Is it really dangerous to wake a sleepwalker?

It is a myth that it is dangerous to wake up a sleepwalker because it may cause them a heart attack, shock, brain damage, or something else.

It is not a myth that it is dangerous to wake up a sleepwalker because of the possible injury the sleepwalker may inflict upon themselves or the person waking them up.

rousing a sleepwalking person, especially vigorously, might confuse or distress them temporarily. Disoriented, they may strike out at anyone close. It is best not to be in their way.

Instead, it might be better to simply guide them back to bed in their sleep. It is not likely that a sleepwalker when woken up suddenly will have a cardiac event. It is no different from when a person sleeping normally is suddenly awakened by, say, a loud noise. The important thing is to protect a sleepwalker from themselves.

No... but don't go scaring them.

You don't usually need to tho as they usually are concious enough to follow directions. My housemate sleepwalks, I ask him if he's ok, he replies then I usually guide him back to bed and he never remembers a thing.

I think it would be more dangerous to not wake one as they can walk out of the house.... naked.... I ve seen too much

No. That's an old wive's tale.
I've been woken up when sleepwalking so many times I've lost count. The only thing it didm, once or twice, was scare me because I was unaware of my surroundings when I opened my eyes.
It's actually recommended that you wake them so they don't venture outside or get into something where they could get seriously hurt, or even worse, hury someone else.
So, if you come upon a sleepwalker...WAKE THEM UP!

One of my daughters used to sleep walk and people always told me that waking her could cause a heart attack.

yeah u could seriously hurt your self

There is a lot of debate over this. It depends very much upon the sleepwalker. In most cases it is not dangerous. In some cases, the sleepwalker might react violently to be awakened in a fright. In other cases, the sleepwalker might act out a harmful dream if not awakened.
There have been two noted cases in which a person claiming to be sleepwalking killed another. In both cases it was believed. In one case the verdict was guilty while the other case was innocent. In one case the idea was to protect the public from a dangerous sleepwalker. In the other case the idea was that the sleepwalker did not behave with intent. The death was ruled accidental. Sadly, both had spouses who were the victims.
There have been other attempts to use sleepwalking as a defense, but they have not been confirmed to have been sleepwalking at the time of the incident/crime.
The point is that caution should be used when interacting with a sleepwalker. They should not be unnecessarily frightened. It should further be noted that they are not necessarily aware of their surroundings. In a dreaming type state, they don't know you. Beware. Be careful. It should also be stated that such harmful incidents are rare, but definitely not impossible.

We had this girl in BMT that used to do drill in her sleep..lol. It was hilarious. She would get out of bed and start yelling commands and marching and stuff, and I didn't want to be the one to wake her cause she punched..lol.

my little brother sleepwalked when he was a kid and my mom would always just lead him back to bed. he would usually wake up on the way back and hes ok ..

yep

No... my little sister sleep walks all the time and we just tell her to go back to bed sometimes she snaps out of it and is a little confused but not dangerous.

yes

Sometimes, if you wake me when I'm sleepwalking I'll punch ya.

From the sleepwalker's perspective (mine) I can tell you that my wife regularly sends me back to bed. I'm often initially confused or disoriented but it hasn't killed me yet.

I think so