Somniloquy or sleep-talking is a parasomnia(sleep dis-order) that refers to talking aloud while asleep. It can range from quite loud to simple mumbling sounds, too loud shouts and long frequently inarticulate speeches. Sleep-talkers are not aware of their behaviours or speechand 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.
It is not sure why people sleep-talk. Some talking makes no sense at all and some of it may relate to past events, trauma, experiences, stress, fear and relationships that sometimes have no relevance or emotional impact but many-a-times are related to the emotional and mental stature of the person.
Sleep talking is not a product of a conscious or rational mind and hence modern sleep science and the law accept that sleep talking is usually inadmissible in court and shouldn’t be considered as proof.
Sleep talking is a major cause of embarrassment and mostly can annoy partner, roommate. Because of this, sleep talkers prefer not to sleep away from home and when in a group they are usually awake till wee hours, and they try not to sleep with a partner or a room-mate thereby, making the sleep-talker insomniac.
Causes:
Stress, depression, fever, sleep deprivation, day-time drowsiness, alcohol, and fever. In many instances sleep talking is hereditary. Sleep Talk occurs concurrently with other sleep disorders such as nightmares, confusional arousals, sleep apnea, and REM sleep behaviour disorder.
Symptoms:
Sleep talking can occur during any stage of sleep. The lighter the sleep, the more intelligible the speech: in stages 1 and 2, 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.
Treatment:
Sleep Talking needs no treatment but if sleep talking is severe or persists over a long period of time, do consult your physician as there may be an underlying medical explanation for your sleep talking.
Many people suffer from these symptoms but don’t realize it or don’t accept it. The National Sleep Foundation offers a number of resources to help patients who are currently suffering from or think that they suffer from sleep talking.
By: Archa Dave
