleep disorders (confusional arousal, somnambulism and sleep terror) are self-limiting and temporary phenomena which cannot be attributed to medical or psychiatric factors. However, very occasionally they can be the cause of unintentional injury to self or others. We describe the case of an 18-year-old who engaged in self-injurious behaviour while asleep. This behaviour could be attributed to confusional arousal.