One of the weirdest habits people have is they talk while asleep, and they don’t remember that they talked when they get out of bed. Weird habits when sleeping might seem as something funny, however, it’s an abnormal condition. Here you will get to know more about this condition, its causes, as well as its treatment. It’s not an uncommon habit and you shouldn’t be too alarmed if you or someone you know is used to talking in their/your sleep. As with everything else, there are differing degrees of sleep talking, some people do it every night whilst others do it only occasionally (usually triggered by things like stress).
‘Sleep talking’ is medically known as ‘Somniloquy’ and as mentioned above it’s when a person talks when he or she is asleep. This is an abnormal behavior that occurs when a person is asleep, which makes it a type of parasomnia. There are a lot of people who talk in their sleep. Kids between the ages of 3-10 display this behavior as well as some adults. Some researchers believe that this condition is genetic.
According to some researchers, sleep talking can occur during any stage of sleep. Though it’s nothing serious, it can be a sign of some serious sleep disorder or some other health condition. People who suffer from REM sleep behavior disorder and nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder talk when they are asleep.
Other things that can cause sleep talking include emotional stress, certain medications, fever, substance abuse, and mental health disorder. Witnessing someone’s sleep talking can be both funny and scary at the same time. Sometimes the “talking” is just a bit of mumbling that can’t be understood, but at other times, sleep talking could be a whole conversation spoken as if they were awake.
Much like sleepwalking, the offender often doesn’t remember what happened or what they said the next day. There are many theories as to why people sleep talk but there are still discrepancies in the research and no-one knows 100% why it happens.
If sleep talking occurs suddenly, and it’s accompanied by intense fear, violent action and or screaming, then it’s advised that the person should visit a sleep specialist. A pediatrician can help a child with sleep problems. It’s very rare that sleep talking requires treatment. However, a serious sleeping talking condition might be pointing to a sleep disorder or other unhealthy sleeping problems.