out of it/out of his mind

[diamondcutter]

Cait,11, was trying to fall asleep when her 8-year-old brother, Doug, came into her room. He looked around a bit, but seemed really out of it.
Then Doug went back into the hallway and stood there staring up at the hall light.
Little brothers can be weird, but this was really strange. Cait didn’t know what to do. Just then, Cait’s father appeared and explained that Doug was sleepwalking.

Source: https://www.rchsd.org/health-articles/sleepwalking/

In the second sentence, I’d like to know whether the pronoun “it” refers to “his mind”. And can we use “out of his mind” directly here?

 

[probus]

Cait,11, was trying to fall asleep when her 8-year-old brother, Doug, came into her room. He looked around a bit, but seemed really out of it.
Then Doug went back into the hallway and stood there staring up at the hall light.
Little brothers can be weird, but this was really strange. Cait didn’t know what to do. Just then, Cait’s father appeared and explained that Doug was sleepwalking.

Source: https://www.rchsd.org/health-articles/sleepwalking/

In the second sentence, I’d lik

No, "it" does not refer to his mind. To be "out of it" is an idiom or fixed expression. It means to be less than fully awake, conscious, or aware.of one's surroundings.

 

[Tdol]

"Out of it" also means intoxicated on drink or drugs, though not here.