Sleep talking is a phenomenon that is somewhat of an anomaly compared to normal, uninterrupted, restful sleep. Is it something dangerous? True, it is classified as a sleep disorder, but in most cases it does not carry the risk of any health complications. However, it should not be completely underestimated by us, because it is a certain alarm sent by our body and, nevertheless, indicates something. It can be a symptom of poor mental form of the sleeper, high nervous tension or too much effort taken on a daily basis, whether physical or mental. The factor responsible for uncontrollable sleep talking may also be the abuse of certain substances and certain diseases. Read the article and find out what are the possible causes of sleep talking and how to get rid of this specific sleep disorder.
Contents
Sleep talking – a peculiar nocturnal affliction with many facets. Why do we talk in our sleep?
Sleeptalking is one of the most peculiar afflictions. It manifests itself in various ways – by uttering nonsense-filled words, throwing curse words, shouting, having fictional dialogues with someone or speaking in a foreign language. Often, talking in one’s sleep contributes to knocking out the partner sleeping next to one. Meanwhile, the person talking in his sleep himself remains immersed in sleep and is not at all aware of his monologue. What is the origin of this otherwise strange phenomenon of talking while sleeping, i.e. in a state of temporary unconsciousness?
Sleep talking (the professional name is somnilokia) is one of the most common sleep disorders, or parasomnias. It involves unconscious loud utterance of words by a person immersed in sleep, and is usually a symptom of severe stress or insufficient sleep. Most of the time it does not require treatment, but it is a phenomenon worth looking into, whether for the mental state of the sleeper himself or for the comfort of the rest of the household (talking in one’s sleep, let alone shouting in one’s sleep, can severely disturb the sleep of others).
Sleep talking may occur episodically, moderately often (about once a week) or frequently (every night or almost every night).
All sleep disorders (parasomnias) are manifested by abnormal and uncontrolled behavior (movements, speech) either during sleep or immediately after waking.
In addition to sleep talking, other parasomnias include:
- sleepwalking (somnambulism),
- bruxism (grinding of teeth),
- night terrors,
- sleep nightmares,
- sleep paralysis,
- sleep intoxication.
Sleep talking is one of the milder sleep disorders. It does not raise such concerns about the sleeper in loved ones as, for example, sleepwalking. It is also not violent and does not bring with it the effects of panic, difficulty breathing, extreme muscle tension and sudden awakenings in a state of terror in the sleeper, as is the case with night terrors and nightmares. On the other hand, however, like all sleep disorders, sleep talking is also a certain anomaly, it can negatively affect the body’s nocturnal recovery processes and indicate mental or physical exhaustion. Undoubtedly, it should be a stimulus for us to observe our lifestyle and nerve condition more closely.
Sleep talking – symptoms
In most cases, sleep talking has nothing to do with normal, logical speech. Mostly these are single words, unintelligible babbling or fragmented sentence fragments spoken by the sleeper. Sleep talking can occur in any stage of sleep, but it is more common in the NREN (non-rapid eye movement) stage of deep sleep. The shallower the sleep, the clearer the content spoken by the sleeper.
Read also: Phases of Sleep
Common symptoms of sleep talking
- uttering incomplete, choppy or illogical sentences,
- uttering single words or clusters of incongruous words,
- mumbling, uttering unintelligible content,
- mumbling, sleep-walking.
Rarer symptoms of sleep talking
- The illusion of talking to another person,
- shouting in one’s sleep,
- cursing in sleep,
- moaning in sleep,
- crying in your sleep,
- laughing in your sleep,
- speaking in a foreign language in sleep.
Sleep talking – causes
Like most sleep disorders, sleep talking can have a hereditary basis or be the result of our lifestyle and current mental condition.
Factors that are particularly conducive to the appearance of sleep talking
- genetics (if your parents or someone else in a close family spoke in their sleep, there is a risk that the affliction will appear in us as well),
- fever,
- post-traumatic stress syndrome,
- taking certain medications,
- certain diseases (such as mental illness, Parkinson’s disease, sleep apnea),
- consumption of alcohol (especially in large quantities and before bedtime),
- use of narcotics,
- cigarette smoking,
- sleep deprivation,
- irregular lifestyle,
- severe stress,
- high mental tension,
- experiencing very strong emotions,
- neurotic disorders,
- depressive disorders, anxiety states,
- traumatic experiences from the recent past,
- excessive physical exertion, exhaustion of the body,
- overwork, a flurry of things to do.
Shouting in your sleep
Sometimes, simple mumbling and talking in sleep takes a much stronger form and becomes loud moans or shouting. This can make it significantly difficult for people sleeping in the same room to sleep soundly, and can even wake up people sleeping in other rooms. Sleep shouting is not uncommonly accompanied by the sleeper making violent movements – waving his legs, thrashing, jerking.
All these symptoms most often reflect poor mental state and high nervous tension. They can also be the result of recent severe life experiences .
In the case of regularly recurring episodes of sleep screaming, psychotherapy or the use of various relaxation and anti-stress techniques is recommended. In the situation of a frequent and severely intense problem of screaming combined with nightmares and night terrors, sometimes pharmaceutical treatment (such as antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) is recommended.
Sleep talking in children
Sleep talking happens in both adults and children. For children, the phenomenon is even more common. It usually appears between the ages of 3 and 10. It is estimated to occur in 40-50% of children. Mostly, sleep talking in children is caused by a large amount of stimuli, emotions and sensations delivered during the day, it can also be the result of stress or fever.
Most often, sleep talking in children is nothing dangerous and passes with age, usually during puberty. However, if sleep talking in a child is an increasing phenomenon, and combined with screaming, fears, nightmares or other disturbing behaviors, it is worth seeking medical attention.
What does sleep talking mean?
When a person with whom we share a bedroom talks in his sleep, we usually try to unravel what she means. We try to interpret her words and recognize that they may be important messages for us. It is certainly not worth bothering with these issues. We should not treat sleep speech as if it were normal speech, since it happens completely outside the person’s consciousness.
Effects of sleep talking
Sleep talking is mostly a harmless phenomenon that does not carry the risk of any health consequences. Only when sleep talking occurs more and more often, when it begins to turn into shrill screaming, or when it begins to be accompanied by fears, nightmares, violent sleep-throwing, kicking of the legs, etc., it is worth seeking medical advice.
Sleep talking – how to treat it?
There are no pharmacological or psychological treatments for sleep talking. It is not a disease entity, but only a slight anomaly, which can mostly be dealt with (or strongly alleviated) by implementing the following tips:
- avoid not getting enough sleep, ensure adequate quality and quantity of sleep (improving sleep hygiene in most cases significantly reduces parasomnias, including sleep talking),
- take care of proper circadian rhythm,
- ensure a regular lifestyle,
- avoid smoking and alcohol abuse,
- avoid stress, and in case of frequent contact with stressors, use anti-stress techniques and reach for dietary supplements containing adaptogens in their composition,
- avoid overwork, excess responsibilities, state of nervous and physical exhaustion, find time to relax,
- do not go to bed in a state of tension, nervousness, a flurry of thoughts, in the evening try to calm down, relax, reset.
Check: What kind of mattress to choose?
