Sleep talking what is it

It also appears to run in families. Although sleep talking by itself is benign, it may be a symptom of another sleep disorder. If your sleep talking episodes increase in frequency, emerge at an older age, or are accompanied by other symptoms such as limb movements or daytime sleepiness, you should talk to your medical provider.

In many cases, treatment is not needed. If sleep talking is a symptom of another sleep disorder, your medical provider will treat the underlying condition. Sleep Talking. Sleep talking is a type of parasomnia. Parasomnias are abnormal behaviors during sleep. Unlike most parasomnias that happen only during specific parts of the sleep cycle, sleep talking can occur during either rapid eye movement REM or non-REM sleep.

Sleep talking is considered to be distinct from other vocalizations that can occur during sleep such as catathrenia , a breathing disorder that causes audible groaning, or REM sleep behavior disorder RBD , which involves a person physically acting out their dreams. The central symptom of sleep talking is audible expression that occurs during sleep without the person being aware of it happening. It can be gibberish or resemble normal speech. A linguistic study of somniloquy found that around half of recorded sleep talking was incomprehensible.

In these cases, sleep talking was normally mumbling, silent speech moving the lips with limited noise , or was muffled by pillows or blankets. The other half of sleep talking that was comprehensible had a number of parallels to typical conversations. For example, it usually followed typical standards of grammar and included pauses as if talking with another person.

Many of the recorded utterances were negative, exclamatory, or profane, indicating that sleep talking may reflect conflict-driven dialogue taking place in the brain during sleep.

Sleep talking that is offensive, sexually explicit, or reveals secrets may cause embarrassment or shame; however, people are very rarely aware that they are talking in their sleep at the time and typically have no recollection of the episodes when they wake up.

Episodes of sleep talking tend to be short, and they rarely involve long or drawn-out conversations. The total episode may involve only a handful of words or a few sentences.

Research is mixed about the source of the content during episodes of sleep talking. Some evidence indicates that it may at times be related to dreams , but not all sleep talking appears to be closely tied to dream activity. Even regular sleep talkers may have to be recorded for four nights or more to document an episode. Sleep talking is found more often in children and is believed to affect fewer adults. It occurs equally in women and men. Because an individual is very rarely aware of episodes, data about the prevalence of sleep talking may not be exact.

Reports of sleep talking usually come from a family member or bed partner. In the majority of cases, sleep talking is harmless. There is evidence that it may have a genetic component with some studies finding that sleep talking can run in families. In studies of twins, sleep talking was found to co-occur more frequently with sleepwalking, teeth grinding, and nightmares in both children and adults, and these all may share some genetic relationship.

Further research is needed to better understand these potential connections. Sleep talking appears to occur more often in people with mental health conditions. In particular, it is believed to occur most frequently in people with post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD. Overall, though, most cases of sleep talking are not thought to be connected to mental illness. Because the cause of sleep talking is not fully understood, there is limited knowledge about proven methods to stop sleep talking.

In most situations, treatment for sleep talking is unnecessary because of its limited frequency and minimal negative consequences. For people who want to try to limit or eliminate sleep talking episodes, focusing on sleep hygiene may be a helpful starting point.

Most parasomnias are thought to be an abnormal state that blends wakefulness and sleep, and this state may be more likely to arise when normal sleep patterns are disturbed. For that reason, steps that promote consistent and stable sleep may help ward off parasomnias, including sleep talking. Improving sleep hygiene can eliminate potential causes of sleep interruptions and create routines that are conducive to higher-quality sleep. They may find themselves awoken unexpectedly in the night by sleep talking or be bothered or offended by its content.

If sleep talking is creating these problems on a regular basis, a focus on sleep hygiene may help their bed partner decrease the frequency of sleep talking episodes.

Sleep talking later in life may be caused by an underlying medical condition. A sleep expert can also help to make sure your body is getting the adequate rest at night that it needs. Some things you may want to try are:. Learn more: Tips to sleep better ».

Sleep talking is a harmless condition that is more common in children and men and may occur at certain periods in your life. It requires no treatment, and most of the time sleep talking will resolve on its own. It can be a chronic or temporary condition. It also may go away for many years and then reoccur. Sleep is as important to your physical and mental health as food and water. Find out what makes for healthy sleep, and get tips and tricks for….

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