it could happen to anyone and I’m sure at some point in your life you were told that you were talking in yoursleep the night before. It’s quite disturbing to hear something like that about you.
Website www.sleepfoundation.org reports sleep talking formally known as somniloquy, is a sleep disorder defined as talking during sleep without being aware of it.
Sleep talking can involve complicated dialogues or monologues, complete gibberish or mumbling.
The good news is that for most people it is a rare and short-lived occurrence.
The report highlighted that anyone can experience sleep talking, but the condition is more common in males and children.
“Sleep-talkers are not typically aware of their behaviours or speech; therefore their voices and the type of language they use may sound different from their wakeful speech. Sleep talking may be spontaneous or induced by conversation with the sleeper.”
Causes of sleep talking
Sleep talking may be brought on by stress, depression, sleep deprivation, daytime drowsiness, alcohol, and fever. In many instances sleep talking runs in families, although external factors seem to stimulate the behaviour. Sleep talking often occurs concurrently with other sleep disorders such as nightmares, confusional arousals, sleep apnea, and REM sleep behaviour disorder.
Sleep talking associated with mental or medical illness occurs more commonly in persons over 25 years of age.
Sleep talking symptoms
Sleep talking can occur during any stage of sleep. The lighter the sleep, the more intelligible the speech: in stages one and two, people may have entire conversations while in stages 3 and 4, speech may be restricted to moans and gibberish. Symptoms can vary in severity and duration.
Severity criteria
Mild: episodes occur less than weekly,
Moderate: episodes occur more than once per week but less than nightly and cause mild disturbance to a bed partner
Severe: episodes occur nightly and may cause pronounced interruption of a bed partner’s sleep.
* Sleep terrors
* Sleepwalking
* Confusional arousals
* Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Syndrome
* REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder
* Psychiatric Disorders
* Nocturnal Seizures
