Talking in your sleep is what we define as somniloquy. It is a disorder that is categorized within the parasomnias. It is not considered a sleep disorder per se, but a variant of normal sleep.
Sleep talking is included, according to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, in a category of “isolated symptoms, apparently normal variables and unresolved problems” related to sleep, such as snoring or feeling spasms before entering the realms of Morpheus, also known as “hypnagogic jerks.”
Talking in Your Sleep Has a Scientific Explanation
We all know someone who talks in their sleep. It is a fairly common phenomenon, hence the journal Sleep Medicine has suggested that about two-thirds of the world’s population have had more than one such episode, and it is known as a somniloquy.
Somniloquy may also have other associations such as apneas, bruxism, nocturnal motor agitation, or nightmares. In addition, certain factors can increase the frequency of somniloquy episodes, such as the consumption of alcohol and narcotic substances or drugs, heavy digestion, sleep deprivation, or certain medications.
But of course, the fact that it does not betray any underlying health problem does not free it from certain undesirable effects for the person especially for the person with whom they share a bed. According to an article published in the journal Brain & Development, half of all children talk in their sleep once a year or more, and about a quarter of the general population does so once a week.
Most children outgrow this nighttime babbling, although it is also true that it can reappear later, in adulthood, caused by stress or insomnia.
Symptoms of Other Sleep Disorders or Neurological Diseases?
Cases of somniloquy may be a symptom of a sleep disorder when they deviate from the normal sleep pattern. Then, each case should be studied in depth to see if it can trigger some other type of more serious disorder. The most important thing about somniloquy would be to differentiate it from other nocturnal sounds, such as snoring, bruxism, stridor, or catatrenia, and to rule out that it is not associated with other sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, night terrors, confusional awakening, nightmares, nocturnal epilepsy or REM sleep behavior disorder.
This story was written in Spanish by Perla Vallejo in Ecoosfera
