They taught a series of dance moves to a group of patients with conditions like sleepwalking, in which the sleeper engages in the kind of physical movement that does not normally occur during sleep.

While most people only think of movement to help a small child sleep, repeated movement or swing may help a full-grown adult.

The brain is as active during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep when most vivid dreams occur as it is when fully awake, says Dr. Eric Nofzinger at the University of Pittsburgh.